If you’re succeeding on all the right metrics (i.e., leadership loves you, clients love you, you’re participating on pitches, you’ve brought in clients, and you’re set up to inherit a book of business), but you’re still not super into it, being promoted to income partner won’t change things, right? Worth sticking out to see or jumping to go in house at a pre-IPO, late stage startup you find super exciting and interesting?

If you don’t want to be partner, I wouldn’t do it. That said, having the title will help you. So depends how close you are to making it. And also makes a difference what type of economics you’d be giving up by not going to the in-house opportunity.

This was/is me. Those feelings don’t really go away. I stayed and still not super into it, although there are some advantages to being partner. If you’re very close (like it will happen this year), you might as well stay, but definitely keep your eyes open for opportunities.

You never know where life will take you. If something interests you, I say go for it. Maybe this start up flops, but you meet someone and they bring you in as GC to a different start up and it goes 🚀. Or you stay and make partner and stare at the wall all day wondering “what if?” To me, it’s impossible to ever know whether something is 100% the right move. Trust your gut.

Take the startup job. You’ve provided no reason for staying at your job other than the fact that you can make partner.

Start up. Start up. START UP. Being made partner when you clearly don’t want to be will mentally destroy you - people sometimes see it as the goal but (to make the obvious point), it’s just the beginning of N years of more stuff you don’t like (just with more BD now). Will make you die inside - and good late-stage pre-IPOs are (despite the headlines) rarer than you think. Jump ship, write yourself an email explaining your decision (so you can look over it later if you need to) and don’t look back.

Here to say (from personal experience and seeing a few others) you can go back to a law firm after in house in case things don’t work out, especially if you have great relationships at your firm (sounds like you do) and leave on a good note. It’ll set you back in the partnership process for sure but you’ll gain valuable experience and insight from in-house, even if it’s not ultimately for you, that will help you in the long term.

Update: got the offer and I am SO excited I don’t even care about all the money left on the table or the title or the long years put in to get here! Thank you for the advice, all!! 🍾🥂🎉🥳