Biglaw, Courts

Former Federal Judge Reveals Why She Left The Bench For Biglaw

It was all about the Benjamins, baby.

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gavel and cash moneyI was at the point where I had children who were approaching college, with a husband becoming an ex-husband who was just getting his feet on the ground at a law firm so he had not yet started to earn Big Law money. I frankly did not believe I could continue to perform as a judge because of the money.

— Katherine Forrest, formerly of the Southern District of New York, in comments given to the National Law Journal, on why she decided leave the bench in favor of returning to Biglaw. She also noted that the high costs of living in New York City factored in to her decision to leave the judiciary. Forrest had served as a judge for seven years before she joined Cravath in 2018. She recently made a lateral partner move to Paul Weiss.

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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