Am I nuts to move to big law after government?

[Anonymous]

I'm a career government attorney that's moved up the ranks about as far as I can go (next level of supervisors are locked in for at least the next 10 plus years) in a relatively niche area, and got several inquiries from headhunters confirming my sense that now would be a good time to jump to big law if I were ever going to do it. I'm very comfortable in my current government position and stayed in my position for work-life balance, but now that my child is getting older and more self-sufficient, I thinking it may not be a bad time to focus on my career, especially since I don't want to be a "lifer" government attorney and stuck in a rut doing what I'm doing for the next 20 years. I do have prospects for business development that I think I could work on but having never done it before, am apprehensive of leaving the cocoon and failing miserably after being counsel for 2 years and then being shown the doors. Am I nuts to be contemplating this move?

[Anonymous]

Yes.

[Anonymous]

No risk, no reward. But yes, you will zero job security and sent packing if the firm needs to downsize. Then you'll be begging for the fed job back. It's tough, though. The ses job jobs at my agency are filled by folks who will be in them for 35 more years. Being a 15/10 is getting old.

[Anonymous]

This is not a knock, but most attorneys (govt. or firms) are awful at business development. The firms will hire you hoping you can bring new business. In about 3 years they will likely let you go.

Regardless, you will never make partner. As firm life is horrible except for partner compensation I would tend to avoid.

Perhaps you can stay in government and use your evenings and weekends for some entrepreneurial endeavor.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Bat shit crazy.

[Anonymous]

A much better bet is to go in-house somewhere. Corporate or trade association. The money isn't as good as Biglaw, but you will probably enjoy a weekend at home, a vacation here and there, you will see your spouse (which may or may not be a good thing), you won't be expected to generate business, you will work with less uptight people who believe that they are the end-all-be-all pf everything . . . you know, have a life.

[Anonymous]

I'd make the move in a heartbeat. Of course I'm a rare one that went from biglaw to gov't and HATES it. Yeah there are downsides to biglaw -- instability, hours etc. BUT at least the people are smart and hard working and not just counting down to their pension and worried about their telework week.

[Anonymous]

What would you be lateraling in as? Are you expected to bring in business? If so don't do it

[Anonymous]

Have you ever done biglaw? If not, I wouldn't. It's one thing to hear what it's like, it's another to do it and if you haven't and have been in the gov't for 10-20 yrs, it will be a ROUGH day to day adjustment on top of bringing in business.

Do you want to go to a firm bc you want out of the gov't or are you just flattered that a biglaw firm wants you? If you want to go to a firm, have you considered midlaw or boutique? Same concept but they pay less so the pressures are different.

[Anonymous]

Have you been in the government your whole career?

[Anonymous]

You're insane.

Is the money worth the long hours to you?

It wouldn't be for me. If I were you, I would use the extra time to work on myself - i.e. learn a new hobby, take cooking classes, go to the gym, etc.

[Anonymous]

For a month you should practice tracking your time in 6 minute increments (and see if you have at least 160 hours of actual work).

[Anonymous]

What's so wrong with doing this? Don't know where OP is salary wise, but say he's at 160k now. As counsel in biglaw, he'd make double that (likely more but conservative 2x). Even if it only lasts for 2 yrs, don't you walk away with a few hundred thousand in hand? Say the worse happens -- you're unemployed after 2 yrs at counsel and then it take you 18 months to find another gig -- you still walk away net positive from the money you made at counsel.

Gov't lawyers are a bit too conservative.

[Anonymous]

Remember that roughly half of what you make past $200K is taken by the IRS, so you don't take home the same % of $400K that you do of $160K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's so wrong with doing this? Don't know where OP is salary wise, but say he's at 160k now. As counsel in biglaw, he'd make double that (likely more but conservative 2x). Even if it only lasts for 2 yrs, don't you walk away with a few hundred thousand in hand? Say the worse happens -- you're unemployed after 2 yrs at counsel and then it take you 18 months to find another gig -- you still walk away net positive from the money you made at counsel.

Gov't lawyers are a bit too conservative.

Good points. And yes, they are very risk averse.