Has anyone successfully transitioned from only having an in-house background to a firm, preferably an AM Top 100 firm? For background, I'm a technology contracts counsel for a big 3 financial institution and I had a sub 3.0 GPA in law school and a 2015 graduate. If so, what are things that could do or should I even consider making the switch?

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I had ~5 years at a small/mid-size firm before I went in house 8 years ago. I recently accepted a counsel position in big law. I’m going to work with a firm/practice group that I worked with as outside counsel at my previous company (my current company is not a client of the firm… yet). The firm approached me because they want to be able to offer existing clients more support in a somewhat niche area that is my specialty.

My situation is a bit different than yours because I do have some firm experience, but here’s my advice. Develop good, strong relationships with outside counsel. Demonstrate competency, good communication, organization and knowledge/expertise when you coordinate with them on projects. Connect with professional contacts and engage with them on LinkedIn. Attend conferences and network with firm attorneys. Join an industry association and write articles/present. I think a large part of why my firm/practice group was interested in recruiting me despite not having big law experience in my area was that they know I have solid expertise in my area and, having worked with me in-house they know they can rely on me to represent the firm well to clients.

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Why would you go to a law firm after in-house?

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25% increase in base salary plus bonus, higher 401k match and profit sharing. I had the option of going in as partner or counsel. For me, it was less risky and made more sense to go in as counsel because of the salary and cost of benefits which are not paid for partners (we missed open enrollment for my husband’s company and his company’s healthcare plan/costs aren’t great anyway for our family of 4). I will have the opportunity to pursue partnership if I want to after I settle in.

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Depends, but need more info. How would you answer these boilerplate interview questions? Why do you want to go to a firm? How has your prior experienced made you a good candidate?

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