How does someone break into a new area of law they have no experience in it? I'm almost three years into one area of law that I didn't mean to specialize in. I'd like to transition to the Corporate/In house counsel scene but all these jobs want so much experience and I don't have any in that area. Even trying to get hired in another firm seems impossible because of my lack of experience in the transactional area.

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I just successfully did this after thinking it wasn’t possible at all! Do CLEs in the area you’re interested in and just try to learn up on the subject matter as much as you can through things like webinars, etc. Bar associations have a lot of good resources for networking and finding mentors in different practice areas. There may be other types of certifications you can get, like I switched from corporate to lit and got an e-discovery certification online that I could put on my resume. Mostly I found that emphasizing transferable skills during my interviews and being able to clearly articulate why I wanted to make the switch helped a ton!

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Where did you obtain your e- discovery certification?

I’m in the same boat. 3 years in the same practice area and trying to switch but I’m rarely getting any interviews and when I do, I’m being told that I don’t have any experience. Hope we both figure something out!

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What kind of law do you currently practice?

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I was a staff attorney at a large firm. Two of my friends were able to switch practice areas as staff attorney. They then used that experience to get associate positions in their new practice areas. Both are doing super well.

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Very helpful!!

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