In-House Counsel, Interview Stories, Job Searches

Play To Your Strengths…

Transitioning out of a firm requires focuses on your best assets.

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First off, a bit of housekeeping:

1)    I never claimed to be a Deadhead, though I love their music. I will leave that to Mr. Wallerstein. I am a committed Phishhead, and could easily have used Trey Anastasio’s bust and subsequent rehab as an example for last week’s column. However, the Furthur incident had just occurred near here and I thought it was more topical.

2)    I did not intend to depress anyone with a column on alcohol, so I guess I should have been sober when writing, but that goes against my practice.

3)    I am rarely shocked any more by the comments on this site, but I have to say that in my opinion, they have devolved so far into a cesspool of misogyny and lack of humor or wit, that I have decided to continue to write columns without the ability to comment. I have been doing this long enough, and been called enough names and insulted sufficiently that I have become inured to being “hurt.” If you have a genuine criticism, suggestion or correction, write me at the Gmail address.

(Segue to column)

Speaking of the Gmail address, there has been a raft of queries of late as to how best to transition from litigation to transactional work (or contract work) and getting in-house. This really has been the crux of my usefulness to this site, since that is my experience. I have written on the topic before, and I will continue to offer advice to the readership as a whole, as well as to those who take the time to write me personally. I see helping people as my mission here. I am not an end all and be all of law career success, heck I can talk about the down side as well as anyone. But, I really do take this seriously; there are people trying to make their way through a morass of advice, tips, hints, strategies and guesswork in order to obtain in-house employment. I relish taking the time to write to folks who ask, but like anyone, I can only offer advice based on my limited experience.

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I have said it before, and will continue to advise, that litigators negotiate their way through the day, every day, and are therefore quite possibly better suited to negotiate deals than a transactional lawyer will ever be. Not to say that there are not some transactional folks who could sell you a pile of dung and make you think you got the better of the bargain, but my experience is what it is. So, if you are litigating right now, and not seeing any light at the end of the associate tunnel, go for any job that you think might be appropriate. Of course, make sure you have some experience with what they are seeking: Securities Acts, patents, compliance. Then, when asked how your experience fits their job description requirements, negotiate your way into convincing them that you are the best candidate for the job. The argument is not difficult; you negotiate for a living, you shred contracts in order to zealously represent your institutional clients, and you are damned good at what you do. It is that simple, really. Now, whether that argument gets you a callback or not depends on many other factors. Most of which, you will find when you’re on the receiving end of resumes, have nothing to do with who you are as a lawyer.

At the end of the day, hiring is truthfully who you know, and how you can get yourself in front of the person responsible. I can offer no secret formula for that, but I can tell you that I never try to burn a bridge, always try to network the crap out of every meeting, and try to follow up as soon as practicable with new faces. Speaking in front of large groups of people as often as possible always helps. And it doesn’t hurt to take offers to write for legal blogs when the opportunity presents itself.

After two federal clerkships and several years as a litigator in law firms, David Mowry is happily ensconced as an in-house lawyer at a major technology company. He specializes in commercial leasing transactions, only sometimes misses litigation, and never regrets leaving firm life. You can reach him by email at dmowry00@gmail.com.

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