I’m a mid level associate (5th year) at an AmLaw50 firm in the Bay Area and my practice is mainly White Collar Investigations and Securities Litigation. Over the last 2 years, I’ve grown tired of the type of work I do and have been strongly considering retooling to a transactional/corporate practice such as EC/VC or fund formation, but am unsure whether it would be a bad move or how to even go about doing it. I understand that retooling as a 5th year is uncommon, would come with an associate year/salary hit, and not the easiest thing to sell a big law firm on. However, I want to retool to corporate for the following reasons:
(1.) I feel like my work doesn’t matter. Because there is such an extreme power disparity in DOJ/SEC investigations, it feels like fighting a losing battle which is very unsatisfying. The cases drag on for 3+ years and the typical end result is the client/company is fined millions. I have gotten very cynical about what the actual point is of what I do. I believe by retooling and working on funding/closing deals, I’d get a sense of accomplishment from my work if/when those were completed.
(2). The cases I have worked on tend to have very large teams spread across multiple offices (sometimes countries). I feel not only geographically siloed but also within teams, where many of the major decisions, meetings, etc. happen at the very senior (usually partner) level. This causes me to feel out of the loop on what is actually happening and disconnected from the team. I can count on one hand the number of matters where I have had direct client interaction. By retooling, I would (ideally) get much more client interaction and work on smaller teams.
(3.) I want to learn something new and set myself up for better in-house opportunities. I think part of my frustration with my current role is the feeling that I’m not improving as an attorney or learning new skills, so retooling would give me the chance to start over and learn a lot. In addition, having a corporate/transactional background offers so many more in-house opportunities, which is my ultimate goal.
TL;DR I’m looking to retool from litigation to corporate as a 5th year and looking for neutral, disinterested advice on what you think the pros/cons are or whether you think it’s a good/terrible idea.
Thanks!
Need Advice on Retooling from Lit to Corp Forum
(Advantages vs Disadvantages, Big Law, Work-Life Balance, Hiring Practices, Company Culture, Hours and Compensation, Private Sector Firm Reviews & Experiences)
-
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Tue Jan 31, 2023 5:32 pm
Need Advice on Retooling from Lit to Corp
Post by Slippinjimmy2317 » Tue Jan 31, 2023 6:07 pm
Return to “Big Law/Private Practice Jobs”
Jump to
- Law School Admissions
- ↳ Law School Admissions Forum
- ↳ Law School Personal Statements
- ↳ LSAT Prep and Discussion Forum
- ↳ Law School Acceptances, Denials, and Waitlists
- ↳ Law School Visits
- ↳ Choosing a Law School
- ↳ What are my chances?
- ↳ Financial Aid
- ↳ Ask a Law Student / Graduate
- ↳ Transfers
- Law School
- ↳ Forum for Law School Students
- ↳ Ask a Law Student
- ↳ Non-US Law Schools Forum
- ↳ Bar Exam Prep and Discussion Forum
- ↳ Law School Courses
- Law School Class Forums
- ↳ TLS Class of 2025 Forum
- ↳ TLS Class of 2024 Forum
- ↳ TLS Class of 2023 Forum
- ↳ TLS Class of 2022 Forum
- ↳ TLS Class of 2021 Forum
- ↳ TLS Class of 2020 Forum
- ↳ TLS Class of 2019 Forum
- ↳ TLS Class of 2018 Forum
- ↳ TLS Class of 2017 Forum
- ↳ TLS Class of 2016 Forum
- Legal Employment/Careers
- ↳ Legal Employment
- ↳ Judicial Clerkships
- ↳ OCI
- ↳ In-House
- ↳ Small & Midsized Firms
- ↳ 1st Year and 2nd Year Summer
- ↳ Big Law/Private Practice Jobs
- ↳ Public Interest & Government
- ↳ Alternative Careers
- ↳ Lateral Moves
- ↳ Interview Tips
- ↳ Resume Tips
- Underrepresented Lawyers and Students
- ↳ Black Lawyers and Law Students
- ↳ Hispanic and Latino Lawyers and Law Students
- ↳ Asian Lawyers and Law Students
- ↳ American Indian Lawyers and Law Students
- ↳ Women Lawyers and Law Students
- ↳ LGBTQ+ Lawyers and Law Students
- ↳ Disabled Lawyers and Law Students
- ↳ First Generation Lawyers and Law Students
- ↳ Veteran Lawyers and Law Students
- ↳ Single Parent Lawyers and Law Students
- ↳ Underrepresented Law Students
- Legal Practice
- ↳ Forum for Law School Graduates Only
- ↳ Discussion of Practice Areas
- ↳ Legal News/Law Firm Gossip
- ↳ Firm Q&A by Region
- Legal Advice
- ↳ Free Help and Advice from Professionals
- Off-Topic
- ↳ Buy - Exchange - Giveaway - Sell
- ↳ TLS Content Competitions
- ↳ Other forums not on the main forum index page
- ↳ TLS Class of 2015 Forum
- ↳ TLS Class of 2014 Forum
- ↳ TLS Class of 2013 Forum
- ↳ TLS Class of 2012 Forum
- ↳ TLS Class of 2011 Forum
- ↳ TLS wiki forum
- ↳ TLS Web Logs (Blogs)