Job Searches, White-Collar Crime

Life After Being An AUSA

The job prospects of a "former federal prosecutor" aren't as glided as you might expect.

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It’s black-letter career law that spending time as a federal prosecutor is good for your future job prospects. The phrase “former federal prosecutor” means something in many circles, and it’s not hard to find examples of people in very fancy jobs who have spent time in a U.S. Attorney’s Office or at the Department of Justice.

That said, I’ve talked to a relatively large number of lawyers leaving the government over the years about where they go next after being a prosecutor. The answer isn’t as obvious as you’d think. Some folks leaving time in a federal prosecutor’s office have been very surprised at how hard it can be to land a job that they want.

So, based on those conversations and watching my friends’ careers over the years, here’s what I’m seeing in the marketplace for private sector white-collar jobs for people leaving the government. And, of course, as with all comments by anyone on career prospects, your mileage may vary.

1. A Big Firm

Big firms like to hire former prosecutors — there’s no doubt. You know what they like more? Hiring former prosecutors with a demonstrable book of business. And it is a rare former AUSA who has a demonstrable book of business (since an AUSA isn’t allowed to generate business as an AUSA).

So, what happens when you don’t have the very thing your potential employer wants?

The standard offer I hear about from large law firms for folks who have been prosecutors is something like a counsel position with the intent to revisit how things are going/be considered for partner in a few years (generally two years, sometimes a little more, rarely fewer). Maybe there’s a nonequity partner spot in there, but those tend to be a little more rare.

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What will you be doing in those few years? Two things — one, working a lot on billable stuff other people generated, and two, trying desperately to generate work. When they look at you for going up for partner, though, it’s likely to be that the business generation will be a much larger part of the calculus.

Basically, in a large law firm, your ability to generate business determines your ability to succeed. If you do really good work and can convince someone who generates a ton of business that you’re indispensable, that works too, but it’s just another way of saying that you’re anchored to a good source of business.

Some folks coming out of the government are just natural business generators by disposition. Others have such a deep network or relationships from their time in the government that they do fine off the jump. But not everyone. Definitely not everyone.

Some firms are good at helping folks coming from the government start to get a book. Some firms are really bad at it. Try to find the first kind of firm. I recommend being lucky.

That’s the basic model offer that should be relatively easy to get (though even there it seems to be getting a little harder, depending on where you’ve been in the government).

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On the other hand, some friends of mine have walked into a very good symbiotic relationship with a firm. If, for example, you’ve been doing something very specific and the firm has been referring out that same very specific kind of work, they can give you work that would otherwise be sent out if they hire you. That makes you much much more valuable. If you’re in that spot, then the odds are much greater that you’d get a better deal than the standard issue “counsel and we’ll see” option.

2. A Small Firm

Would you like even more pressure to generate business? Then small-firm life is for you!

Unless you’re teaming up with folks who you know and who are excited to work with you. As with all things, if you’ve got relationships, that makes life better.

3. In-House

These can be great gigs. These can be horrible gigs. On the plus side, you don’t have to originate business. On the downside, you have to balance the business needs of the company with your legal responsibilities. Which is to say you’re generating business, just in a different way.

The in-house jobs I’m seeing people get tend to be running investigations. It seems that companies are bringing investigation work in-house that they used to send out as a way to keep costs down. There’s a meaningful question whether this can continue after the Yates memo (see, e.g., Solomon Wisenberg’s second suggestion for how to give the memo teeth), but for now, just like GEICO brought its car crash litigation in-house, a lot of investigations that would have been done by outside counsel are being done internally.

So if you just want to do legal work these could be a great option. That said, these are also tricky to get. They tend to go to lawyers who have run a lot of complicated investigations and already have very good reputations based on that work. Though, again, your mileage may vary and there are a lot of companies out there.

The bottom line? Yes, being a former federal prosecutor can open some doors.

But that feeling of malaise that you have when you’re an associate and you see no good options for a next step in your career? Federal prosecutors can feel that too. If you’re thinking getting a job as an AUSA will pave your future with gold, you’re probably overselling it to yourself.

Maybe you feel called to put people in prison. If so, moving to be an AUSA makes sense for you. But if you think adding “former federal prosecutor” to your name will automatically launch yourself into riches, you may want to do more due diligence.

You know, the same way you probably didn’t when you thought about applying to law school.

Matt Kaiser is a white-collar defense attorney at Kaiser, LeGrand & Dillon PLLC. He’s represented stockbrokers, tax preparers, doctors, drug dealers, and political appointees in federal investigations and indicted cases. Most of his clients come to the government’s attention because of some kind of misunderstanding. Matt writes the Federal Criminal Appeals Blog and has put together a webpage that’s meant to be the WebMD of federal criminal defense. His twitter handle is @mattkaiser. His email is mkaiser@kaiserlegrand.com He’d love to hear from you if you’re inclined to say something nice.

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