Leave federal gov't for law firm?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Better pay, access to mentorship and more aggressive cases. You will learn a lot in big law which you can transfer back to govt.

IF you can get back in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:maybe you can switch to HR role, then it's likely easy to move between agencies

What??? If she’s in DOJ, she should be able to stay a lawyer and move to a section/division that fits her needs better

[Anonymous]

Switch to another Fed position that allows hybrid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Better pay, access to mentorship and more aggressive cases. You will learn a lot in big law which you can transfer back to govt.

Lol. Sure, there's better pay in big law, but that's it. There's plenty of good mentorship at DOJ and other agencies, and what in the world is 'more aggressive cases' supposed to mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current job: great gig at DOJ, true 40 hour weeks (rarely ever nights/weekends), but full-time in-person requirement, which means I'm gone 10+ hours everyday.

Job offer: $75k more in base salary (although health insurance will be much more expensive), 1560 billable target ("part-time" BigLaw), mostly remote, great flexibility other than the unpredictable swings of litigation (so definitely a give and take with the flexibility), the group partner has been vetted as a great guy to work for.

Which would you do? #1 priority is maximizing time with kids.

If you want more pay, then go to the firm. Otherwise, find a government position that better fits your needs. A financial regulator enforcement position would get you better pay and fewer in office hours (not easy to get, but worth trying).

If you want to advance in big law, you'll need to work hard and you'll need to travel for witness interviews, depositions, negotiations, hearings, trials, etc. Work life balance will be worse than what you're used to now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d be surprised if you didn’t regret leaving government. There is no private that gives you more time with your kids than government. And, if you haven’t been a litigator before, it’s always unpredictable and screws with your personal life. And there is never flexibility when you’re a trial lawyer. You will be expected to be there regular business hours, work more than 40 hours a week and be accessible to clients after hours. There’s a reason that people jump to government.

I loved law firm work but within six months of my first kid, I knew I had to leave if I wanted time with my kid and I jumped to government for that true 40’hour a week job.

Listen to this person, OP. I haven't lived it but I've seen it firsthand. Your work-life balance would be a nightmare.

However, it doesn't have to be government forever. There is likely a middle ground where you could be in-house for a private sector company but not a Big Law firm.

[Anonymous]

There is no such thing as part time in litigation. They may be telling you you’ll be part time at 1500-1600 hrs but let’s be real when a TRO lands on your desk or an expedited discovery schedule requiring your team to get dozens of depos done all over the country in a month or some ridiculous emergency brief needs to be out the door in 2 days - do you genuinely believe you can peace out bc you’re part time? And hold onto your job come the next review cycle (bc I’m assuming you’re going in as an associate or counsel not an equity partner w a book that’d provide you job security). I wouldn’t do it. I say this as someone who did it and loved it - but time with kids wasn’t an issue for me back then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no such thing as part time in litigation. They may be telling you you’ll be part time at 1500-1600 hrs but let’s be real when a TRO lands on your desk or an expedited discovery schedule requiring your team to get dozens of depos done all over the country in a month or some ridiculous emergency brief needs to be out the door in 2 days - do you genuinely believe you can peace out bc you’re part time? And hold onto your job come the next review cycle (bc I’m assuming you’re going in as an associate or counsel not an equity partner w a book that’d provide you job security). I wouldn’t do it. I say this as someone who did it and loved it - but time with kids wasn’t an issue for me back then.

+1 I wouldn’t do this unless I was at least doubling my comp. Not worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where in DOJ has a full-time in person requirement? Rhetorical, not expecting an answer, but I know a lot of people in different divisions and the most I’ve heard of is 3 days a week.

Not OP, but I think some divisions like National Security are full-time in person. They never really even teleworked during the height of the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no such thing as part time in litigation. They may be telling you you’ll be part time at 1500-1600 hrs but let’s be real when a TRO lands on your desk or an expedited discovery schedule requiring your team to get dozens of depos done all over the country in a month or some ridiculous emergency brief needs to be out the door in 2 days - do you genuinely believe you can peace out bc you’re part time? And hold onto your job come the next review cycle (bc I’m assuming you’re going in as an associate or counsel not an equity partner w a book that’d provide you job security). I wouldn’t do it. I say this as someone who did it and loved it - but time with kids wasn’t an issue for me back then.

+1 I wouldn’t do this unless I was at least doubling my comp. Not worth it.

+2. This is exactly why I left biglaw for government and I am hardly alone. This is not a good move if you want to see your kids more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to find an attorney job in a different agency with a different in-office requirement.

+1 this would be my rec. Lot of agencies are 1 day a week in-office.

I would usually say $75k is not enough to leave a govt job (I am a former fed atty who made move) but 5 days in office is brutal with kids. You would probably have more time and flexibility outside the govt than in that job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At the law firm, you should be aware of the fact that you have no job security. You are vulnerable to a downturn in the economy, a decision to start outsourcing your work, or a decision that you must either go for partner or get out. Do not expect a part time litigation support gig to last. What's your plan for your next gig?

This. The guy you have vetted might be great but he may have no control over firm expectations. If there is a down turn a part time associate would be the first to go. They will keep associates that are big revenue generators, not you. Firms are also changing hybrid work rules and pushing for more in office time. I would not leave DOJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current job: great gig at DOJ, true 40 hour weeks (rarely ever nights/weekends), but full-time in-person requirement, which means I'm gone 10+ hours everyday.

Job offer: $75k more in base salary (although health insurance will be much more expensive), 1560 billable target ("part-time" BigLaw), mostly remote, great flexibility other than the unpredictable swings of litigation (so definitely a give and take with the flexibility), the group partner has been vetted as a great guy to work for.

Which would you do? #1 priority is maximizing time with kids.

No way

[Anonymous]

If you do a law firm, don't do part time. There's no such thing in a law firm when you're litigating. Everyone I know who has done it says that they ended up working full time hours but got paid less.

[Anonymous]

I left govt for a part time law firm (v10) job 5 years ago. I do get more time with my kids bc there is no 8.5hr butt in seat requirement plus commute during rush hour. But I have less time to myself bc I make up for it after bedtime, etc. agree your offer is too low.