Promoted to partner of a mid-sized firm fairly recently. Seriously considering transitioning to plaintiff’s work. Any insight on this transition? Also considering another defense firm. (Cont).

like
Posting as :
works at
You are currently posting as works at

We had a partner leave to do plaintiff’s work and 6 months later he came back and said it was a mistake. I said, “I told you so.” I think you need to really think about why you want to do plaintiff’s work and give it some hard honest thought. If it’s for financial reasons, I can tell you from doing plaintiff’s work for almost a decade before going to defense myself that, at least in my market, you’ll be making about the same or maybe a little less unless you get in with a boutique firm that mainly does catastrophic cases. If you want to do plaintiff’s work well, you also won’t be working fewer hours - you just won’t have to keep track of them. Plaintiff’s work is also a lot more stressful in my experience, less steady (some months your fee receipts may be $0.00), and has a lot more difficult clients you have to contend with (a councilor for our State Bar once told me statistically plaintiff’s attorneys are the second highest rate of grievances lodged behind criminal defense lawyers because you’re dealing with people who don’t understand how the system works and when things go wrong they’re going to blame you).

like

Interested to know what part of the country these scenarios are taking place in. So many people tell me my personality is more suited for the plaintiff side and that I should stop wasting my time grinding on defense and flip, but I can’t pull the trigger.

If you don’t feel satisfied now on the defense side, make the switch. You’ll work harder as plaintiff attorney but you’ll love every minute. Job satisfaction should increase significantly. Your work will be actual work to move the file instead of working to “collect” hours. You can also help people who are being taken advantage by the “big guys” (ins co). In my 5 ish years on defense side, I got maybe 2 thank yous from clients. I now get them weekly.

like

Thanks for the insight! I’m leaning towards making the switch. I’m thinking I can always return to the defense side if it doesn’t work out for some reason.

like

I do PI work. My firm handles around 100 active wrongful death / TBI cases. I did some defense work for a year or so, and I’ve quickly realized that people suck on both sides of the V. At least on this side, I don’t have to keep track of my hours and I’m focused on an end goal as opposed to daily billing.

like

The major difference, which is often overlooked, is that the quality of your work is if primary importance. You can spend as long as you need to on tasks without having to worry about whether it’s billable or whether the client will pay, or how you have to bill it. There’s simply not the same kind of pressure to rush through tasks, and you can be far more thorough. Obviously this doesn’t apply in every scenario, but it’s a big difference when it does.

like

I can’t imagine what that would be like. The clock is always ticking in the back of my mind and it never goes away no matter how many years go by

Anyone ever leave a firm soon after making partner (non equity)?

Why are you considering the change?

Related Posts

Should I sell my Tesla stock and go all in on Rivian?

like

Audit Manager or Senior on the Manager path:
If you don't like what you do, why/how do you stay until now?

like

How many rounds of interview will be there in infosys? I just finished a technical round yesterday. I have 5 years of exp.

like

I can’t anymore. 🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️

like

The below screen shot is current status of Barclays offer.. any way to download the offer letter?Barclays Accenture Tata Consultancy

Post Photo
like

Something that surprised me and broke my heart was seeing all the trees burned and water contaminated during our Iraqi tour. Wars are not good for the planet. What's something that surprised you?

like

1. Could anyone offer any guidance on salary range for Art Director at one of the FAANG companies, or at a prominent ad agency? 7-10yrs exp. based in Los Angeles. 2. How much of your work consists of management/ actual art direction vs. hands on design at the computer?

like

Is it generally unwise to switch companies within a year? I just relocated back to hometown and started a new job 6 months ago but I want to relocate again to Atlanta when my lease is up in 6 months. I don’t have much problem with my current role except wanting more money and to relocate. Unsure if it’s worth it to move and get more money or if it’ll be a bad look on my part. Any advice welcomed.

like

Work from India? Is it allowed? I read that it's not, due to tax implications.

like

What’s everyone doing today? 🧐

like

I’m interested in going back to school for an analytics degree. I have a math & stat undergraduate degree and have been doing data science in my projects. Does anyone have recommendations for...

like

What are you supposed to do when its raining?

I have 11 years experience in TCS as Business analyst in payment cards/switch/banking domain and team lead of a cards product development team.Please let me know if any opportunities

like

Any loopholes to prevent Westlaw from logging out every 5 minutes? That’s not enough time to get all my tears out before going back to my 20 Westlaw tabs

like
like

How is the KPMG client in wipro? Anyone working for KPMG in Wipro? TIA Wipro KPMG

like

The PE culture is sick. The 20 something VP was rude to our partner because our team took thanksgiving and the day before off and it was in the engagement letter that we were gonna be off. He kept emphasizing that his team did our job while we were on a break. Dude we are not sick like you and we have lives. I see something about how s**t the PE culture is in every deal we support.

Like these sickos make fun of us for working 80+ hours weeks for them and taking thanksgiving off.

likefunny

Just got my ministry license this weekend. For those who have done it- when do you know it’s time to leave the corporate world behind?

like

At $GNT event

Post Photo
like

People investing in rental real estate what’s your ROI this year? My profit divided by current value is barely above 3% (and that’s with no renovations and 100% occupancy). Should probably sell it and invest elsewhere...

like

Additional Posts in Law

Has anyone ever left a job simply because a deal got SO bad that you knew if you stayed it would be looming over your head for probably another year? To the point where you had daily nightmares.

like

How much pro bono do you typically bill per year? Have you been called out on it?

like

Just cleared conflicts for a big law firm so I can officially leave my toxic mid-size insurance defense firm. I’m planning to give notice Friday, but should I get the start date first? The recruiter said they’d like me to start 11/15. And I seriously want to give notice soooooo bad. I’m so excited to leave that I literally cannot think straight 😂

like

Have a home builder in Delaware refusing to return a client buyer’s deposit money. The sale fell through because when the client showed up for the final walk-through, the house was unfinished and my clients walked away. At a later point, the builder negotiated without his counsel for rescission then the builder reneged on the rescission agreement, he stated he would not return the down $$ but instead wanted to see if he could sell their home and

like

Any CT associates willing to share their firm’s salary scale?

like

Does your firm provide an automatic raise each year of practice? Would you request for a raise if you have done exceptionally well and are paid below industry standards or is it just not the year to do so due to the pandemic?

like

For the litigators...do your state courts use electronic filing similar to ECF or do only some counties/parishes use electronic while others are stuck in the olden times. If not, what do you think the refusal to adapt comes from?

like

Lol non lawyer just said “i mean imagine if lawyers didn’t get drug tested, it just would never happen.”

funnylike

What is the lateral hire process like?

like

Thoughts on Paul Weiss - corporate?

like

Any advice for dealing with repeated job rejections (after several rounds of interviews)? I try not to take it personally but it’s really been a blow to my ego.

like

Does anyone else hate weekends? Like let’s pretend we don’t have work to do so we can please our family & kids but meanwhile our anxiety is brewing inside? I’m never more relieved than to sit on my computer on Monday morning.

likefunny

Leadership advice for young associates?

like

Tips for getting back into the swing of things after paternity leave?

like

Advice requested: When you were a legal intern or a summer, what type of projects did you like best? What was most helpful to you when you received a new assignment? Anything you wish your mentor did/didn’t do? I’m working with my first ever intern and trying to structure projects so they know that the work is important and relevant to the business, and why, and to provide enough background info on the area of law so they don’t spin wheels on the basics. What else should I be doing?

likehelpful

After you’ve pulled an all-nighter, how do you get through the next day? Caffeine? Exercise? Take a nap? Quit early?

like

My firm has a collections budget (80% of your billable rate x 1850 hours) and an hourly budget that must be met in order to be eligible for a bonus. The firm cares very little about originations and will reward someone for making their collections over someone who brings in new work. I missed my collection budget due to some odd timing with a client, but originated more than all my peers so no bonus for me. I’ve been at this same mid level firm for 9 years and it’s all I know. Is this normal??

like

Anyone in this bowl did the CAMS exam? If so, is this an exam that can be passed without AML experience?

like

How long does it take you to do the following tasks? Draft contact, revise contract, research brief, draft brief, review documents (I’m assisting with bills). Thanks

like

I have to fill out a background check form for a position and it asks if I've ever been discharged from a job. Does getting "the talk" --i.e. being told your future isn't at the firm as a senior associate--count as being discharged? Any thoughts are much appreciated!

like

New to Fishbowl?

Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
That was just a preview…
Sign Up to see all discussions
  • Discover what it’s like to work at companies from real professionals
  • Get candid advice from people in your field in a safe space
  • Chat and network with other professionals in your field
Sign up in seconds to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.

Already a user?
Login here

Share

Embed this post

Copy and paste embed code on your site

Preview

Download the
Fishbowl app

See what’s happening in your industry
from the palm of your hand.

A phone with Fishbowl app

Send download link to your phone

OR

Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Messaging rates may apply

Download app

Sign up for free to view this conversation on Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Already have an account? Log in

Sign up for free to continue using Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use(New) and Privacy Policy(New)
Messaging rates may apply

Already have an account? Log in

For account settings, visit Fishbowl on Desktop Browser or

General

Legal