Transition from government to private practice — part two
Stay ahead of the pack.
More advice concerning planning for transition to the private sector from government…
- Keep track of successes big and small. This tip goes with the previous thought (in the first post) about writing everything down but it gets its own category because of its importance. Employers want to see experience but in particular they are interested in how creative you are. How many times did you solve the problem and how did you do it.
- Find mentors that have made switch to private practice or worked in private practice. Ask them questions, identify their effective work habits and mirror them.
Transition from government to private practice — part one
Plan ahead to maximize your choices.
LegalJob answered the following question in Monday’s Mailbag series concerning planning for transition to the private sector from government:
“Since you have experience in both the private and public sector, do you have advice for someone beginning their legal career in government to eventually transition to a firm? What things should/shouldn’t I be doing now to make the leap in a few years?”
Great question. There are several items to keep in mind:
Advice for job seekers — part two
Communicate your strengths.
This post provides some best practices for interviewing.
Best practices include demonstrating commitment to living in the firm city for a long time, and knowledge of the firm, and articulating how you will specifically contribute.
A third post will follow with additional interviewing tips and keys to effective follow-up.
Advice for job seekers — part one
Distinguish yourself from the other candidates.
Below are some tips for big firm job seekers. This information will be posted in two parts.
This part provides ideas for demonstrating serious interest and commitment to a particular area of law and for preparing effective resumes.
Direction for a 2L
Steer your own ship.
Recently LegalJob talked with a 2L about steps he could take to place him in the best possible position to eventually secure a job with a big firm. Overall, LegalJob stressed the importance of specialization and demonstrating to future employers your commitment to the particular practice area.
Below is a summary of some of that advice: Read More…
Career advice for 1Ls (part two)
Build upon what you have.
This is the second post summarizing the advice LegalJob provided to 1Ls.
- When picking your focus area, consider tying in your current background, education, or experience (or some combination)
- Electrical engineers can add a lot of value up front as an intellectual property lawyer so that discipline is worth considering first (not to say that double Es cannot make good tax or corporate lawyers just that the obvious leg up is in the IP field).
- Speak another language or from a foreign country? Consider current legal issues and disciplines that are strong in that other place.
- Had a part-time job in college or after where you acquired skills that could benefit a certain legal area? Think about capitalizing on this experience.
Career advice for 1Ls (part one)
Pick a specialty soon.
LegalJob recently talked with several 1Ls concerning career advice. This post is the first of two summarizing the advice:
Put yourself in a position to pick a specialty area (sooner rather than later)
Problem solving
Be rigorous.
For today’s Monday Mailbag, LegalJob addresses the following question from a big firm junior associate: ”I was given a research assignment by a partner who I am told is difficult to work for and is known to be very demanding. Can LegalJob suggest best practices to help ensure smooth sailing?”
LegalJob has provided several posts on meeting partner expectations. Check those out and consider the following:
Show me the money (part two)
Each step matters.
This post continues the advice about asking for a raise in a law firm setting. The remaining steps to consider are:
- Follow chain of command. This step is important. You do not want to shoot yourself in the foot by sending to the wrong people or not including someone that should have been included. If you are in a practice group, the protocol may be to send to your practice group leader and then he or she forwards on to someone higher up in firm management. Find out what is appropriate and do that. If sending to multiple people, be mindful of ordering on e-mail because some people will care.
- Follow up as appropriate. Give someone time to get to your memo and review. However, do not wait three months for a response. Tell people you are planning to write something summarizing your performance and ask when it would be helpful to have that document. You may want to ask others for guidance about when it is appropriate to follow up.
- Make your case orally as well. A good time to make your case is during your evaluation period. You should make your case orally so that you can highlight the points in the memo you want the firm to focus on. This step is crucial because folks may not have a chance to read your memo much less focus on parts that are important to you.
- Request reconsideration if not happy with the result. If you are unhappy with the result (and the poor or no explanation that went along with it), consider asking for reconsideration. It shows moxy and it is not the end of the world if the firm denies your request or tells you no twice. Depending on the facts, this may be time for you to start looking for another job but before jumping ship it may be helpful to understand management’s rationale if one exists. Perhaps no one received raises, for example.
Show me the money (part one)
Make your case in writing.
For this week’s Monday Mailbag, LegalJob was asked to focus on the subject of raises. This post will come in two parts. The common question is how do I go about asking for a raise in a law firm setting?
Consider the following steps:
