I’ve been pretty miserable at my current company. I manage a team that is constantly disrespected, pulled in a million directions and I feel like I’m on the verge of losing my sanity. We’ve also already gone back to the office and I feel like I’m scared for my life every single day. I’ve taken thousands of interviews to try to get out and improve my situation but so far nothing else in house has panned out.
I finally got an offer to go back to a law firm as a partner. I worked at three firms in the past, one as a partner. The people I’ve met with at the firm seem really great, I would get to work remotely forever and the billable hours requirement seems reasonable. The firm says they have enough work for me but they will also support me to build a practice if I want to. My immediate reaction was how freeing it would be to leave my current situation and not have to worry about it anymore and go back to building something that would be my own. But then I think about being a slave to the billable hour again and it doesn’t seem as exciting.
I used the offer from the law firm to go back to the companies I’m still talking to just to see if they would be willing to expedite things, but so far the firm is my only option. I have three companies I’m still talking to that might pan out, but who knows.
Given the luck I’ve had, I’m worried that if I let the offer from the firm go, I might be stuck at my current job forever.
Should I take the law firm offer?
Current TC: $450K ($225K base)
Law firm offer: $300K base + discretionary bonus + partner retirement contribution (TC unclear)
YOE: 12
EDIT: EPILOGUE (in case anyone is curious):
I did not take the partnership offer. Since I last posted, I got a second partnership offer, as well as the dream job I had been chasing in FinTech (company #3 of the three I was talking to). I’m taking the FinTech gig and starting soon. Turns out I was being impatient, I guess.
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comments
If you’re miserable, have exhausted your options at your current place, and can’t find another in-house gig, it’s perfectly rational to give firm life a try again. Nothing says you can’t keep looking for an in-house gig.
We have a tendency to overly worship precedent and majority opinion in this profession. Don’t let that blind you to what makes sense on *your* facts.
Partnership involves billables but it's also biz dev and it's on you to hustle. I've had amlaw50 firms pursue me for partnership and Ive seriously considered it. Ultimately I'm in a better place now but that wasn't always the case.
Depends what you want OP. If you wanna build a book you can do quite well in a firm. Key is to understand partnership comp and like the culture.
Most important: don't lose your sanity. Your current role sounds like it sucks. The TC isn't worth your health.
I’m holding out hope!
Sincerely,
A recovering lawyer