I've been doing civil litigation (80% insurance defense / 20% miscellaneous)
since graduating from law school 3 years ago. Currently at a mid size firm making around $130k. It's so boring and unfulfilling. I've gotten recent urges to explore getting into criminal defense. Has anyone made that kind of jump? Am I too far gone at this point to get into criminal law? Would I have to take a significant pay cut?

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Go to a DA or State prosecutor’s office or public defender’s office. It shouldn’t be that much less in pay. Get experience and then open up your own place.

Experience-wise, you’ll be just fine. But pay-wise, I’d expect a decrease. State budgets don’t have enough to pay prosecutors, and criminals mostly don’t have money. I did criminal defense for 10 years and just switched sides about a year ago. I absolutely love it, but I do make less than my civil litigation peers. With 11 years experience, in one of the top-10 richest areas of the country, I’m making just over $100k, which was more than I ever made in private practice. I might get a promotion soon to like $115k. But there’s also benefits and amazing job stability.

The salary can be much more if you go solo, but then also expect to be in the red for 6-12 months when you get started.

I’d look into taking some Court-appointed misdemeanor cases with your current case-load and see how you feel. Most states and courts are in dire need of attorneys to take those cases. In my state, I just needed to watch 2 days of video instruction to get misdemeanor-certified. Also, many states consider taking court-appointed cases as counting towards pro bono quotas. Not only will you get some experience, but also you’ll get to know local practitioners and you can network with them and get a feel for what things are like in your area.

And if that wasn’t enough info, feel free to message me!

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