Any big law litigators switch to plaintiff’s work and happy with the decision? I had a stint in big law and will be finishing up a district court clerkship soon. Looking for a change once I’m finished.

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I did. Best decision I ever made. Plaintiff’s work isn’t for the faint of heart though. The subject matter is far more simple, but the hustle is ten fold and you’re going to have to eat a lot of s*** for a while (realistically). You’ll likely work for people that you think are ten times less smart than you but who make 50 times more than you do. On the plus side, with a big law background you’ll be able to run circles around most ID lawyers (sorry ID folks, that’s just a fact). Find a good plaintiff shop with a good reputation and make your mark as an associate that can close files and you’ll move up fast. I have a couple associates who were trained in big law and eventually saw the light and I bend over backward to make sure they’re happy because they make my life so much easier. Also, if you’re want the big bucks, start trying cases. It’ll be crap cases at first but don’t let that dissuade you. Eventually you’ll find a gem that everyone is undervaluing and if you’re good and you’re prepared, it can be a career changer. Good luck.

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You mean the lawyer I’ll work for are not as smart? I guess it bodes well thought that they can make 50x despite that handicap.

Not sure Litigation Partner in 40-attorney NJ/NY, then NY Partner in prominent 125-attorney CA firm qualifies as “Big Law” but will say enjoyed transition to plaintiff’s firm all the same. If you like fighting for the underdog, despite often being outgunned by Big Law firms with seemingly endless resources, it can be win or loose EXTREMELY gratifying personally and professionally.

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I think of big law as a 900+ lawyer firm. What IS the real definition of big law?

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Because if you’ve gone through the big law grind, you’re likely to be type A af, you’ve probably gone to a decent law school and are likely to be at or near the top of your class which although not a perfect proxy usually means you’re fairly intelligent, you have been bred to over prepare, over analyze, over stress about even the smallest of detail, you can probably write well, you’ve had to deal with insane partners that have had onerous demands on your time and somehow you’ve managed, you’ve likely never seen a depo outline because you’ve had to prepare every single ones you’ve done from scratch (same with discovery requests and responses) etc etc. Remember we’re taking about PI here. It’s not rocket science. I’ll put my money on the above over someone who has had more time taking fact witness depos where half the questions are “and then what happened…” and who likely took the ID job due to a lack of options because judging from the comments here and my general understanding of ID it’s not exactly “the dream.”

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I have 10 associates on my team and I oversee about 400 cases. 8 of those associates are leads on their cases so that’s about 50 lit files per. We have about that same amount of dedicated support staff plus access to all of my firm’s other ancillary staff. That’s very manageable. Class action cases don’t interest me. I’ve done a few in my career and they bore me. They take many years and are a huge gamble of firm resources and most class action partners out there don’t make the money I make (some make way more obvi) and don’t even come close to going to trial as often as I do (I can probably say none do). On a non Covid year I manage 5-8 trials a year on average and it’s a blast. We settle most of our cases but the fun ones are usually the ones to go all the way. Most of the motion work we do is discovery related and the occasional MSJ. Done a handful of appeals but by and large the difficulty of the work is low to medium on an intellectual level but high on an EQ/strategy level. And I pretty much “win” every case because my selection process is pretty fine tuned by now.

I left BigLaw and started a plaintiff side practice with a a friend. More people should consider it - it’s amazing. My life is much better and my practice is much more rewarding (and I make 4x what I did when I left as a fifth year, now 4 years into my plaintiffs practice, with income increasing every year).

However, it is not for everyone. You will have to let go of anxiety and perfectionism in favor of getting things done. The quantity of work plaintiff-side attorneys must perform on a daily basis is way higher than in BigLaw, but a lot of it is routine and not case dispositive, so you have to let go of the entire BigLaw mentality. You also have to be able to objectively look at your practice as a business which is a totally different skill set.

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What state, if you don’t mind me asking! I’m looking into joining a plaintiffs side class action firm but nervous about the salary potential

I did two years in BigLaw, then left to join a plaintiff-side securities class action practice. Best move I ever made. Better work, better work-life balance and I’m a 10X better lawyer because of it.

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AA1: definitely a lower base (most places will be ~$150k - $200k base for associates). In good years, bonuses can bring associates close to BigLaw levels of total comp. Similarly, in good years, equity partners can make more than BigLaw partners (and, in some cases, much more).

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I’ve worked with and spoken with many attorneys who’ve made the switch. Most find plaintiffs work much more rewarding.

Salaries are typically much lower than defense. In Miami/ South Florida you generally see the range between 70-100K however, you make up for it in getting a piece of settlement fees (most firms have some kind of percentage in place between 2-10% but can be higher) and originations (usually 10-30%) for business you bring in. For that reason the plaintiffs side can be much more lucrative than defense.

The downside is that it requires more hustle and grit if you wanna call that a downside.

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If you aren’t 100% sure about the switch and want to test-drive it, consider going to QE. They do tons of different kinds of plaintiff-side stuff and associates are free to pick to do that kind of work.

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Third year associate here. The quality of life at the firm is very dependent on the teams you get on. You will find golks happy with thier teams and plenty that just see toxicity. Both are right. Its a bit of a gamble for what cases and trams you end up on.

Years ago worked at a Plaintiffs firm managed by a former big law partner. His big law instincts were a detriment to the practice, got out of there quick. He would bring his big law shine to even the smallest soft tissue case and act like this set him apart from the other ambulance chasers. By the time a case settled the expenses had eaten away at the client's award. Clients want the best possible result as fast as possible and can't afford for you to treat their fender bender like an antitrust case. Something to think about.

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I suppose if all you have are fender bender cases that’s probably true. I don’t do those. But to be clear I’m not talking about treating every case as one would in big law. I’m talking about having associates who have better judgment all around which also means picking your battles and establishing winning strategies from the get go so you don’t spin your wheels.

Following!

I have two plaintiffs openings. If anyone is PA barred please let me know if you want details. One is a traditional firm and the other mass tort. Kristy@advancedlegalplacement.com

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