I’m in big law and on the cusp of making the jump to in-house. It sounds like the company I just interviewed with is getting ready to make me an offer. It’s definitely going to be a pay cut coming from big law but I do get some nice equity in the company. Is the jump worth it? I’m so burnt out by big law and this seems like an awesome opportunity to help shape a newish company. Any tips on how to figure out if this is the right move for me?

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Just moved in-house at a start-up and it’s an entirely different world and I love it because I love handling risk and chaos. Read all the books for In House Counsel stuff. It’s a big change going from speaking with lawyers regularly to speaking with no -lawyers. We really do think differently.

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Really helpful - thanks!

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Just finished my first month in house after big law and it’s the best change I ever made. I’m mind blown day to day by how much better life has become.

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A2 - I’d say, depending on the structure of the company, get ready to work hand in hand with business/BD. Half my job now consists of interfacing with them internally during deals.

LC1 - coming from big law, I make sure to be as pleasant as I can go the big law counterparts working on the other side. I let them know of realistic timelines/not artificial ones. I think they appreciate it.

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I really enjoyed working with an early stage public company when I first made the transition. I felt good about their products and it made a big difference to me. It was a medical device company.

I would consider how much the pay cut will affect you and whether (if this happens) liking the company and being excited about shaping it will make up for the pay cut if the hours come close to big law. I understand this may not be an issue, but I’ve had in house positions that border on big law hours.

I have had friends/colleagues who went back to a firm and brought the company as a client, so that’s certainly a win win if you do not feel like you want to stay indefinitely. Not a enough coffee yet, so I apologize for lack of eloquence.

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You know what you’re doing! An outside counsel is always a big help! Congrats!

Big things to consider are:

Will the quality of life actually be different (that’s company to company and role to role dependent).

Is the company publicly traded or immediate plans to go public? (Will impact the likelihood of if the equity will have realized value)

You mentioned they found you which is great but it likely means you haven’t fully explored a move so you only have this datapoint to gauge in-house interest and comp offerings.

All that being said, doing a bit of due diligence would help answer those questions and make you feel more confident in the move. Lastly, like A1 going back to big law is always an option especially if you are going back with a new big client.

Best of luck in your decision!

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They did find me but I have been looking around and my LinkedIn is set to alert recruiters that I’m open for a move. I’m definitely talking to industry experts about the company though!

SLR with some great advice here. I wouldn’t believe whatever a private company tells me about their “plans to go public” or their perceived value. Write all that off and just figure out if they (1) are net profitable or close to it, (2) have 24 months of runway, and (3) have a revenue curve that’s going up and to the right.

Great advice re: interviewing at multiple places. Can’t recommend that enough. You’ll never be more confident and well-compensated than when you have 2-4 companies bidding on you.

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