Big Fed to Big Law Junior - Advice Needed Forum

[bleach13]

Looking for some first-hand experience or generalized insight on the following situation:

I managed to land a spot in a good but niche fed agency right out of law school. 3 years in so I am a GS-14 in a major market so pay is approx. ~140k. Absolute 10/10 work life balance with 30-40 hours a week and no weekends. However, I am worried staying in this position for much longer makes me unmarketable to big-law... came from a T14 with meh-grades but a good enough interviewer and personable (hence the current position).

Is the door closing on big-law? or is that transition doable? Love the current job, but the lack of salary growth is frustrating (i.e., gs14 maxes at ~170k and I have ~70k in school + consumer loans left that I would love to wipe out ASAP). I would be fine with "lateraling" in to a big law firm as a 2nd year or something instead of going in based on my class year as a 4th year but did not know if this is a common option (as I doubt big law wants to pay a lateral gov't lawyer a 4th/5th year salary when they really don't have the big law skillset).

Thoughts? Do I just suck it up and ride off into the sunset as a happy gov't lawyer or push for the transition into big law for the pay/future career exits? Thanks!

[BansheeScream]

Probably depends on long term goals. Also depends on what agency you're at and how marketable that is to a big law firm. My firm regularly hired career FDA/SEC attorneys as counsel and then eventually partner. They were generally in leadership roles at those agencies but it always struck me as a much easier/more enjoyable path to partnership than working your way through the ranks as an associate.

If you want to be a partner/in house, big law firm early on for a bit could be good. If you're a litigator, clerking could also be an easy way to bridge the gap between government service and a firm early on. Some judges look to fill last minute spots or for attorneys with work experience. You're at an advantage because you could leaver whenever to clerk and you should be a JS-14 or JS-13 at least so you wouldn't be taking a ridiculous pay cut.

[Anonymous User]

Probably depends on how niche and if the experience is useful for biglaw.

[Anonymous User]

I'm an AUSA so I don't really get your financial worry, for starters. The TSP, and the pension, and promised income growth, still leave you concerned?

That aside and just accepting your goal on face value, if you're working 30-40 hour weeks, and you have no trial or appellate skills, why would you be valuable to any law firm? It sounds to me like you at least need to become an AUSA so you can gain marketable skills that all AUSAs tend to have. The universe runs on trade-offs though. Being a trial lawyer means taking on a lot of responsibility and no more 30 hour weeks, unless you exercise the government's excellent vacation benefits of course.

[Anonymous User]

I'm an AUSA so I don't really get your financial worry, for starters. The TSP, and the pension, and promised income growth, still leave you concerned?

That aside and just accepting your goal on face value, if you're working 30-40 hour weeks, and you have no trial or appellate skills, why would you be valuable to any law firm? It sounds to me like you at least need to become an AUSA so you can gain marketable skills that all AUSAs tend to have. The universe runs on trade-offs though. Being a trial lawyer means taking on a lot of responsibility and no more 30 hour weeks, unless you exercise the government's excellent vacation benefits of course.

You don't need to do litigation to be valuable to biglaw. Regulatory work in a federal agency can also be extremely valuable to a firm's clients, maybe even more valuable depending on the practice area.

For OP, I think the answer depends on your agency and the kind of work you do. If you work on something with a lot of private sector value like financial regulation (doubt it since then you wouldn't be on the GS scale) or antitrust, then you can go over to biglaw any time in your career. If you are able to get management roles in the agency you may be able to go over as counsel with a short partner track or directly as partner. If you work in something with less private sector relevance, then yes, your opportunity to go to biglaw may be fading, but you should think hard about whether that's something you want anyway. Many people from your class are going to be leaving biglaw and looking for exactly the kind of role you are in now due to the poor quality of life.

[Anonymous User]

Looking for some first-hand experience or generalized insight on the following situation:

I managed to land a spot in a good but niche fed agency right out of law school. 3 years in so I am a GS-14 in a major market so pay is approx. ~140k. Absolute 10/10 work life balance with 30-40 hours a week and no weekends. However, I am worried staying in this position for much longer makes me unmarketable to big-law... came from a T14 with meh-grades but a good enough interviewer and personable (hence the current position).

Is the door closing on big-law? or is that transition doable? Love the current job, but the lack of salary growth is frustrating (i.e., gs14 maxes at ~170k and I have ~70k in school + consumer loans left that I would love to wipe out ASAP). I would be fine with "lateraling" in to a big law firm as a 2nd year or something instead of going in based on my class year as a 4th year but did not know if this is a common option (as I doubt big law wants to pay a lateral gov't lawyer a 4th/5th year salary when they really don't have the big law skillset).

Thoughts? Do I just suck it up and ride off into the sunset as a happy gov't lawyer or push for the transition into big law for the pay/future career exits? Thanks!

I served for several years in a state regulatory financial services position in a major market and lateraled to a big law firm. I essentially networked my way in - I reached out to all of my contacts and told them I was interested in transitioning and asked if they knew of any positions. Someone connected me to a partner at my current firm and they ended up hiring me even though they weren't really looking for someone at the time.

I was given two years off my actual class year to come in, which I accepted because it was still significantly more than I was making at my agency. I do wish I negotiated for one class year reduction instead, because while I don't have all of the skills of the equivalent class year, I have many skills that they do not and my firm has used my background to bring in some clients.

I'm glad I did it because my future options have been significantly expanded.