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Hi Bofa, s
BOFA will give bonus to employees??
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Hi Bofa, s
BOFA will give bonus to employees??
Rising Star
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Enthusiast
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Talk to partners in the litigation group. I started doing some work for another group and after a few months asked to transfer
I did this, but it took a while. I had been doing work for the group I wanted to switch to for about 2 years (and it was about 50% of my workload) before I talked to anyone about switching. And it took another year and a half to make it official. I started by talking to partners in the group I wanted to switch to, because you definitely want to make sure you have their buy in first.
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This! Make contacts in the dept. Start doing billable work for them and boom, one day you have switched :)
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I'd suggest doing both at the same time (asking to switch internally AND look to lateral). I did exactly this, and I know things take time and opportunities are never predictable.
Also this. I got to a point where I was fully prepared to walk and find somewhere else that would allow me to do the work I wanted to if my firm couldn’t make the switch happen.
As a cautionary tale, I did this last year as a first year and because it took time to ramp up initially as a first year, then ramp down to change practice groups, then ramp up to litigation (which takes time) my hours were lower than most. Everyone told me not to worry about it, but lo and behold I was a part of my firm’s layoffs this year. All worked out and I was able to switch firms, but it really sucked because I liked the firm and it’s never fun to get fired. If I were doing it again, I’d probably try to lateral right away OR wait to get through your first review cycle. Don’t mess around with your ability to bill, especially with a deepening recession.
How long have you been practicing?
Totally understandable to have anxiety, but switching groups one year in is not uncommon—it would be much tougher if you realized you wanted to switch years later. If you like the firm you’re at, it’s worth asking even though that’s a tough/awkward conversation to start. Lateraling introduces lots of risks (you don’t know what you don’t know), and the market is not great right now. I’d encourage you to discuss with any senior people at the firm you know who could guide you on the best way to approach.