Biglaw

From Simpson Thacher Associate To Middle School Principal

An inspiring career change.

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Ever feel like being a lawyer just isn’t the ideal career for you? Sure, you may have spent too much money on a legal education but something about the job just doesn’t fit. Maybe you find your way to an investment bank or two, but still you can’t shake the feeling you should be doing something more with your life.

Malik Russell can relate. He’s a former Simpson Thacher associate that did stints at investment banks before a total career shakeup. Now he’s the principal of an elite New York City charter school. As the Daily News reports, the change was for the best:

As a lawyer “I felt uncomfortable in my clothes, like a clown in a fancy suit,” Russell said. “Now being a principal I feel more comfortable in my own clothes.”

Russell grew up in Brooklyn, the child of a single mother and got scholarships to elite schools and eventually made his way to Georgetown Law. But his days as a corporate lawyer were numbered when he ran into an old friend:

During a subway ride nearly a decade ago, he ran into a childhood friend who said that many of the crew from their old neighborhood were in trouble with the law, or worse.

When the friend told Russell that one old pal was in jail and another was dead, he felt the need to change his lifestyle immediately.

For his second career Russell began as an assistant teacher at Success Academy Bronx 1. Now he’ll be the founding principal of the Success Academy Hudson Yards Middle School when it opens this fall, and was honored as a Daily News Hometown Hero. Russell is a great inspiration for anyone who feels Biglaw life isn’t a great fit.

Corporate lawyer traded high-paying gig for calling to educate low-income NYC students [New York Daily News]

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headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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