From firm to in-house and back to firm Forum

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Mr. Jones

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From firm to in-house and back to firm

Post by Mr. Jones » Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:21 pm

Every few years I post up on here. I spent my first years at a firm, then went in-house for about 5 years, and now I am back at the firm I started with. Practice areas are architect-engineering professional liability, construction, and some general liability work.

Fire away with any questions on the transitions, differences in life, etc.

SowhatsNU

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Re: From firm to in-house and back to firm

Post by SowhatsNU » Tue Nov 30, 2021 7:45 am

Thanks for this! A few from me:

- Was money the only material motivator? Or was there some other consideration as well that made you decide to go back?

-Seeing this play out firsthand (and understanding there are inevitably some personal considerations here too that can’t be measured) what do you think would be the most common reasons/ rationales of going back to the firm that would ensure 1) long-term ‘happiness’/satisfaction and 2) regret and misery?

- How did you deal with the assumption (and is/was it accurate) that you wouldn’t be developing (while in house) at the same rate as that of your peers at your firm?

- How long were you originally at the firm (you only said “my first years”)? Also seems like your work area was pretty niche - would this be doable for everyone in your opinion?

Mr. Jones

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Re: From firm to in-house and back to firm

Post by Mr. Jones » Sat Jan 01, 2022 2:42 am

Money was part of it. In house, unless you eventually leave your legal role there's a ceiling and whether you can break through it, in part, depends on the culture of the company. At a decent sized firm, there's politics but there's also meritocracy. Do you do good work, train associates, and have clients? I also missed litigating. It was hard to sit on the sidelines sometimes and I never cared that much for transactional work which is a lot of what I was doing.

I think most people I know who went back to a firm, which is only a handful, mostly did so because they were either forced (e.g. lost job in buyout) or genuinely missed litigating. You've got to be going to the right firm though. When you're junior, firm life is all billables. When you're older, firm life can be more eat what you kill. When I was younger, I didn't think that model was for me. As I got older, I realized maybe I would like it.

It's true. I had a big learning curve going back to the firm, mostly on the litigation side. Even now, I'm not always sure what motions need declarations, I don't know the discovery timelines by heart, etc. But I realized most people are figuring it out to. Work cookie cutter car accidents and you'll get cookie cutter cases. Work more broadly and a lot of your job is finding good strategies. When I was in house, I was always active writing articles, presenting at conferences, and would make sure to take some depos every now and again. So, I had a resume of sorts that I could sell. I also did some pro bono court work to show that my advocacy skills were still sharp. Being in house teaches you a lot though, especially of you end up practicing in the area that you were in house out. Litigators, and even transactional lawyers, only see small parts of their clients business. Understanding how legal decisions affect morale, insurance premiums, etc all come from in house. Here's an example, tons of lawyers got the "Can we mandate the covid vaccine" and the answer was yes from firm lawyers. In house lawyers, or ones that can draw.on.similar.experience, say yes then follow up with "how many people will quit" "is there a way we can soften it?"

I was at my firm for 2.5 years the first go around. I'm in a completely different practice area now. I think anyone can transition back and forth. I just poached an in house lawyer. I think 7 years ago it was a different story, now I think it's becoming more common. But my best advice for any in house lawyer contemplating a return, stay sharp. Write. Present. Take a few depos on your cases. It will pay dividends.

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