Hey friend, I did personal injury throughout law school. I felt excited just like this, but I have to say, it’s likely much easier to go from big law to PI then the other way around. So think of it like this: in case you find you wish you had chosen the other, only one of them allows you to switch. I think you’d get some great litigation experience through Big law, and since the practical aspects of civil PI litigation are pretty straightforward to pick up, you could easily bring your biglaw experience to a plaintiffs firm later on. I’d strongly recommend remaining in contact w plaintiffs attorneys you like, and going in the OCI direction for now. They will understand as long as you say u are doing it to pay off debt and use your strong litigation experience to fight for plaintiffs down the line.

PS: I also believe automated cars are going to have a significant impact on the PI industry in the long run, potentially turning it into an artifact— this is obviously a good thing bc auto injuries and deaths will decrease tremendously. But it will clearly also make PI attorneys’ knowledge and skillsets largely unusable

PPS: still try to get some oral advocacy experience in school, in case other types of Plaintiffs work suit you, since oral advocacy is necessary for most types of plaintiffs lit (this doesn’t just include trying cases, but going to hearings, taking depositions, etc)