Stay or join Boutique? Forum

[Crazysnackaroo]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently at a PI org doing somewhat high end lit - think ACLU FL type place. Money's decent, low six figures (like 110k) and I enjoy the work. I had to move back to my hometown - let's say ACLU FL is out of Miami, and I had to move back to Jacksonville for personal reasons. ACLU is going to let me continue working remotely, but they've docked my pay slightly and I've noticed that I'm getting less work and not being given as much of the interesting stuff from the get-go and am instead relegated to more auxiliary roles and brief editing. After a couple months back in Jacksonville, I got called up out of the blue by a friend at one of the top boutique firms there - think of them as a copy/off-brand Susman ("CS"). I applied to work for CS when first coming out of law school but didn't get the nod - ended up going to a firm like HK for a year, then to clerk, then to the feds and now my current gig. My mentor and friend are at CS and I've always really thought highly of them. They made me an offer and I'm seriously considering it. The salary is lower than I had anticipated (around 150k), but my mentor and friend both assure me that bonuses are significant. The billable req is 1600 hours. Idk what I put in now, but I'd guess I likely put in around 1200-1300 billable hours of work right now and have a lot of flexibility - CS would require butt in seat most days. CS though is thought of as the firm in Jacksonville. And the partners - including my mentor - make exceptional money, are top attorneys, and I'd just enjoy working with them. I'm still a newish attorney (think around 5 years out).

I'm heavily leaning toward making the jump back to private for CS, but wanted to know other folks' thoughts. Anyone else transition from govt/public interest to private practice. I also have a young family - so I want more money for us but also don't want to be gone too long, ha. I can't say I'm looking forward to less flexibility and charging .1 again, but the money, plus the work, the firm itself, and not hitting a ceiling (because I do feel at my org I've hit a ceiling, and I'm in even more trouble since I'm remote now) has me seriously considering making the leap.