Hi! 2019 grad and started working in-house at a large org. Learning a lot, my area is finance and corporate. Curious to know if there are any folks here who moved to a big law firm from an in-house position (very early on in their career). Was it easy? Did you like it? Very happy in my current position - I def have great work life balance, but feel need more than that. Thanks in advance.

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In house jobs are hard to get. Don’t give it up.

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+1. Read all the posts about BigLaw attorneys looking for tips on how to best position themselves for in-house positions. Unless you’re not able to make the rent, take heed and enjoy your lawn. The grass really isn’t greener on the other side of that fence.

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I ran from big law to in house. Instead of thinking about moving, just talk to your classmates who are in big law. Are they happy making big money but getting no sleep? Being on call at all times?? Working most weekends? Worrying about billing?

After a few conversations, I think you’ll stop wondering if you need “more” 😂.

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I went straight in-house after grad. Being in-house is THE BEST if you enjoy working closely with the business, love contracts (I do LOL), hate billables, and you are resourceful and efficient. And enjoy taking PTO with zero guilt.

The only problem is that when you're looking for a job or applying to ANYTHING, you get questions about how well trained you are because they don't see a firm on your resume. Everyone says straight in-house is the "dream" yet look down on it when you're looking for a job. If you want to be "marketable" over the long run, as much as I HATE to admit it, getting a firm job for a couple of years will close off those questions about how "well trained" you are. IMHO, it's not about being "well-trained" it's being trained differently than what the has historically been considered "proper" lawyer training, but I digress.

As a result, if you decide to go to a firm, just know you will almost certainly have to take a seniority cut. Given you're a year out, it's probably not a huge deal to go into a firm as a first year. This becomes less palatable the more experience you gain in-house. I've been told by partners at different firms who I am friendly with that as a 5th year, I would have to go in as a 2nd year. Like, sorry, I'm not going to go from leading multi-million dollar deals and hiring outside counsel to being at the bottom of the hierarchy and doing doc review. Or worse, being paid less to do the same work as 5th year and higher associates.

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These are some great thoughts - appreciate it!

Agree! Very few happy lawyers out there—in or out house. Learn as much as you can. If you go to a firm, you’ll be a better lawyer because you understand what it’s like in the inside. Sign up for an ACC membership and look for a mentor and take advantage of the training and volunteer opportunities.

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Agree with everyone above. As someone at a biglaw firm in finance, the ONLY real positive is the money, and for the first couple of years for me even that didn’t feel like enough to keep me going. Okay fine, you’re also around some (but only some) actually smart and interesting people and there’s some small amount of prestige involved (if you care about that at all - it is of course all bullshit when it comes down to it). I don’t know a single classmate at my firm (in a starting class of nearly 100) that does not regularly consider moving on to something else because this job sucks. Not a single one. Even the partners who are candid with associates are honest about the fact that the job sucks and their friends who are doing other things are happier. We’re in law because it’s decent money for zero (or low) business risk.

All of this is true even though I am, at least anecdotally, at one of the more relaxed and hospitable firms.

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To be a contrarian, the people most likely to be active on this app are people who are unhappy, so it’s not exactly a true sample size. That’s just natural. If you’re content with your work and focused on other things, you’re just naturally going to spend your time elsewhere.

I work in technology transactions and I have a couple team members who came from in house. I think it depends on your preferences and work style.

Personally I’ve spent time in-house and it’s not for me. Prefer big law, at least for now.

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Interesting perspective! Thanks a lot.

I also started in house right out of law school (I interned with the company first). After 4 years I wasn’t seeing the pay increases I expected and I was a bit worried my lack of law firm experience would hinder my ability to get another in house job.

Fortunately for me, that wasn’t the case. I had a recruiter from a large company reach out to me and I was hired without any questions about no law firm experience. This resulted in a 40,000 dollar pay increase and a better job title. After a year there, I realized I preferred the smaller, start up scene and was offered a fully remote position for another software company and that resulted in another significant pay increase and more responsibilities.

I am happy here now but I am not too concerned about not having law firm experience anymore. Even during this pandemic I have had at least two or three recruiters reach out to interview me.

The point is, if you enjoy in house, which I do, consider sticking it out and it is very likely you will be marketable, especially after a few more years and you may end up somewhere that you really love.

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