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Hi there,

Coming off clerkship and hoping to apply to a few positions at main DOJ. I'm definitely not applying to main Justice with the primary objective to jumping to biglaw, but I just wanted to know what to expect in a few years if my wife decides to stop working once we have the second kid.

I've heard good things about the exit options for the Civil Fraud section that does False Claims Act Enforcement and also Antitrust Division. But I assume coming out of a Violent Crime Unit or Narcotics Division isn't necessarily going to be the "golden parachute". Are there any particular units or divisions to keep in mind or maybe stray away from if one thinks biglaw is a possibility in a few years?

Anonymous User wrote:Hi there,

Coming off clerkship and hoping to apply to a few positions at main DOJ. I'm definitely not applying to main Justice with the primary objective to jumping to biglaw, but I just wanted to know what to expect in a few years if my wife decides to stop working once we have the second kid.

I've heard good things about the exit options for the Civil Fraud section that does False Claims Act Enforcement and also Antitrust Division. But I assume coming out of a Violent Crime Unit or Narcotics Division isn't necessarily going to be the "golden parachute". Are there any particular units or divisions to keep in mind or maybe stray away from if one thinks biglaw is a possibility in a few years?

(Answering anonymously because I might want to work for DOJ in the future.)

The best exit options come from either prestige components or from components that work opposite biglaw. Prestige components: OSG, OLC, maybe Civil Appellate. Work opposite biglaw: Antitrust, Asset Forfeiture, Civil Fraud, Criminal Fraud, Environment and Natural Resources Division, National Security Division, and perhaps a few others.

Anonymous User wrote:The best exit options come from either prestige components or from components that work opposite biglaw. Prestige components: OSG, OLC, maybe Civil Appellate. Work opposite biglaw: Antitrust, Asset Forfeiture, Civil Fraud, Criminal Fraud, Environment and Natural Resources Division, National Security Division, and perhaps a few others.

Generally agreed, but not sure how easy it would be to jump from Nat'l Sec to BigLaw. Natural Resources may or may not translate, depending on the type of experience gained. Civil Fraud and Antitrust are probably the best for BigLaw exits. Cybersecurity probably works well too.

Agree that violent crime/narcotics is probably the least translatable as BigLaw simply doesn't do that kind of work (outside of pro bono).

I'd also caution that "prestige components" may not translate into an easy BigLaw exit as a junior. Sure, if you climb the ranks at Civil Appellate, that's one thing; but as a second/third-year I'm less sure. "Prestige components" are prestigious because people like the work there, and/or want to use that as experience for a future foray into academia or high-impact PI. It's less directly applicable to most BigLaw work (excepting, of course, ex-SCOTUS clerks in the OSG/OLC who seek to join a BigLaw SCOTUS practice after a few years).

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Hi there,

Coming off clerkship and hoping to apply to a few positions at main DOJ. I'm definitely not applying to main Justice with the primary objective to jumping to biglaw, but I just wanted to know what to expect in a few years if my wife decides to stop working once we have the second kid.

I've heard good things about the exit options for the Civil Fraud section that does False Claims Act Enforcement and also Antitrust Division. But I assume coming out of a Violent Crime Unit or Narcotics Division isn't necessarily going to be the "golden parachute". Are there any particular units or divisions to keep in mind or maybe stray away from if one thinks biglaw is a possibility in a few years?

(Answering anonymously because I might want to work for DOJ in the future.)

The best exit options come from either prestige components or from components that work opposite biglaw. Prestige components: OSG, OLC, maybe Civil Appellate. Work opposite biglaw: Antitrust, Asset Forfeiture, Civil Fraud, Criminal Fraud, Environment and Natural Resources Division, National Security Division, and perhaps a few others.

Civil Appellate is beyond prestigious, bro.

To what extent does emerging from a "prestigious" DOJ unit to do BigLaw or other more competitive work hinge on actually rising in seniority within DOJ?

lionelhutz123 wrote:To what extent does emerging from a "prestigious" DOJ unit to do BigLaw or other more competitive work hinge on actually rising in seniority within DOJ?

Depends on whether you're using the DOJ stint as a signalling mechanism (duration doesn't matter) or for the substantive experience (duration/seniority is huge). For example, doing Antitrust so you can be an antitrust counsel in NYC later is the latter.

But if entering private practice again is primarily achieved through the latter option, what is the point of the first scenario?

can someone please rank the prestige of the various DOJ sections?

It depends on your goals. Prestige doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

nixy wrote:It depends on your goals. Prestige doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

if i want to be in white collar or investigations long term