Quitting Biglaw as a First Year, Where Should I Go? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm seven months into practice and I fantasize about quitting my biglaw corporate gig every day. I can't stand the 24/7 on-call and am planning on quitting in the next few months. I am very, very depressed and having trouble getting out of bed during the week. I cannot sleep because of the constant emails.

With so little experience, where can I go after biglaw? I've lost all my passion for being a lawyer and I just want as close to a 9-5 as I can get, no weekend emails, and no highly-emotional work (family law, criminal, etc). I paid off my loans and have a good little nest egg so salary isn't that important to me. Local government jobs want more experience and all the smaller firms I'm seeing seem to want just as much work as my large one.

Any advice? I know I should have listened to these forums before OCI but I didn't.

[Anonymous User]

Apply for clerkships very broadly and in random places that are frequently overlooked by competitive applicants. You may very well get one that is set to begin in the next year or so. Then quit your biglaw job a month or two before your clerkship start date. The resume gap is unlikely to raise eyebrows because people very frequently take weeks off between jobs and no one will think your decision to leave the law firm after one year to do a clerkship is weird. People do that all the time.

Then when you are in the clerkship and aren't in such a fragile emotional place, you can plot your next career move.

[Anonymous User]

Turn off your phone at 10pm and don't turn it back on until 8am. In general, start saying no. So long as you're billing reasonably, you won't get fired and will be able to coast another year or so.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Is it a mistake to apply for non-federal clerkships/ staff attorney positions? I'm married and my spouse has a job here.

[Anonymous User]

I'm seven months into practice and I fantasize about quitting my biglaw corporate gig every day. I can't stand the 24/7 on-call and am planning on quitting in the next few months. I am very, very depressed and having trouble getting out of bed during the week. I cannot sleep because of the constant emails.

With so little experience, where can I go after biglaw? I've lost all my passion for being a lawyer and I just want as close to a 9-5 as I can get, no weekend emails, and no highly-emotional work (family law, criminal, etc). I paid off my loans and have a good little nest egg so salary isn't that important to me. Local government jobs want more experience and all the smaller firms I'm seeing seem to want just as much work as my large one.

Any advice? I know I should have listened to these forums before OCI but I didn't.

Strongly encourage you to see a therapist as soon as possible to discuss the decision, timeline, etc. Good luck and please take care of yourself. Important life decisions like this warrant getting some professional counseling.

[Saami]

Apply for clerkships very broadly and in random places that are frequently overlooked by competitive applicants. You may very well get one that is set to begin in the next year or so. Then quit your biglaw job a month or two before your clerkship start date. The resume gap is unlikely to raise eyebrows because people very frequently take weeks off between jobs and no one will think your decision to leave the law firm after one year to do a clerkship is weird. People do that all the time.

Then when you are in the clerkship and aren't in such a fragile emotional place, you can plot your next career move.

Are there many 2022–23 clerkships even left?

[Anonymous User]

I'm married so I don't have a lot of geographic flexibility.

[Lesion of Doom]

Try to make it to 12 months and then do a fellowship if you have to. BigLaw has a terrible reputation among attorneys, so you won't need to belabor your reasons for leaving and seeking a restart. It shows maturity and perspective.

[Anonymous User]

Apply for clerkships very broadly and in random places that are frequently overlooked by competitive applicants. You may very well get one that is set to begin in the next year or so. Then quit your biglaw job a month or two before your clerkship start date. The resume gap is unlikely to raise eyebrows because people very frequently take weeks off between jobs and no one will think your decision to leave the law firm after one year to do a clerkship is weird. People do that all the time.

Then when you are in the clerkship and aren't in such a fragile emotional place, you can plot your next career move.

Are there many 2022–23 clerkships even left?

No, but if you're willing to literally take any clerkship anywhere you could probably find one somewhere that starts this fall or in January of 2023. If it's a truly dire situation and OP is so desperate to quit their biglaw job that it's either random clerkship or quitting with no plans at all, random clerkship might be the better option.

[Anonymous User]

Take FMLA leave to get yourself healthy first and foremost, then talk through timelines, scenarios, and options, with friends and mentors.

[Anonymous User]

I think it would be helpful to think more concretely about what it is that you do want to do. A lot of things mentioned -- clerkships, staff attorney positions, fellowships -- are geared toward litigators so you might have some difficulty getting them (or at least need a story for the switch that's not just I hate big law). Do you think you might want to be a litigator? If so a state clerkship might be a helpful move. Or municipal government can be an easy job if you live in a reasonably-sized city, though of course the pay cut will be significant). The size of your city will also impact your choices -- are you in a major market? Of course if you really hate the law you can just leave the profession and try to get a job in another field, though your ability to do so obviously will depend on your pre-law school work history, etc.

In the meantime, you should definitely think about seeking some support for your mental health issues. A therapist might recommend FMLA and that might be the right move. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but if you can be a little deliberate in how you make this transition, it might set you up better for the future. Good luck!

[Anonymous User]

I think it would be helpful to think more concretely about what it is that you do want to do. A lot of things mentioned -- clerkships, staff attorney positions, fellowships -- are geared toward litigators so you might have some difficulty getting them (or at least need a story for the switch that's not just I hate big law). Do you think you might want to be a litigator? If so a state clerkship might be a helpful move. Or municipal government can be an easy job if you live in a reasonably-sized city once you get a little experience through clerking, for instance, though of course the pay cut will be significant). The size of your city will also impact your choices -- are you in a major market? Of course if you really hate the law you can just leave the profession and try to get a job in another field, though your ability to do so obviously will depend on your pre-law school work history, etc.

In the meantime, you should definitely think about seeking some support for your mental health issues. A therapist might recommend FMLA and that might be the right move. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but if you can be a little deliberate in how you make this transition, it might set you up better for the future. Good luck!

[PhilsPhan4]

Take FMLA leave to get yourself healthy first and foremost, then talk through timelines, scenarios, and options, with friends and mentors.

He hasn’t been there long enough unfortunately.