Administration
changes
are
frequently
times
of
upheaval
for
government
attorneys.
Political
appointees
that
came
in
with
a
party
see
themselves
out
when
the
other
guys
take
over
government.
But
amongst
the
ways
2025
and
the
Trump
II
administration
are
not
normal,
is
the
pure
chaos
that
is
the
government
attorney
job
market.
Because
this
year,
it’s
not
just
the
political
appointees
that
are
moving
—
career
attorneys
are
also
in
the
job
market.
As
reported
by
ABA
Journal,
there
are
a
lot
of
factors
going
into
this
trend.
The
uncertainty
surrounding
the
funding
freeze,
the
return
to
the
office
mandate,
the
unilaterally
declaring
an
agency
over
are
all
parts
of
the
reasons
government
attorneys
want
out
this
year.
Plus
as
Dan
Binstock,
a
partner
at
the
Garrison
recruiting
firm,
notes,
all
of
a
sudden
government
attorneys
“feel
uneasy
about
their
jobs,”
and
they
“don’t
like
the
sense
of
uncertainty
and
unpredictability
they
are
experiencing
with
the
change
of
administrations,
and
it’s
nothing
like
what
I’ve
seen
in
prior
presidential
election
cycles.”
Which
has
led
to
an
unprecedented
recruiting
cycle:
“Oh,
my
goodness,”
says
Lauren
Drake,
a
partner
in
the
Washington,
D.C.,
office
of
recruiting
firm
Macrae.
“We’ve
never
truly
seen
anything
like
this.”Drake
says
that
Macrae
has
already
landed
double
the
number
of
private-sector
jobs
for
government
lawyers
than
the
last
presidential
election
cycle.
To
make
matters
even
worse,
Drake
notes
there
may
not
be
“enough
space
for
all
the
lawyers
looking
to
leave
the
federal
government.”
Drake
continues,
“We
are
working
with
candidates
who
are
uncertain
whether
there
is
room
for
them
to
return
to
their
former
firms,
so
they
are
exploring
multiple
options.”
And
complicating
the
situation
is
clients
that
don’t
want
firms
with
attorneys
that
come
from
the
government:
Also
unusual,
legal
recruiters
say,
is
pushback
over
law
firms
hiring
prior
administration
lawyers.
In
December
2024,
Coinbase
CEO
Brian
Armstrong
wrote
on
X
that
he
would
withhold
business
from
law
firms
that
hired
high-level
Biden
administration
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
lawyers
because
their
policies
hurt
the
cryptocurrency
industry,
according
to
Reuters.“It’s
quite
simple,”
Coinbase’s
Chief
Legal
Officer
Paul
Grewal
wrote
in
response
to
an
sent
by
the
ABA
Journal.
“[E]very
professional
should
expect
to
be
known
by
the
company
they
keep.
If
you
were
a
former
SEC
official
that
refused
to
tell
us
the
rules
before
suing
us
for
violating
the
rules,
we
aren’t
interested
in
hiring
you.”
It’s
almost
like
they’re
emboldened
by
officials
at
the
highest
levels
maintaining
enemy
lists.
While
not
every
government
lawyer
has
the
luxury
of
time
in
their
job
search,
if
you
*do*
it’s
probably
in
your
best
interests
to
wait
at
least
a
little
while
before
bailing.
The
glut
of
job
seekers
will
peter
out
and,
as
Binstock
notes,
your
stock
is
likely
to
go
up.
“People
are
thinking,
I
just
need
to
get
out,
but
they
may
be
more
marketable
six
months
or
a
year
from
now,”
he
said.
“They
will
have
had
interactions
with
the
new
administration
and
a
better
understanding
of
its
internal
workings,
and
that
will
make
them
more
valuable
in
the
private
sector.”
For
those
soon-to-be
former
government
attorneys
battling
this
job
market:
may
the
odds
be
ever
in
your
favor.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
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 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].