Did anyone once do insurance defense but has moved on to something else? I’ve been practicing ID since I graduated about five years ago and really dislike it. The billing (2150 hours per year for a five-figure salary), the tedium of the work itself, nasty plaintiff’s attorneys, etc. Whenever I do get an interview at a firm that does something else, it never works out, seemingly due to a lack of experience in the other field. Could really use some insight and tips on breaking out of the ID world.

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This question gets asked about once a week. Go in the search bar and search “ID” and you’ll get lots of answers.

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I transitioned out of ID. It’s a difficult process but there are a few things to consider:

1. What type of ID are you currently doing?

If you’re doing slip and falls, WC, MVA’s or other low-brow, high volume work, your path is going to be a little more difficult. If this is where you are, the best thing to do is to move to another ID shop where you get better experience. For example, med mal, L&E, and coverage are all more respected and open more doors.

2. Where do you want to go?

BigLaw will be the most difficult transition, but far from impossible. Other avenues: smaller firms or government will be a bit better. Try to figure out what you want to do and target that area.

3. Leverage your experience.

You’ve been at it for 5 years. So you likely have handled a ton of depos, court hearings, and maybe some trials. This is the experience you need to focus on. Be prepared to talk about novel issues you’ve briefed and complex cases you’ve worked on (without breaking confidentiality, of course).

4. Networking.

It’s cliche, but it’s the biggest reason I’m not in ID. I leveraged every contact I had from law school and people I trusted in the community. If you come recommended, they’re far less likely to care that you came from ID.

likehelpful

It depends on what you’re currently working on. I transitioned out of ID by taking a jd preferred role in government contracts because the company liked that I worked on construction issues while I was working ID. Was it a step back in the sense of giving up my title? Sure. But it paid better and I worked 9-5. Then I jumped to an associate counsel position with a specialization in consumer contracts. I now make 2x my ID salary, work 8-5 and am permanently remote. Sometimes it takes looking at alternate avenues!

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Following this. I just started in ID but can see myself wanting out in 3-5 years.

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2150 for less than six figures continues to blow my mind. How is there even a market for this? Every attorney on the planet should uniformly rebuke that BS and not take a job like that. Firms will have to reach into profits and pay more if they want attorneys to churn out those bills.

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I work in local government and only have two more years of experience than OP and make 90k without any billable hours and only work 40 hour weeks. I also have a partial pension and great health care.

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You’d make a lot more money and not have billables by working for an insurance carrier directly. Maybe look into house counsel positions; many of them are remote as well

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I started in ID and transitioned to product device work. I really love what I’m doing now and felt like the transition was not that difficult.

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I did auto insurance defense and then used that to springboard into a larger mid law firm with a big auto product practice. I was able to use my insurance defense background to heavily market myself by being someone that could immediately take depos, attend hearings, write motions, etc. Products work in my experience is very fast-paced like insurance defense, so I’ve found products practice groups to be highly interested in insurance defense associates because you’re used to handling a lot of moving parts at once, having direct client contact, lots of litigation/advocacy experience, etc. I hope that helps!

I did standard ID and construction defects ID. Used my construction experience to lateral to a regional
mid size firm in construction making twice my ID salary and with more opportunity for growth.

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