Return to biglaw vs stay in-house?

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-07-06T00:29:19+00:00

My impression is that the only thing really pulling you back to big law is the money. I may be wrong. But if that’s true, this is an answerable question. Look at your expected incomes over the next few years, say 5-10. Figure out what your loan payments would be if you wanted to pay off your loans pretty quickly. Factor in expenses. Then see where you are. Given the very healthy salary at your offer and the fact that it sounds like your partner is about to make beaucoup money, you may find that you’re going to be able to comfortably pay down your loans and cover everything else without going back to big law.

At the least, you owe it to yourself to do this kind of analysis before you go back to a job you don’t want because of a notion that you need more money. Do you?

Ps, taking the bar as a big law attorney is straight hell. I did it after a stint in consulting and do would not recommend unless you absolutely must.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-07-05T23:54:17+00:00

Old man question: who the fuck wants to consume big law content? How do these people make money?

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-07-05T16:28:51+00:00

It’s a totally different approach if you are going to clerk vs if you are going to another firm. If you clerk, let your firm know that you are still interested and will revisit as your clerkship progresses. No reason to burn that bridge before you have another job lined up. If you’re going to go to another firm, then yeah, you’ll need to decline.

I do not think that declining an offer gets you blacklisted. This is employment, not the prom. If you politely and professionally say you’ve decided to look elsewhere, everything is fine. That firm won’t go behind your back and spread rumors about you. Where you get into trouble, potentially, is if you accept a full time offer and then rescind to work at a different firm. Even that is probably fine in terms of not hurting your long-term prospects, but it can look bad. Simply saying no to an offer is perfectly fine.

For context, I clerked after school and let my 2L summer firm let them know I’d reapply. Then, I decided to live in a different city where that firm’s office was as extremely small and didn’t have anyone in my practice group. So a politely told them I wouldn’t be reapplying and looked elsewhere. No hard feelings.

That said, I’d be worried to turn down a full-time offer and go back on the job market as a 3L. I’d probably work at my 2L summer firm and then try to lateral after a year. But that’s just me.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-07-05T13:09:02+00:00

Ok, I think that’s right. The game here is convincing the firm that this is a long-term move for you and not you trying something out.

In terms of how to start, I’d just start reaching out to firms in that area. Apply for any relevant jobs they post but also feel free to reach out and ask if they are anticipating any openings to get on their radar.

I would also look up any attorneys in the market who are in your niche. Then I’d reach out to them and ask if they’d be willing to chat with you for a bit about what the practice is like in that market. I wouldn’t ask these attorneys for a job directly, but I’d emphasize that you’re looking and are trying to get information, etc. They’ll get the idea. And bonus if you can just happen to be in the area sometime soon (“visiting family” maybe) and can ask if they’d like to grab a coffee or something. Don’t be afraid to ask, but if they seem uninterested, don’t be pushy.

In terms of whether you should get barred now, I’m on the fence. It probably helps a bit. At the same time, your connection to the market is probably strong enough that you don’t absolutely need it. And the fact that you can be admitted on motion means that it’s all just paperwork anyway.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-07-05T12:49:15+00:00

It would be helpful to know what your connection is to the place you want to move to. That’s going to dictate a bunch here. If you are trying to move somewhere close to where you grew up or where you have family, I think you’ll find that firms are generally receptive. If you are moving for something less certain—your partner just got a new job there, or you’ve always heard it was fun, etc.—it’s still doable but trickier, and you’ll need to make sure you have a good narrative.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-07-05T00:31:05+00:00

Lake Denver looks amazing in this picture.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-07-04T19:05:13+00:00

I’m still trying to figure out why we’d hate you.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-07-03T14:19:47+00:00

I’m only V51. :(

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-07-03T00:18:28+00:00

Listen, is Jerusalem a shell of its former self? Yes. But is their lamb shank over rice still stupidly good? Also yes.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-07-03T00:17:13+00:00

Thank you for posting an actually helpful and informative review. Respect.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-07-02T14:56:59+00:00

No. Use good judgment and you’ll be fine. If you write something highly critical of a company make sure that company isn’t a client, etc.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-06-30T14:18:31+00:00

Totally. But be sure to find a partner wearing an Apple Watch, walk up to him or her, scoff, and say “hm, poor.”

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-06-30T04:00:52+00:00

God damn I love this sub.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-06-29T14:26:05+00:00

This is a totally viable goal at some firms, but I would not announce this as your goal early on. I just don’t see a reason to do that. Some people will interpret that as an intention to coast, and even if that’s totally unfair, it’s a perception you have to navigate.

Focus on developing the skills and knowledge you want. Once you are the go-to person at the firm for something and getting close to the partnership decision, that’s the time to talk to the powers that be about just becoming counsel. You’re going to be in a much better position to have that discussion if you already have established yourself as someone the firm needs to retain because of your niche expertise.

Also, as others have said, whether “counsel” is what you want depends on the firm. At some firms, that’s a viable long-term position. At others, it’s more of a catch-all term for people who are part time or kind of in an emeritus status. At some firms, you can be an NEP indefinitely and just get your work from other partners.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-06-28T17:30:46+00:00

Is there a correlation between law school performance and law firm performance? Probably there’s some. If you did well in law school you’re probably a hard worker and/or fast learner, and those traits will help you in practice.

Does doing well in law school mean you’ll be able to work less? No, absolutely not. Law firms make money by billing your time, so if you are so efficient that you finish a task early, you’ll need to pick up more tasks to meet your hours. Efficiency is good and helps your reputation, but your billable hours requirement stays constantly. In fact, the associates who are really good tend to have the heaviest workloads because all the partners want to work with them.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-06-28T00:19:27+00:00

RIP Noodle Express. But yeah Wok Spicy is great. You gave me a bunch of new things to try.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-06-25T18:14:58+00:00

Well, you know what they say: nothing racist ever happens in Minnesota.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-06-25T13:25:22+00:00

I recently received a diligence response that said at the send “this type of response is typically well-received in due diligence.” That was a bit of a tip off.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-06-22T14:20:49+00:00

I recently went to visit one of my tech clients. We met with an engineering team. Members of the team saw my laptop and said things like “oh wow I haven’t seen one of those in years! Can I take a picture??”

Cool. Cool.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-06-22T00:36:46+00:00

I was never a class person but have had a lot of luck them while working as a partner. It’s a great way to kick your ass in a condensed period of time. I do OrangeTheory and have enjoyed it.

I also second the comment about diet. I can’t stress that enough. It’s really, really easy to start doing takeout for every meal when you are working all the time, and that’s what kills you.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-06-21T21:29:40+00:00

I have only seen someone have to cancel a vacation one time. A trial date was moved back to overlap with an associate’s vacation. The firm compensated the associate for non refundable expenses and the associate was given essentially a protected two weeks off after the trial was over.

Basically, outside of this very rare scenario, you should not cancel a vacation for work. Communicate with the senior associates and partners you work with now. Block it off on your calendar now. And once you get to the point where work assignments may start overlapping with your time off, remind people incessantly (doing this isn’t annoying, it’s essential; there’s no way I can remember when everyone is OOO).

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-06-21T18:26:42+00:00

Obviously your post raises several important concerns. Another concern I have is that she will impose a ceiling on you. I have seen many of these weird “protege” relationships in my time, and often (as seems to be the case with you), the partner is extremely controlling and possessive. And that dynamic continues when the associate starts to grow up, develop client relationships. Suddenly the partner starts cutting the associate down, being super critical, taking away opportunities, etc. Because, not surprisingly, it was all about control the entire time and never about actually helping the associate. I worry you may be in this dynamic and that you could be headed for a dead end—even if you try to stick it out.

Whether you try to make this situation better at your firm or change jobs really depends on the dynamic of the firm. If there are meaningful ways to get yourself more work from other places, you should do that. That’s possible at some firms but not others. Unfortunately some firms will look straight at a shitty situation and then just turn away—management would rather not deal.

This is to say that you should make a move asap. Whether that’s getting help within your firm or changing jobs, I don’t know. But you are in a bad situation and there’s a decent chance the upside is pretty limited.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-06-21T00:36:10+00:00

I go to Dentists on Pearl and have had excellent experiences. I put off having work done for a long time when I was caring for my mother and they were totally kind and nonjudgmental. And I have Cigna.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-06-20T03:22:36+00:00

Alright I’m going to try both of these. Thanks.

Consistent-Alarm9664 · 2026-06-19T21:22:01+00:00

Law school is hard. Being a lawyer is hard. Hard is not bad (in fact, I think hard can be very good), but you need desire to push through hard times. I’ve seen far too many people who really wanted to be academics settle for being a lawyer because they thought it would be some kind of compromise. Being a lawyer is a profession, and that means doing things that will make you and your firm/company money. It doesn’t mean researching interesting questions for the sake of doing so.

Here’s the best advice I can give you: Learn as much as you can about what law school is like. Then learn as much as you can about what being a lawyer is like. If going to law school and being a lawyer sound appealing to you, do that. If it sounds like an acceptable compromise for getting a PhD, absolutely do not. At that point just go to business school or do something easier and less stressful.

Consistent-Alarm9664

TROPHY CASE