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Coming out of law school, most people’s credentials are the same: “I went to X Law School. My grades were Y.” You get hired (or not) based on those credentials. Employers are hiring you for what you may become, not what you are.
After five years, things have changed. Your law school grades probably don’t matter quite as much. But your experience becomes far more important: “I’m a litigator.” “I’m an employment litigator.” “I’m a tax adviser.” “I give SEC advice.” “I advise investment funds.” You’re no longer a blank slate — a young lawyer who can be molded into any form.
As time passes, your grades almost certainly matter less and experience molds you further still. After 10 or 20 years of repeatedly doing the same thing, you can no longer plausibly claim to be something other than what you are.
Perhaps you’re now a specialist.
Or perhaps not. After 10 or 20 years of doing a variety of different things, you can no longer claim to be a specialist in some particular field. You’ve become a generalist, and the only people who will retain (or employ) you are those seeking out generalist advice. You no longer run with the specialists.
The same truth holds true for everyone: You enter the workforce with your credentials; you exit with your experience.
Think about this as you make choices.
I’ve heard a person say (quite reasonably), “Thanks for thinking of me for an in-house job as an employment lawyer. But I’m now working at a firm, and I have my own client base. If I work for your corporation, I’ll have to give up my client base. And then, if your corporation fires me, I’ll have nowhere to go. I won’t run that risk.”
That’s an entirely reasonable person.
But I’ve also heard people say (quite reasonably), “Why would we hire an employment lawyer who’s worked only at a law firm for 20 years when there are other candidates who have in-house experience? We need someone who understands how corporate structures work and who knows the type of advice that in-house lawyers are regularly called upon to give. We don’t want someone from a firm; we want someone with in-house experience.”
You have to pick your poison; you can’t be both candidates.
Coming out of law school, many students talk about “keeping their options open.” But options exist only to be exercised. Inertia or indecision can cause someone to take the path of least resistance, or the path of maximum prestige, or the path of greatest riches. But no matter how you select it, you’ve chosen a path, and that route will dictate where you go.
Mark Herrmann spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and is now deputy general counsel at a large international company. He is the author of The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law and Inside Straight: Advice About Lawyering, In-House And Out, That Only The Internet Could Provide (affiliate links). You can reach him by email at inhouse@abovethelaw.com.