I got fired from big law as an 8th year in early 2025. My reviews were good until the final one where they said I wasn’t meeting expectations.

I spent last year searching for in house roles (that I lost to more qualified people) or other firm roles (came up empty while I had website time and couldn’t get interviews when I was off the site).

Anyway, my only option is a small regional firm in a secondary market.

I feel like my career is over, has anyone been here?

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Your career is not over. The job market is weird right now. Reach out to your friends and networks and let them know you’re looking for a change.

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You are obviously a really talented and resilient attorney if you made it 8 years in big law! Sounds like a horrible firm.

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I don’t have any worthwhile advice, but I’m sorry this happened to you. This is a really tough market to be in.

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What area of the US are you in and what area of law do you practice in? I would look at AmLaw 100-200 firms. You can still make good money at a lot of those firms, and culturally, many of them are much more pleasant and forgiving.

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It sounds like you were at an up or out firm. Its very common at year 8 of big law to make partner or lose your job. It’s happened to my husband and its a sh*tty model for sure. Certainly doesn’t mean your career is over

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A1 thats amazing!!

Think of your first job post-Big Law and/or post-break as a “transition job.” It can be a temporary job you do for 1-2 years before you move on to in-house or other law firm work.

Some goals for this transition job can be to get you back into the workforce, build specialized skills for a move in-house, and build your networks.

If you don’t want to move or otherwise don’t like this job, consider holding out a bit longer for another role, if you can afford it.

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Also don’t forget - you’re a walking business! You can do contract work, hang a shingle, consult as in house to lead toward landing the job. You’ve got this!

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Any federal govt jobs available? I feel like those are good jobs to transition from (unless it’s DHS right now)

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Thank you so much for the idea, the states are doing really good work in my area of practice!

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I would use this time to recover first from your shock. The termination is clearly PTSD. Talk to a specialist. This would make you feel better. I know you want to jump to the next gig right away. Mark my words. You will find the next opportunity sooner than later.

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Very common. Do what you need to.

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