Thoughts on leaving biglaw to work as in-house counsel in a family small business? I’ve been a litigation associate for 4 years and don’t think it is for me (billable hours, work-life balance, etc.). My father would like me to join his real estate development co. I have no student loans, mortgage, or kids FWIW.

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Have you ever done business with a family member? Very complicated even if your relationship is good. Lots of families make it work but can be very ugly if the work relationship is dysfunctional.

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I believe I know who you are...and Yes....go for it.

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I'd do it. You'll learn more about your family's business than you would have otherwise. This will let you take it over eventually. I'm assuming that's the end goal.

If I like it then that could be the end goal, but if I didn’t like it I’d hope it could be a stepping stone to an in-house job at a larger company.

I would definitely do it. I’ve been litigating for 15+ years and I query how much longer I can do this grind. I have been trying to go in house but those opportunities are not generally open to litigators. Add a minimum, you could do the job for a few years and if you really hate it you would have developed some excellent experience to add to your resume if you wanted to jump back into it BigLaw. 

I think one of the benefits is it’s a way to get in the door of the in-house world (rather than applying as a firm litigator), making future in-house opportunities more feasible.

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Definitely do it!!

This seems like a no-brainer. Have a friend that just did this (moving from MediumLaw to her family business). Seems to be enjoying it much more so far.

Wouldn’t this be a big shift in terms of the practice area also? You’d be going from litigation to transactional

I hear you! One of my colleagues switched within our firm to our transactional practice group and loves it! I say go for it

Any reason not to do it?

Presumably will make less than in big law (worthwhile trade off for better work-life balance);
may close the door to big law in the future (not necessarily a bad thing);
lack of mentoring (I’d be the only in-house lawyer at the company);
Since legal work may not keep me busy I’d likely have a law-business hybrid role (not necessarily bad);
Probably other things I’m not thinking of.

Do it. Wish I could.

Go for it. In house is great!

Do it and don’t look back.

I was advised to practice 10 years then move in-house. At that point you have the experience to be valuable but aren’t prohibitively expensive. I followed the advice and it worked well for me.

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