<p>Ditto what TempeMom said. I left big city large firm Litigation Dept just before birth of our second child for what was going to be six months … and decided that taking a break was wonderful and six months became five years. On purpose. During that time, my whole perspective shifted from the crazy 24/7 life of a litigator to the much happier and calmer life (albeit less affluent, but that too was a choice) of someone NOT working at a big city, big firm with multi-national clients and gigantic damages cases. Ultimately, I found a whole different area of law, opened my own firm, learned many skills that are never taught at law school or in big firms, and discovered that one should never say never (have my own firm? never!). The only time I have a twinge of regret is when I read about the jobs that some of my law school (top 10) classmates are doing, and then I remember that even though they may have more prestige and money, that doesn’t mean they are happier. </p>
<p>Assuming tho that you may not want to follow that untraditional path, two suggestions not yet made above. First, get in touch with the Placement Office at your law school. They likely have a bunch of contacts you can mine in law and corporate worlds. Ditto the Alumni Association of your law school. Check out the alum magazines to see where alums are General Counsel or in other top positions. From experience, I believe that alums like to hire other alums whenever possible. Could be a great source of leads. Good luck in your quest. You may not think so right this seond, but I promise it will work all work out, even if in ways that right now you cannot even imagine.</p>