What is Biglaw and how do I get it?

[SmokeytheBear]

When are you going to do the "Oh so that's Biglaw, how do I get out of it?" thread?

Navigating the second job search (legal recruiters, timing, conflict considerations, new market and bar applications/reciprocity concerns, etc.) sounds like a pretty awesome topic for someone who has lateraled.

legal recruiters are scum of the earth

Explaining why would be part of that guide, but it’s still worth discussing for what they do, how they do it, and how to look out for particular crappy ones.

The hard part with that guide is that it is so practice group specific. Exiting from a big firm from the M&A group is different than from the tech trans group than it is from the labor/employment group is different than it is from whatever.

[UVA2B]

When are you going to do the "Oh so that's Biglaw, how do I get out of it?" thread?

Navigating the second job search (legal recruiters, timing, conflict considerations, new market and bar applications/reciprocity concerns, etc.) sounds like a pretty awesome topic for someone who has lateraled.

legal recruiters are scum of the earth

Explaining why would be part of that guide, but it’s still worth discussing for what they do, how they do it, and how to look out for particular crappy ones.

The hard part with that guide is that it is so practice group specific. Exiting from a big firm from the M&A group is different than from the tech trans group than it is from the labor/employment group is different than it is from whatever.

Of course, exit options vary widely based on practice group, market, etc. My hope (or at least how I envision it as someone who hasn't been through the process and doesn't know enough about it to write at all knowledgeably about it) for the guide would instead focus on more broad considerations and questions that would translate across practice groups. Here's a few that I think would be sufficiently generic to have wide applicability (and could then be expounded on by answering questions from those who know the specific practice groups):

1. Best practices in managing the lateral process
2. Legal recruiters (how to manage/not get screwed or badgered by them)
3. Best practices for leveraging in-house opportunities (in a broad sense like how to network with them while at the firm, possibly working to be a trojan horse for your current firm so they'll potentially benefit from your move, [insert other things that you've seen work in making a good in-house opportunity happen], etc.)
4. Realistic timelines for targeting lateral/in-house opps.
5. Prepping for your move within your current firm (partner expectations, passing off work without being a dick, setting up your friends/colleagues for success so as to not burn bridges)
6. Anything else you saw as potentially relevant across practice areas (maybe generalities about the types of opportunities different practice groups could/should target, or maybe just allow for linking to practice-specific sub-guides that other posters can expand on what you've written and give more practice specific advice)

I'm not telling anyone they should make this guide, and you're probably one of only a few posters here who have handled the lateral market so I'm not specifically nominating you to do it, but I think it would be a real value-add if you wanted to take it on.

[SmokeytheBear]

When are you going to do the "Oh so that's Biglaw, how do I get out of it?" thread?

Navigating the second job search (legal recruiters, timing, conflict considerations, new market and bar applications/reciprocity concerns, etc.) sounds like a pretty awesome topic for someone who has lateraled.

legal recruiters are scum of the earth

Explaining why would be part of that guide, but it’s still worth discussing for what they do, how they do it, and how to look out for particular crappy ones.

The hard part with that guide is that it is so practice group specific. Exiting from a big firm from the M&A group is different than from the tech trans group than it is from the labor/employment group is different than it is from whatever.

Of course, exit options vary widely based on practice group, market, etc. My hope (or at least how I envision it as someone who hasn't been through the process and doesn't know enough about it to write at all knowledgeably about it) for the guide would instead focus on more broad considerations and questions that would translate across practice groups. Here's a few that I think would be sufficiently generic to have wide applicability (and could then be expounded on by answering questions from those who know the specific practice groups):

1. Best practices in managing the lateral process
2. Legal recruiters (how to manage/not get screwed or badgered by them)
3. Best practices for leveraging in-house opportunities (in a broad sense like how to network with them while at the firm, possibly working to be a trojan horse for your current firm so they'll potentially benefit from your move, [insert other things that you've seen work in making a good in-house opportunity happen], etc.)
4. Realistic timelines for targeting lateral/in-house opps.
5. Prepping for your move within your current firm (partner expectations, passing off work without being a dick, setting up your friends/colleagues for success so as to not burn bridges)
6. Anything else you saw as potentially relevant across practice areas (maybe generalities about the types of opportunities different practice groups could/should target, or maybe just allow for linking to practice-specific sub-guides that other posters can expand on what you've written and give more practice specific advice)

I'm not telling anyone they should make this guide, and you're probably one of only a few posters here who have handled the lateral market so I'm not specifically nominating you to do it, but I think it would be a real value-add if you wanted to take it on.

Smart considerations. I'll do it soon here.

[UVA2B]

Just wanted to add one last idea that probably isn't that big of a deal, but a young associate or law student may not consciously think about it: the other stuff about legal practice to consider (reciprocity in bar associations, conflict check clearing and the other hidden dangers of tipping your hand too early about your move at your current firm). This could probably go in the timelines discussion or prepping for your move within your current firm, but this is the type of thing that someone could easily forget about until the mistake is made.

[SmokeytheBear]

totes

[Guest]

Man I don't know what's more interesting: reading a guide about how to identify a biglaw firm or reading the discussion about that guide which is solely devoted to what other guides we would like to see in the future and who should write them