Lawyers: Should I go back to a law firm?

Financial Service Company
xCSv28

Financial Service Company

xCSv28
Sep 9, 2021 21 Comments

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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TOP 21 Comments
  • Apple
    NqFH12

    Go to company page Apple

    NqFH12
    In house is not always better than firm life, contrary to conventional wisdom. It’s also not that easy to move back to a firm from inside, unless you’re bringing a lot of business with you.

    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.
    Sep 10, 2021 0
  • The billable hour is soul crushing. Not sure I could ever go back to a firm now that I’m in-house.
    Sep 9, 2021 0
  • Snap
    beagledood

    Go to company page Snap

    beagledood
    My problem with most responses are that it's probably not senior folks who had a shot at partner.

    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.
    Sep 10, 2021 3
    • Snap
      beagledood

      Go to company page Snap

      beagledood
      No worries. I've seen people jump from partner back to other in house roles, so quite doable nowadays. If you really want to work with really smart people, you need to work in a larger legal team or be in a law firm. I don't know many companies where business people are really all that smart or talented LOL.
      Sep 11, 2021
    • Financial Service Company
      xCSv28

      Financial Service Company

      xCSv28
      OP
      HAHAHAHAA. I wish I had known that before going in house. What I have found, though, is that I do have a great business acumen. I kind of wish I had gone for the MBA instead (but that’s a whole other crapshoot). Maybe that’s why I was a good law firm partner, and probably would be again. It would be really phenomenal to work with smart people again and avoid the billable hour, though.

      I’m holding out hope!
      Sep 11, 2021
  • I dont even need to read this post to give an answer. Based on the title alone...My answer is a BIG FAT NO!!!!!! If you got out, then keep going forward in another direction. Don't go back.

    Sincerely,
    A recovering lawyer
    Sep 16, 2021 1
  • I could never go back to a law firm: billable, at the whim of senior partners (or if you're partner, pressure to build biz), need to wear suits. At a firm, I always felt like I was a hired gun for clients, didn't feel invested in their success, but rather to get through and complete an assignment.
    Sep 10, 2021 0