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This is one of the most frustrating things about big law, I think. Exit opportunities are touted as being incredible, but it’s very hit and miss depending on practice, your client base, and the market. It IS often this difficult to break into the in-house market, and it’s not uncommon for folks to sort of “age out” of entry in-house hiring without finding something, particularly junior non-equity partners. You’re not only dealing with a massive salary disparity that makes folks worry you’re a flight risk - knowing a candidate is taking a massive salary cut is definitely a factor in hiring decisions at a lot of places - but also that you’re competing with folks from the entire legal market (mid law, government, etc.) with much lower comp expectations.
Making it even harder, big law is not (despite what biglaw says) the greatest training for most in-house jobs. It’s excellent experience, of course, but it’s usually pretty niche and is a very different job that most in-house roles. So, folks with in-house experience are usually more attractive candidates. This is particularly true right around the senior associate level when you’re really starting to compete with other candidates that jumped in-house at 3-4 YOE and now have several years of directly relevant experience.
I’d keep applying and interviewing and really focus on networking with your clients and friends that have gone in-house. If you have any clients you really enjoy, see if they’ll talk to you about making the jump and potentially start leveraging their network for your benefit.
Hard to swallow but not the end of the world. No one likes having their ego busted - I certainly didn’t - but you can now start looking at the legal market a bit more objectively and figure out a path forward. Look at where others who have left your group and competitor groups have gone for ideas.
M&A seems kinda dead right now (at least in my industry) due to massive uncertainty. We laid off 2 M&A lawyers at the end of 2025. Can you position yourself as having broader experience (either swinging toward commercial or governance)?
Which industry? Manufacturing?
Not in M&A and only a mid-level, but I did apply to close to 100 positions to get about 15 interviews, and only less than half of those converted to later rounds, and still no offer yet. It's definitely at least partially a numbers game.
Just an idea: have you optimized your resume to make it past the ATS? You should be getting interviews. In tech M&A appears to have slowed down for the moment, so if you are applying there that could contribute.
I will look into that, thank you. And no, not just limited to tech.
how senior are you? hate to say, i’ve been applying for years on end, and when i crossed the 9th year threshold…had places begging me to apply and multiple offers
7th year M&A biglaw associate
Pro
Can you not have somebody who is already in-house to refer you?
My clients are almost exclusively PE, and I am looking to go in house at a strategic rather than a fund
Pro
Not to diminish your accomplishments in any way, but the firms you worked at and the school you went to aren't always as important in-house. Previous in-house experience is the number one factor. So you're up against everyone with experience, even if they have fewer YOE in law.
Pro
Apply broadly, ignore YOE requirements in job posts, apply for more junior and senior roles, network like crazy, make sure your LinkedIn is fully updated with skills and details and open to hiring for recruiters with ideal job titles (not open to work), set up job alerts on Google jobs, use AI like Claude to make your resume match job descriptions better.
Check job postings frequently and apply as soon as possible after the job is posted. Many in-house roles get hundreds of applicants and it’s more likely your resume will get reviewed if you apply early.
See if you can get a referral from someone working at the company you are applying at. Now that I’m in house, I see how many positions are filled by people referred by other people that they have previously worked with or have a connection with.
To be honest i probably wouldn’t refer someone that reached out on LinkedIn tha I didn’t already know. Can you think about your extended social and professional networks? Also you can attend conferences for your practice area or bar association events to network. I got my first and only in house job through a referral from a former colleague that I worked with years ago. He didn’t work at the company but was working with the company and knew that they were hiring for my specialization and had been having trouble filling the role. So maybe it’s worth just reconnecting with former colleagues to see if they have any leads.
Ive applied to over 1000 companies, 125+ interviews...
I received 1 official offer from Robert half that landed me a 5 month temp contract specialist in-house job. That contract ended December 2024. Since then, I’ve received 2 verbal offers from CEOs at legal tech startups that failed to convert due to lack of funding.
f
May I ask why you don’t want to go to PE fund?