Non-law options post-clerkships? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Vance, Thiel, et al have me thinking about my future a bit. Soon to embark on a flyover DC + COA clerkship in the South, and definitely don't want to go back to biglaw, but also don't have the stomach to be a prosecutor and hate the drone feeling of being a cog in an office. HYS, some amount of finance experience pre-law school, year at a firm in lit. Would be particularly interested in VC (took a lot of VC/tech law focused classes in law school but went for the gold star instead of what I'm interested in). Is there a path to pivot at all, or do I need to go back for an MBA/try and launch my own startup/etc?

[Anonymous User]

I feel like the answer is to exploit your network and clerking years to find a role that makes sense. The ease of finding a role that’s worthwhile will depend on far too many factors than makes sense to list out, but I have been offered so many (legal/non legal)jobs at school hosted networking events or otherwise been introduced to alums/people who have been very responsive.

In a sentence, use your imagination. There is no clear path but you’re smart and credentialed so if anyone can make this path, it’s you. But don’t be afraid to be disappointed/ if a law job makes more sense after a search. You’ve got two years of experiences ahead that will offer more perspective into what lawyering has to offer, so I’d try to remain open to all outcomes.

[Anonymous User]

I feel like the answer is to exploit your network and clerking years to find a role that makes sense. The ease of finding a role that’s worthwhile will depend on far too many factors than makes sense, but I have been offered so many (legal/non legal)jobs at school hosted networking events or otherwise been introduced to alums/people who have been very responsive.

In a sentence, use your imagination. There is no clear path but you’re smart and credentialed so if anyone can make this path, it’s you. But don’t be afraid to be disappointed/ if a law job makes more sense after a search. You’ve got two years of experiences ahead that will offer more perspective into what lawyering has to offer, so I’d try to remain open to all outcomes.

That seems about right from my reading--it seems like there's a lot of opportunity out there, just not very much in the way of structure to go for it. It's what you make of it, I suppose.

[Anonymous User]

Whatever you do don't get an MBA to try and pivot. You have the credentials necessary to get anything an MBA can get you, and it is going to be hard to get into an top 7 school with just one year of corporate work + two clerkships.

Imo what you're asking to do is doable but it is not one of those things that have a set path in the same way I can very easily tell someone how to do appellate work at a V10. So my only advice here is to go for it.

[Anonymous User]

Whatever you do don't get an MBA to try and pivot. You have the credentials necessary to get anything an MBA can get you, and it is going to be hard to get into an top 7 school with just one year of corporate work + two clerkships.

Imo what you're asking to do is doable but it is not one of those things that have a set path in the same way I can very easily tell someone how to do appellate work at a V10. So my only advice here is to go for it.

That’s good to hear, the last thing I wanted was more school lmao

[Anonymous User]

Without getting too specific, I got some internship exposure on Wall Street and one of the top guys I knew in HF/PE was an HLS grad with no business school experience. It certainly can be done. That said, I think the traditional path of 2 years IB then PE/HF is still pretty prevalent unless you have specialized knowledge in a particular field.
Obviously what everyone else said about connections is true – that's the easiest path to make it to that world.

[Anonymous User]

Litigation finance would seemingly be an option here if that's of interest to you, I know a couple of people with your precise resume who ended up going that route