Anonymous
07/05/2024 20:44
Subject: Law school at age 40 to get a government or in-house counsel job?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:No, a 200k salary is not realistic in government straight out of law school. Have him look at a GS scale.
He has, and GS-15 is close to that salary, but it sounds like it would not be realistic to get there within a couple of years?
That is not typical, no. You can always find somebody who says they were hired as a 15 or made 15 really fast, but for most people it is a 5+ year ladder from entry to GS-15 step 1 (which is not $200k). And from there, you can move up the step ladder somewhat fast at the beginning but the wait between higher steps is longer.
Important note: only if the position itself allows advancement to 15. not all lawyer positions do.
Anonymous
07/05/2024 20:43
Subject: Law school at age 40 to get a government or in-house counsel job?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:No, a 200k salary is not realistic in government straight out of law school. Have him look at a GS scale.
He has, and GS-15 is close to that salary, but it sounds like it would not be realistic to get there within a couple of years?
very unrealistic. If he had contacts in agencies that could get him in at that level, then it is possible to go in as some assistant deputy vice executive extra special bureaucrat that is a GS 15. But. aside from that? Very unlikely to happen.
The reason is most non supervisory law positions are capped at 14. So, even if he got "credit" for his per-government work (Which is by no means a guarantee), he would end up being a 14. so 200K wouldn't happen within a few years.
Anonymous
07/05/2024 20:43
Subject: Re:Law school at age 40 to get a government or in-house counsel job?
Anonymous wrote:It really doesn’t seem like a good idea at his age. Maybe get a non-lawyer job at the SEC or FINRA? I’m sure they would love to have him with that experience.
He's been searching for several months, and there is virtually nothing for people with investments experience (vs. corporate finance/accounting). Just one specific office at the DFC, but even that one has a lot of travel, so seems intense...and he has applied for several jobs there with no results.
SEC hires lawyers and economists, not niche PE guys. He hasn't been able to find anything in finance at 40-45 hours/week, even at a much lower salary.
It feels really hard to be trapped at age 37. He's so unhappy and all he wants to do is to work normal hours so he can spend time with the kids and have a life.
Anonymous
07/05/2024 20:41
Subject: Law school at age 40 to get a government or in-house counsel job?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:No, a 200k salary is not realistic in government straight out of law school. Have him look at a GS scale.
He has, and GS-15 is close to that salary, but it sounds like it would not be realistic to get there within a couple of years?
That is not typical, no. You can always find somebody who says they were hired as a 15 or made 15 really fast, but for most people it is a 5+ year ladder from entry to GS-15 step 1 (which is not $200k). And from there, you can move up the step ladder somewhat fast at the beginning but the wait between higher steps is longer.
Anonymous
07/05/2024 20:41
Subject: Law school at age 40 to get a government or in-house counsel job?
Anonymous wrote:What are the job prospects for someone graduating the law school at University of Maryland at age 40 and looking to get into government or in-house legal work? Prior experience is all in PE/hedge fund. Do you have to basically start over? Is a 200k salary working 40 hours/week realistic?
DH really wants to make this switch because he can't find a 40 hour/week job in investing (government, nonprofit, or private sector), and his heart isn't in finance anymore, and he's always been interested in doing legal work. He worked closely with lawyers on the legal aspects of deals and feels like legal work is a good fit for him. We do not have a ton of savings, I'm in a low paid field, but we wouldn't go into debt for this degree. I want to be supportive but just not sure if he will be able to get the kind of job he wants.
So, your husband has been working at hedge funds for years, but your family has minimal savings? Seems like you and your husband should examine your life choices.
Anonymous
07/05/2024 20:40
Subject: Law school at age 40 to get a government or in-house counsel job?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:No, a 200k salary is not realistic in government straight out of law school. Have him look at a GS scale.
He has, and GS-15 is close to that salary, but it sounds like it would not be realistic to get there within a couple of years?
The only way to get a Federal job straight out of law school is through an honors program, and those are competitive at every agency. Even then, he'll start as a GS11, step 1.
There's also no reason to think that a federal job is easily in reach for a UMD grad. To have a decent chance, he needs to finish in the top 10 to 25% of his class (and guess what, everyone attending plans to do that).
The most realistic outcome is a local prosecutors office or a small firm. He needs to be OK with that to consider attending.
Anonymous
07/05/2024 20:35
Subject: Law school at age 40 to get a government or in-house counsel job?
Anonymous wrote:No, a 200k salary is not realistic in government straight out of law school. Have him look at a GS scale.
He has, and GS-15 is close to that salary, but it sounds like it would not be realistic to get there within a couple of years?
Anonymous
07/05/2024 20:26
Subject: Law school at age 40 to get a government or in-house counsel job?
$200k+/yr, 40 hour week, low stress job is the unicorn of Law.
Anonymous
07/05/2024 20:25
Subject: Law school at age 40 to get a government or in-house counsel job?
Anonymous wrote:No, a 200k salary is not realistic in government straight out of law school. Have him look at a GS scale.
+1
And that's if you're lucky enough to get into the govt Honors program which can be both selective and random.
In-house jobs are almost always for experienced attorneys bringing expertise in that field.
Long story short, it's basically starting over and $200k is not realistic.
Anonymous
07/05/2024 20:24
Subject: Law school at age 40 to get a government or in-house counsel job?
The onnly Federal government jobs paying $200+ are financial regulators. They're generally pickier than any law firm, and it will be an uphill battle from UMD, even at the top of the class. In house in financial services is just as snobby, and will hire associates from their big law firms.
Anonymous
07/05/2024 20:21
Subject: Law school at age 40 to get a government or in-house counsel job?
No, a 200k salary is not realistic in government straight out of law school. Have him look at a GS scale.
Anonymous
07/05/2024 20:18
Subject: Re:Law school at age 40 to get a government or in-house counsel job?
It really doesn’t seem like a good idea at his age. Maybe get a non-lawyer job at the SEC or FINRA? I’m sure they would love to have him with that experience.
Anonymous
07/05/2024 19:46
Subject: Law school at age 40 to get a government or in-house counsel job?
Why not go to government or government contracting as a non lawyer? Could be a policy person as the finregs, or retrain pretty quickly as a contracting officer or project manager.
Even if law school was free, he's out 3 years of earning and yes, will have to start over. Many agencies don't hire new lawyers, they expect then to train elsewhere for a few years.
Even if law school was free, he's out 3 years of earning and yes, will have to start over. Many agencies don't hire new lawyers, they expect then to train elsewhere for a few years.
Anonymous
07/05/2024 19:43
Subject: Law school at age 40 to get a government or in-house counsel job?
well, fiirst where did he do undergrad and what was his GPA? Then comes the LSAT which most students spend a year or more prepping for. Some use coaching services Only when you have the high GPA and LSAT do you start the application process. Carey school of Law ranks 40. It's 75/50/25 percentiles for GPA and LSAT are available online. Then three years of stress and endless reading. Summers are spent as a summer associate but only ifyou are in a top law school and have a high GPA/Law Review status. Only then comes job applications. It's going to be a long, long road and is very expensive with no let-up and no job guarantees
Anonymous
07/05/2024 19:15
Subject: Law school at age 40 to get a government or in-house counsel job?
What are the job prospects for someone graduating the law school at University of Maryland at age 40 and looking to get into government or in-house legal work? Prior experience is all in PE/hedge fund. Do you have to basically start over? Is a 200k salary working 40 hours/week realistic?
DH really wants to make this switch because he can't find a 40 hour/week job in investing (government, nonprofit, or private sector), and his heart isn't in finance anymore, and he's always been interested in doing legal work. He worked closely with lawyers on the legal aspects of deals and feels like legal work is a good fit for him. We do not have a ton of savings, I'm in a low paid field, but we wouldn't go into debt for this degree. I want to be supportive but just not sure if he will be able to get the kind of job he wants.
DH really wants to make this switch because he can't find a 40 hour/week job in investing (government, nonprofit, or private sector), and his heart isn't in finance anymore, and he's always been interested in doing legal work. He worked closely with lawyers on the legal aspects of deals and feels like legal work is a good fit for him. We do not have a ton of savings, I'm in a low paid field, but we wouldn't go into debt for this degree. I want to be supportive but just not sure if he will be able to get the kind of job he wants.