Reply to Salary question -- fed lawyer transitioining to law firm

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Think I'm clueless all you want - I'm comfortable in my position and know plenty about biglaw. My entire point is that there are plenty of counsel types who can be kicked to the curb and if/when  the firm has to make that decision a persons govt experience and a firm's ability to market that experience is going to be a factor. I'm sorry you spent a decade there and it didn't work out. I'd be bitter too. [/quote]

Law firm partner here. This is the thing you're not quite getting -- all that matters is the ability to monetize your experience. You can have the most experience of any attorney to have ever come over from the government, but if your firm can't turn that into profit for some reason (clients don't value that kind of expertise, attorney doesn't adjust well to big law life, attorney doesn't have the personality to win clients, etc.), the experience is worthless and you're out the door. The same goes for associates. Both paths have pros and cons. You may have greater trial experience or greater expertise in a particular regulatory area, but an associate who has spent the same number of years working for law firm clients will likely have a better understanding of law firm clients, how a particular matter relates to their broader business strategy, their sensitivities when it comes to billing, etc. (if they don't, that's probably the fault of the partners they've been working with). Just as you will start learning what it's like to work for private clients rather than the government once you move into private practice, an associate will continue to develop the types of experience and expertise that you developed working for the government as he/she progresses. Neither is really better, just different.[/quote]

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