Introducing Self to Partner in Different Practice Group Forum

[Anonymous User]

Recent lateral, hired into a transactional group and am only a few months into the new job. Work in the transactional group is fine, but I have been considering reaching out to a Partner in the Cybersecurity group to introduce myself, express my interest in that type of work, and offer myself as a source of extra help if needed. Not asking to switch groups or even really expressly asking for an assignment, just looking to extend an introduction.

For more context, however, I am very interested in the Privacy/Cybersecurity space. I have multiple CIPP certifications and a significant academic interest in the area. I think I would also be happy practicing in Privacy - it's honestly the only type of work in Biglaw that I would be 100% honest in saying I'm interested in substantively. I think my long term goal/hope would be to achieve at least some sort of hybrid practice, where I'm doing some cybersecurity/privacy work along with transactional work.

That said, the hiring environment for laterals into Privacy was not good at all - there were really no openings, so I ended up going the more conventional transactional route. I don't really want to give up on still breaking into Privacy work, but also don't want to show poor form to my new firm by seeming like I'm trying to switch out of the transactional group right after starting or something.

Any advice on navigating? Drop for awhile and introduce myself later? Open to all suggestions, just brainstorming.

[Anonatty]

I will let the experts weigh in on your questions, but is the BigLaw lateral market for privacy associates slow?

As a non-privacy attorney, my impression is that privacy/cybersecurity is just the opposite, given the number of companies that have privacy lawyers on staff & presumably are funneling the work to outside counsel. I had thought BigLaw privacy is always hiring (?) but maybe not.

[Anonymous User]

I will let the experts weigh in on your questions, but is the BigLaw lateral market for privacy associates slow?

As a non-privacy attorney, my impression is that privacy/cybersecurity is just the opposite, given the number of companies that have privacy lawyers on staff & presumably are funneling the work to outside counsel. I had thought BigLaw privacy is always hiring (?) but maybe not.

Demand is high for associates nationally but, at least in my market, they were looking for relatively senior (5-7 years) with at least 3-4 years of dedicated privacy experience. I'm more junior than that, so had a hard time breaking into the practice. There are also comparatively few spots in those groups (in my market), at least compared in raw volume to the marquee practice groups. Also not in the west coast, which likely makes a difference.

[Anonatty]

I will let the experts weigh in on your questions, but is the BigLaw lateral market for privacy associates slow?

As a non-privacy attorney, my impression is that privacy/cybersecurity is just the opposite, given the number of companies that have privacy lawyers on staff & presumably are funneling the work to outside counsel. I had thought BigLaw privacy is always hiring (?) but maybe not.

Demand is high for associates nationally but, at least in my market, they were looking for relatively senior (5-7 years) with at least 3-4 years of dedicated privacy experience. I'm more junior than that, so had a hard time breaking into the practice. There are also comparatively few spots in those groups (in my market), at least compared in raw volume to the marquee practice groups. Also not in the west coast, which likely makes a difference.

Got it, thanks for explaining -- that makes sense.

[Anonymous User]

I'm also a junior in the corporate group and I sent a cold email to the head of the privacy group expressing my interest in privacy deal work. We met and spoke and she was excited I was interested. Took a few weeks but the senior associate in the privacy group ended up reaching out to me and asked if I was still interested and staffed me on some deals to do the privacy specialist work. I, like you, am planning on staying in the transactional practice but unlike you, would prefer to do M&A work mostly with a little spattering of privacy work because I definitely do not want to do privacy work full-time.

[Anonymous User]

I'm also a junior in the corporate group and I sent a cold email to the head of the privacy group expressing my interest in privacy deal work. We met and spoke and she was excited I was interested. Took a few weeks but the senior associate in the privacy group ended up reaching out to me and asked if I was still interested and staffed me on some deals to do the privacy specialist work. I, like you, am planning on staying in the transactional practice but unlike you, would prefer to do M&A work mostly with a little spattering of privacy work because I definitely do not want to do privacy work full-time.

(OP here) Nice! This is a very helpful data point, thank you.

Any reasons in particular on your reluctance to pursue full-time privacy work? I've enjoyed the privacy work I've done, but it was always in the context of another case (i.e., bankruptcy cases, tech transaction deals, etc.).

[Anonymous User]

I'm also a junior in the corporate group and I sent a cold email to the head of the privacy group expressing my interest in privacy deal work. We met and spoke and she was excited I was interested. Took a few weeks but the senior associate in the privacy group ended up reaching out to me and asked if I was still interested and staffed me on some deals to do the privacy specialist work. I, like you, am planning on staying in the transactional practice but unlike you, would prefer to do M&A work mostly with a little spattering of privacy work because I definitely do not want to do privacy work full-time.

(OP here) Nice! This is a very helpful data point, thank you.

Any reasons in particular on your reluctance to pursue full-time privacy work? I've enjoyed the privacy work I've done, but it was always in the context of another case (i.e., bankruptcy cases, tech transaction deals, etc.).

I think I just like M&A work more, to be honest. I like the unpredictability and variety of it, the fact that it's usually a marathon and not a sprint, and I work with some really great people. With the privacy deal work, it's usually a sprint, the world of types of assignments is much smaller as a privacy deal specialist (literally just a diligence memo and the purchase agreement), and this team is okay but not as super on top it as our M&A teams. My goal is to do 70% general M&A and 30% privacy deal work - definitely do not want to do breach responses or compliance.