Best Path to Federal Work (Firm or PI?) Forum

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skND4000

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Best Path to Federal Work (Firm or PI?)

Post by skND4000 » Tue Dec 29, 2020 5:28 pm

I am currently clerking for a federal district court judge, went to a top 25 law school and graduated (this May) in the top few people of my class. I would love to end up at DOJ or another federal agency that does enforcement work (EEOC, CFPB, DOL etc.) or even potentially in a USAO. I got an interview with the DOJ Honors Program (Civil Rights) but didn’t ultimately get an offer.

All of my experiences in law school have been focused towards public service, especially government (local gov’t, federal agency, nonprofit) as that’s what what I wanted to do after graduating. Because that’s been my focus, I’ve never looked into firms before. Now that I am realizing that many firms hire post-clerkship, I am starting to wonder if doing a few years at a reputable firm after my clerkship would help me more in getting a federal job that I want than a few years in public interest fellowships or entry level positions.

I’m just trying to get a sense of what path is going to be most helpful for my career and was curious if anyone had any insight. (Also- I am well aware that the work/life balance and salary are drastically different between PI fellowships and big law- I am more just wondering about which would open more doors for the career I want).

objctnyrhnr

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Re: Best Path to Federal Work (Firm or PI?)

Post by objctnyrhnr » Tue Dec 29, 2020 6:34 pm

I was in a similar position as you seem to be. First, congrats on the solid creds. Rest assured you are in good shape no matter what you choose.

Post fedclerkship, I pursued only what I had been aiming for all along before I lucked into (it’s always lucky if it’s A3 regardless of credentials) my fedclerkship. I won’t go into specifics but just say it’s equivalent to what you are looking at for the purpose of my providing experience-based advice.

I did that for a few years and then, after some intensive “informational interview” networking and extensive research, I realized a v50 or whatever firm was pretty much a necessary resume stamp and the logical next step for me. I tried to lateral for the better part of a year. And this is important—it was extremely difficult despite my strong network, good interviewing skills, and resume including fedclerkship. Suffice it to say it was much harder than I thought it would be. Primary reason is that no matter how good your PI/Fedgov creds are, your resume will always get some skeptical looks if you’re trying to lateral to big law as a mid without any big law experience...maybe there are some exceptions (solicitor general fellow, former scotus clerk, etc.) but not many.

I landed a v30 (give or take) biglaw fig and went right in as a mid level associate. Was drinking from the fire hose and very stressed initially due to the new environment and working with people who had been there throughout, but I got my sea legs within six months to a year.

Anyway I’m very happy with where I am at and I think going back to PI/Fedgov will be doable if and when I am ready. However, I could have saved myself so much stress if I had gone to a firm FIRST.

Based on my experience, that’s what I recommend you do. The stamp of 2-3 years at v50 will take you further than you can quite realize right now...and maybe more importantly it’ll be way easier to do this now than it will be in 5-10 years. It’s worth putting your PI aspirations on hold for just a bit longer, IMO.

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howell

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Re: Best Path to Federal Work (Firm or PI?)

Post by howell » Wed Dec 30, 2020 12:13 pm

One thing to consider is which agencies you really prefer. That could affect what kind of firm work would be most helpful. Working at a major L&E firm would provide an advantage getting into the EEOC or DOL, but most likely not the CFPB. If it were me, I would focus on firms that would allow me to gain experience to get into one of the higher-paying agencies (CFPB, SEC, etc.). But you may balance certain types of work differently than I do.

Another thing to consider is starting pay at agencies. Some will do their best to match your pay, while others will not. My path was JAG -> major L&E firm -> regional counsel office for an agency. Before going to the firm, I got an offer for a similar job at a federal agency as a GS-13, Step 1. When leaving the firm a year later, the new agency did its best to match my law firm pay, and I started at GS-14, Step 10. That was a $50k difference for me.

If you can get into a dream agency straight out of the clerkship, that's great. But a few years at a firm would be worth it, especially if it's in the area you'd like to be working in. It's also not something you can easily go back and do anytime soon.

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