This summer has been an amazing experience: working at a big firm in downtown with brilliant people on important matters ... going out for the best that LA has to offer without worrying about cost ... making friends and mentors ... all of it, this is what I have worked for and dreamed of. I don't know if everyone feels this way after the summer, but I know, without a doubt, that I picked the right place for me.
Somewhere in all of this, I have forgotten (partially) why I am here. I just realized the other day that I only have 4 weeks left of this summer job, and I am no closer to figuring out what kind of lawyer I want to be. I mean, I have pretty much ruled out litigation, but I already knew that. There are 3 (well, really 4) ENTIRE DEPARTMENTS, all with a ton of groups within them, that I would definitely consider. There is always Corporate, which I think would have exciting deals and provide good experience should I ever make the in-house move. The downside to corporate is that the hours are notoriously horrible and the work for junior associates can be mind-numbing.
Finance seems to be another good option. The people (especially the partners) are awesome and the clients are great. I haven't really been trained in any translatable skills for this department yet, so I can't be positive I would like it, but I think that is true for a lot of people.
I am also (somewhat surprisingly) interested in Tax. Maybe even moreso than in the other groups, the people are a major selling point. It's definitely a smaller group, and it would be kind of a specialty at most places. This is good because it automatically makes you more valuable if it's a skill the firm (or employer) needs, but it can also make you too specialized to go in-house or transition to a non-firm job. The mid-to-junior associates also sell me on the fact that you get a lot of substantive and interesting work early on.
There is also a land use practice that is widely respected and gets amazing clients. It seems like everyone in the group really enjoys what they do. It was never even on my radar before joining this firm, but I think I might enjoy it.
I'm sure I could be happy in any of these groups if I were placed in one of them, but having to choose makes it seem difficult. I always assumed that I would just pick the practice area that I was most interested in or the most skilled at. I thought big-firm life was the same no matter what, but I didn't realize your experience could differ so drastically depending on what area you practice in. I don't really know where I'll be in 5 or 10 years. I plan on staying at the firm until I no longer enjoy it, but who knows how long that will be. And obviously a big part of my role in shaping a career for myself will involve figuring out how to balance work with my family; but how big of a consideration should the balance be? I could be a corporate lawyer and work a lot for 5 years, but then go in-house and work a normal business day (really, it is what MOST corporate laywers probably aspire to). Or I could start with a group that has much more reasonable but still firm-like hours and have a decent balance, but where would I go if I ever hated it? I never imagined that I would be thinking this way about choosing a career, but now reality is setting in. Luckily, I don't have to choose right away. The first two years as an associate, I would technically be unassigned and I could try all of these departments out. A lot of firms make you choose a department when you accept an offer, or sometimes even for the summer, so I feel very lucky to be at this firm. Hopefully, I get an offer at the end of summer and can figure out the right path for me.
2 comments:
I went through this EXACT thing about 2 weeks before my internship was over. I settled on general corporate but our office sounds like it is smaller than yours so I didn't have quite as many options to start with. We also don't have the rotational system - I'm jealous yours does b/c I think that's a great idea. How can you really know what you want to do until you get some practice doing it?
Ruling out litigation is a big start and it seems like more attorneys transition in their first few years than you'd think. I decided to focus on the long-term. I hope to enjoy my work the first few years, but even if I don't, at least I'll know i have good exit options!
Good luck making your decision!
LL, I always love reading your comments! A lot of them make me laugh out loud, but you always seem to have good advice. I think I'll probably end up choosing corporate or finance because it's always nice to have options for the future and I kind of like the whole strength in numbers thing (tax is much smaller). You'll have to let me know how you like it once you start. Do you have any time off post-bar?
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