Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
Hi, this is prolly an uncommon question but hoping for insights from any corp/transactional lawyers who've successfully transited from in-house back to private practice.
Some background : corp associate in a non-B4/mid-tier firm and went in-house at around the 4th year mark. My current (and only) in-house role is in a local listco where I've been for slightly > 2 years.
Rn, I'm seriously contemplating a return to pvt practice, preferably in a B4 or a strong mid tier corp team. For personal reasons, a return to my old firm isn't in the cards for me.
My questions are:
1. How willing are B4 or strong corp law firms take in someone of my profile (as compared to lateral hires who have been in private prac all the while)? Does my 2+ years in-house exp confer any advantage at all compared to other candidates?
2. Since B4 and most large firms have a rigid track to JP, where would I fit along the rung towards JP? How much of an 'internal' pqe discount should I expect? Most of my peers still in private practice are at the cusp of JP within the next 1 to 2 years.
3. Is my salary likely to fall back to the 'internal' pqe band(s) within the firm itself, or do I have room to nego salary based on my current in-house role (which comprises base + rather wide variable bonus component)?
Thanks!
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1. No advantage. Sounds like your peers are PQE 4/5, so you’ve only had 2PQE in private practice. Be grateful you don’t get marked down and hope that there’s no disadvantage.
2. You lateraled so if you want to be JP you better hope that your peers quit practice and you’re the last one standing. If you’re lucky you shouldn’t get any PQE discount but wouldn’t be surprised if you get 1 PQE discount.
3. Lol you are begging private practice to take you back after 2 years of in-house and you want to nego salary? Firms are desperate but not that desperate. Unless you can bring your ex list co to your new firm as a client or have some exceptional experience, think you should moderate your expectations