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Litigation Skills for Exit
Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2020 12:39 am
by Anonymous User
What sort of skills or specialties should a person accrue if he’s a litigator interested in eventually going in-house? I know opportunities are few and far between, but are there any highly-desirable skill sets that might help?
Re: Litigation Skills for Exit
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:01 pm
by johndhi
Times when you are exposed to and interact with in-house attorneys, and more importantly, in-house colleagues in other departments like finance (damages models), marketing, PR, etc., so you can reliably say you enjoy cross-functional work and being exposed to different parts of the business.
Re: Litigation Skills for Exit
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2021 6:10 pm
by 1styearlateral
Litigators often spend a great deal of their time solving problems (pre-litigation) for their clients. I often explain to business folks that I am a professional problem solver as opposed to legal counsel as most things that get to you are pre-litigation matters or have no legal implications at all (you will be surprised how often you are tapped by other verticals for your "sage experience"... business people generally feel comfortable talking things over with counsel and getting the proverbial "thumb's up" even if no legal advice is being procured). The key here is that you have counseled enough clients with disputes to be an effective business partner at the all-hands conference and deal tables.
Re: Litigation Skills for Exit
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2021 6:20 pm
by Barrred
Get as much direct contact with the in-house lawyers on your matters as possible, for two reasons: (1) so that you have a good understanding of what it takes to manage litigation from the in-house perspective (and can talk the talk in an interview), and (2) because that is one of the easiest way to get hired as an in-house litigator (i.e., the client knows/likes you, so when an in-house litigation role comes up, you are their first choice).
Re: Litigation Skills for Exit
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2021 7:27 pm
by Elston Gunn
Employment litigators definitely have the best in-house options. Patent/IP also seem to have solid in-house marketability.
Re: Litigation Skills for Exit
Posted: Fri May 14, 2021 1:29 pm
by hugerez
Elston Gunn wrote: ↑Thu Jan 07, 2021 7:27 pm
Employment litigators definitely have the best in-house options. Patent/IP also seem to have solid in-house marketability.
As a biglaw midlevel employment litigator in California, this has not been the case. Been applying since December for inhouse exit options with nothing to show for.
Re: Litigation Skills for Exit
Posted: Fri May 14, 2021 6:11 pm
by 1styearlateral
Elston Gunn wrote: ↑Thu Jan 07, 2021 7:27 pm
Employment litigators definitely have the best in-house options. Patent/IP also seem to have solid in-house marketability.
I'd agree with this. It seems like most L&E attorneys have a good mix of experience in both transactional and litigation. And most L&E in-house roles I've seen posted require experience with wage and hour litigation, noncompetes, etc.