<p>an in-house lawyer for Microsoft isn’t a top notch lawyer, this is what i’ve seen and been told. Microsoft, HP, Samsung, Honda, Coca-cola, etc, all of these big companies have an in-house staff. But when they’re looking to merge and take care of legal matters with other companies, they hire other law firms to work together. They go to the big dog law firms, have one lead the case, while they hire other firms to support them in man-power.</p>
<p>The only difference between corporate and civil lawyers is what type of law firm they joined after law school. A lot of them become junior associates in big firms (corporate, civil, whatever), work their butts off and after a few years of experience they leave and join smaller firms. If they’re really good, they’ll join with other young lawyers and create their own law firm and forever have their names on the door. Otherwise, they will join a smaller firm as a junior associate and work their way up to senior partner. </p>
<p>Again, their BA’s didn’t really matter. All that matters is what grad school they got into, which is often a reflection of their GPA in their undergrad and their LSAT score.</p>
<p>It’s like being a doctor. They all go to the same med school, yet some doctors end up being oncologist, cardiologist, etc. Some become surgeons and some don’t. They specialize by learning more about what they want to specialize in AFTER they finish med school.</p>