Is Corporate Law worth it?

cartera45
Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:31:30 +0000

alex, when you say “corporate law” are you asking about life as an “in house” attorney or lawyers who practice “corporate law” in a law firm setting? If you are asking about being an in house attorney for a corporation, most of those attorneys have spent several years in a law firm setting before going in house. Landing a great in house job is very competitive and many companies only consider the cream of the crop. Since you may have to put in several years with a firm, the lifestyle you should be concerned about at the beginning of your career is that of an associate in a firm.

I am a headhunter for lawyers and am working to fill several in house positions now - in both New York and the DC area. It is a buyers’ market for the companies and they are being incredibly picky about hiring. They expect to see resumes from attorneys from top tier firms and top tier law schools with the perfect experience. The goal of the attorneys is often fewer hours, but to get that, they will have to take a significant pay cut. If you want to move in house, make sure you can take off the golden handcuffs of the law firm. Plan ahead financially.