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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I just did this move - biglaw senior associate to gov't - about 7 months ago. I left bc I wasn't going to make partner and didn't have too much of a choice and I needed to move cities and get to DC for life reasons. I'm at one of the "great" agencies that's hard to get into and to be honest -- I am really unhappy and wanting to go back to any kind of firm.

Despite this being such a hard to get into agency that's so "high level," I find the people to be unmotivated and they only care about work life balance -- i.e. working as little as possible; I haven't met one person yet that I think is amazing at their job (though they are nice). So for me -- I am biding my time and thankful for my paycheck and the stability as I figure out whether I need to make a move to mid/small law or if I can get in house or whatever bc the thought of doing this for 10 yrs or life or whatever is too much to take.

So consider whether you are someone who needs/wants challenge and super smart people bc you may not get that.[/quote]

Also -- how much do you like (or dislike) client service? Bc obviously in the gov't, you are no longer in a client service business and sometimes it hits later if you miss it.[/quote]

Which agency? I am at a govt agency and moved in from biglaw about 2.5 years ago. I initially found it boring and thought my workload was not enough. I am very efficient and was fast even at my old NY law firm, so my ability to get work done well was way beyond my colleagues. I constantly entertained the idea of going back to biglaw, and I missed client interaction, group work, meetings, etc.

Now almost 2.5 years in, I have proven myself, so I get A LOT of challenging, high profile work. I also have a kid and so I appreciate the lighter workload. I can't imagine going back to a firm. I still look at in house positions but with the flexibility of a govt job (telework, being able to leave and pick up my sick kid at daycare if needed without any pushback, etc.) I can't give it up!

Of course there will be pros and cons, but considering both home and work, I have no regrets![/quote]

SEC. I can't get over how "average" the people are. I know DCUM will jump down my throat -- I'm not saying they're stupid; most have good school pedigrees, good firms etc. and then they came to the gov't and decided that work only matters up until 5pm (or 3 pm but not on a telework day). It's stunning that it was hard to get into this agency -- but I know it is bc I am now seeing how many resumes are coming in for ONE spot that we're hiring for. 3 more decades of this makes me want to cry.[/quote]

Another SEC attorney here. I knew what agency before you even said it. I felt exactly the way you did when I got there, but seriously, look at it as an opportunity. If you are smart, hard charging, and willing to work hard you can distinguish yourself and move up and around to more challenging positions with more impressive colleagues. All parts of the SEC are not equal. There are pockets where very smart people are doing high level work. It can take some effort to find them, but they're there. [/quote]

PP here - care to vaguely mention which pockets are better than others? I assume enforcement (not a litigator) but others? For the posters saying it takes a yr to get out of firm mindset - maybe you're right. I'm trying not to be reactionary with this because I know it was hard to get in the door, and I came in looking at this for the medium or long term - not necessarily a lifer but not thinking about it as a 2 yr stint either. Maybe it'll click at the one yr mark but honestly I think at the one yr mark I may give myself "permission" to get a job search going to see if I can get back to the private sector.[/quote]

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