Absolutely hate my first job out of law school as a prosecutor. The system is a mess, it’s in an impoverished, unsafe area, and they charge me 20$ a day to park which is essentially a second car payment. How long do I have to stay here before I can start applying to other jobs? Had bad grades in law school on account of my fiancé dying during 2L (life is fudging hard) so didn’t have many choices outside of prosecution. I do not want to do public defense.

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If you do not want to do prosecution, start applying now. You should not stay in a job just because you think that you need to have a certain length of time there. Length of a position is less important when you want to pivot to a different field. You will be able to explain away your short time here by saying that you realized that you wanted to pursue x type of law instead. Make bold choices now. Life is too short to do something that you hate!

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I started out of law school at a firm representing lenders and drafting loan documents. I stayed there even though I hated it because I thought that was what I was supposed to do. Three years before changing jobs is what I had in my head. I pivoted to representing homeowners associations and wish I had made the move sooner! Do not get stuck. Apply to anything and everything that is interesting and pivot early. You know this isn’t the right fit for you. You do not need 2 1/2 more years there to solidify that. Start applying now!

smart

That sucks, hoping someone can give you some helpful advice. From my perspective, it’s never a bad time to try using a recruiter. They shop you on a no names basis so you’re not exactly losing anything by testing the market

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First and foremost—sorry and hugs. I’ve seen a lot of ppl in your position transfer those skills to PL’s work. Think, first party property, auto accidents, etc.

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Network hard! Apply for AUSA positions (especially in odd places). This would be a good reset for you. Watch out for ID recruiters - unless you are interested in ID.

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Just FYI, an explanation for low grades will go a really long way, so don’t let them stop you from pursuing a role you like. People will be understanding and if not, then that’s a red flag for that employer anyways. We don’t control when life throws shit at us and I can’t imagine anything harder than what you went through.

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Where are you located?

What law school?

You could pivot to biglaw white collar, depending on the answers to the above.

Folks usually say a year is the magic number, but if you really want to pivot to private litigation I think you may benefit from having more time doing what prosecutors are highly valued for in private practice, i.e., lots and lots more courtroom experience.

Southern New York (near NYC), New York Law School

The DA office I’m at keeps you on misdemeanors for two years, which rarely ever go to trial. Biglaw would probably want considerable trial experience with felonies, wouldn’t it? And it looks like they’re either placing me into general misdemeanors or domestic violence misdemeanors, which means no white collar prosecution for at least quite a while. So I’d be stuck here until then, unless I’m misunderstanding something?

Even if you love your job always keep your ear to the ground for new opportunities (especially ones that pay more). Start now! I know plenty of first years who bounced after a few months at their first job and it’s typically understandable.

Take care of yourself first (mentally/spiritually). I lasted 6 months as a Deputy PD. Put in my 2 weeks notice, then started applying. I explained to employers (which may be your case) that I tried the PD position, realized it was not for me, but gained litigation skills that are transferrable to civil practice (I recommend looking for litigation positions). If you went to court daily, then you probably have more real litigation experience than a lot of first year associates, which I found to be helpful in civil practice. Most first year associates I know have never even walked into a courtroom, let alone appeared before a judge. You’ve learned valuable skills that can transition to civil lit. Take care of yourself first. Best of luck to you.

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