corporate/commercial lawyer looking for career options/specialism change

[nickname7890]

hello

I am 8 years pqe, just finished maternity leave and not planning anothe baby. I trained in silver circle firm, qualified into corporate finance, moved in house to do commercial/corp work as was desparate for a life at 3 years pqe, and have stayed at that role in house ever since. My boss has now changed, and is aggressive, regressive and i just dont want to stay here. I am facing a life time working and I am an extremely driven and passionate person, yet corporate/commercial work is just NOT interesting to me and drains me and i have to put so much effort in to get myself interested in what i am doing as it is not a natural calling.

My issues are - I currently work from home twice a week, and work flexi time so i get home for bath time but then invariably log on in the evening and get little life, never ever make week day plans as i cannot face the stress of being more tired than i already am at work the next day. HOWEVER, i appreciate i am fortunate being able to have this flexible working arrangement, even if it does mean i have to work 7.30-9.30 pm then up at 5.15 for the tube to work...at least i get to see my son every day

1. i am just (only just) into 6 figures. is this an infalted salary, would i have to take a massive cut if i moved?

1. i always wanted to be a psychologist and have now missed my boat as we cannot afford a total career break / 4 or 5 year course. I have v high e-q (rare for a lawyer!) and just love people/stories/relationships. I wouldnt want a business developmetn style role only for the fact i would hate to have to entertain out of hours etc, but I know my strengths lie in understanding people and people naturally confide in me /find me easy to talk to (so im told!)

1. With this in mind, I'm thinking maybe moving in to FAMILY law would be an option - but (a) would i have to start at the beginning? (b) how would I go about this? (c) would i take a massive pay cut ? (d) what are the career/salary prospects? (d) is this a dying area for solicitors due to increase in mediation etc?

Would private client work be bette r(wills/probate etc?) or quite dull?

I do believe if I worked in something I love I would naturally do well, and so am so desparate to find that.
Perhaps another option is give a different inhouse role a try, in an industry sector I am interested in (ie not financial services) but I guess I would have to take a salary cut anyway?

ive seen CLA do conversion courses but understand taht they dont actually give you any sort of qualification and their testimonials do not inform as to where the alumni go to/come from...

any advice would be SO appreciated

x

Educational law?

What about working for a regulator like FCA, Bank of England, FCO, FRC? In-house at a law firm or accountant in their risk/prof neg team, CSR or PSL roles, law lecturer at law college, gov legal work?

What about employment?

You will have to take salary cut I think. I am now on half (had similar job and salary to you but international travel too magic circle). Now work for myself doing private client. Love it! Freedom and time with my girls. See people in their homes and love the human connection angle. Am with people as they die can be intense. I make a difference now instead of being just another line lawyer. Not for everyone but been going 6 years now.

zsazsajuju - employtment would be interesting, however how would i begin that journey and what sort of salary cut would i expect?

msTSwift - I dont think I could go on half for very long because of our mortgage commitments...also, how did you make this switch? did oyu have to do a course? and then how did you even find clients? I know paperwork is my worst side - prefer to get on with the job, so not sure i would be so great doing this alone at least not for the beggining? I love the infrastructrue of a firm, and i also hate the red tape/ hours recording etc.

@Bridget4 - i would be open to that sort of work but worry it is still not going to the more personable/soft skills that i am looking to capitalise on?
if it was a pay rise i may look into it...but i just feel at the moment the corporate dry environment coupled with a nice salary but not enough to retire early on just leave me lacking passion AND salary!

@zsazsajuju employtment would be interesting, however how would i begin that journey and what sort of salary cut would i expect?

@MsTSwift - I dont think I could go on half for very long because of our mortgage commitments...also, how did you make this switch? did oyu have to do a course? and then how did you even find clients? I know paperwork is my worst side - prefer to get on with the job, so not sure i would be so great doing this alone at least not for the beggining? I love the infrastructrue of a firm, and i a

recommend looking at the Civil Service. Check out Government Legal Department opportunities which will have a range of specialisms but are more likely to be open to flexing on the specialism, taking into account the transferability of your experience and skills. You’ll more than likely have to take a pay cut but you’ll retain more of a work life balance. Equally it will open up a range of opportunities that you may not otherwise have eg HR, policy

At a regulator once established you also have the opportunity to move out of law and into other areas where you may feel more people skills are used. This is not easy, but relatively easily achievable.

Work at regulators/civil service even as a lawyer can easily involve more people skills than in house I’d say.

You would have to take a pay cut though.

Employment/family law are really shockingly boring and very poorly paid on average. Private client work is famously laid back and a popular choice for people with children. It can be interesting if you are very into equity. In your position I would remain in your specialism. It’s well paid and can be interesting if you are willing to put in an effort. You could move into a litigation role (I say this because most people seem to find this more exiting). Also consider obtaining higher rights, this can make your work more interesting and also increase your earnings potential. Another option is moving into another in house role. Reach out to recruiters and see what they can suggest.

thank you all for your responses

@Velveteenfruitbowl would you say that private client work would be a pay cut as well ? I do feel I could give another in houserole a chance perhaps in a sector that I am naturally more drawn to / with a product which is of more personal interest/i am naturally drawn to, however I do find the more "sexier" roles tend to be worse paid and then you are back at square one.... I recognise i have built up 5 years in house experience in this regulated sector and this is potentially quite marketable, but I just find it dreary and I would love to work in a sector where industry news appealed to me etc instead of having ZERO interest in movements in the industry and just confining myself to contractual negotiations!

does anyone know how I would even effectthe above moves?!

@Couchto5ktowine i always assumed civil service owuld pay me in the 60s mark which while I absolutely recognise is a very respectable salary, it would put our outgoings/mortgage etc under significant strain as we based it on my (just) 6 figure salary x

Hi user. I think the contrast of employment vs private client or family is that there will be a lot more roles at a higher level of income. IMe there are few private client or family solicitors making the kind of income you are looking for.

What about another in-house role with a mix of areas including employment? It sounds like you have a good deal where you are though given the flexibility. It’s unfortunate as I totally understand where you are coming from.

@zsazsajuju

thank you - I guess I was hoping to stay with a london based practice in family and be paid well, but I have read that family pratcise/divorce in particular is not v recession proofa and due to mediation, there is not much work to go around.

Perhaps I should look into the employment side, or also the private client, this is a good idea. But how would I even begin to get training /experience?!

I'm not a lawyer but married to a partner in a Silver Circle form. I am a psychologist by profession. The two areas of work in their firm that always seem most interesting to me and most related to my own skills set are medical negligence ( although I think it might be harrowing if you are a very empathic person) and public enquiry law. As I say, I'm not a lawyer so have no idea if they are possibilities, but I thought I'd put it out there. Most associates would easily be on low six figures I would have thought.

Would private client work be bettr(wills/probate etc?) or quite dull?

I've just started back in Probate (legal sec). Not dull at all - some cases are like being on Mumsnet. Where's a Will there's a massive argument

StCharlotte

@StCharlotte thank you - that certainly sounds interesting ! May I ask if, as a probate lawyer, you qualified into that area and how you have found the career path an salary ?m(sorry if this is so intrusive!) but I would really appreciate any first hand advice on how I could go about moving into this area with the least risk to my pqe/ career path / salary expectations ?

Thank you

TBH I'd try another in-house move first. CoCo is a good skill base for lots of roles. You are pretty senior and could go for general counsel roles - A senior legal and cosec role at a large charity would pay what you are getting for example. Much more varied types of work and generally everyone is gone by six pm.

I'd try speaking to a handful of legal recruitment agencies and tell them what you are looking for.

I'm sorry OP I can't help as I'm just a secretary. Ironically of course you're technically already qualified but perhaps there are refresher courses for different areas. Also all secretaries in our firm are paid the same but I don't know about lawyers although it's the one department that always makes target because Brexit or no Brexit, people keep on, you know, dying

I switched from project finance magic circle to private client self employed I took institute of professional Will writers exams and that enabled me to get pi insurance then set up on my own. Appreciate not for everyone but I love it. I was working crazy hours in the city couldn’t bear missing my girls plus like you I am a people person my skills on that front were wasted. We moved out of London so no longer needed to earn 6 figures. I earn very decent salary for where we live but it’s not city money. I don’t care though I have my life back.

I have never worked for a large/ City firm so I can't comment on salary but I switched to private client work when I had children - it is much more family friendly.
I did a weekend course aimed at people looking to switch (I think the law society do them, mine was with a now defunct cpd provider) and I am currently undertaking my STEP qualifications. I work for a small high street firm but as a pp said the department ticks over nicely as we have a large Wills safe and recession or not, people keep dying.
Pay, well I am not in London and am in a high street firm so I earn £50k FTE (but I work 3 days) plus a bonus if I meet my target. It's ok but not amazing. I live within commuting distance to London and so get job alerts for there (I am currently looking to move to a mid size regional firm, I am a bit sick of the small firm!) and I would say the pay would be around £70,000 for an associate but it really varies based on experience.
Have you thought about training as a mediator? A couple of friends of mine have done that and work for themselves, they choose their hours and earn around £200 an hour, like you say - it's a growing industry.

@user1494360838 you could earn more than 60 at your PQE in some of the regulators - but not into the £100 000 mark. Big difference is that of course you don’t get the big bonus.

I completely understand where you are coming from, but I think jobs in the areas you want to move into at your salary are very unlikely. Unfortunately most of the big money is in the area you already work in!

One other option is to maybe consider going into a more general role in house - that brings a wider variety of work. Or moving to a different type of employer outside financial sector ( although again often lower paid). Inside finance I have a friend who recently moved into funds and enjoys her work much more as they have a different dynamic to a big corporate.

In reality most jobs have a compromise somewhere - salary/interest/ hours. You just have to decide which are you are going to compromise in

I am in a similar position. Just to say we’re not “lucky” to get to work evenings and weekends flexibly. Almost everyone can work from home these days!

I think you need to think very carefully about what you enjoy - I'm a private client lawyer, but would never want to be a family lawyer! They both involve dealing with people, but other than that they're not very similar.

Do you want to be a litigator? Or do you enjoy black letter law / technical detail? One thing to mention - do you do any tax work? I've seen quite a few corporate tax lawyers transition to PC, because there's quite a lot of tax in PC it seems to work fairly well. PC in a big, non- high street firm is likely to include a fair bit of tax advisory - are you interested in that?

As one pp mentioned, the STEP exams are a quality marker in the PC world. They're hard work and not cheap (if you're self-funding) but would show you're serious!

There's definitely earning potential to the level you want, but in the city pc does involve fairly long hours (one reason I went regional post baby), and it'll take you a while to realise that earning potential as you build up your experience.

thank you everyone for your kind responses and apologies for the delay - little ones with croup has wiped me out this week...!
@Flamingolegs
may I ask what process you went thorugh to switch and how you found it getting a job etc?
and could you advise onwhat my career and earning potential could possibly be in this sector? i will always have to work so my aim is to eventually move to a partner track but with the hope that i could have more flexibility over my woorking hours and also better work life alance (last year I worked 7-4 then went home did bath and bed then logged on 4 days of 5 generally, from 7 - 9.30, with very occasional weekend work but constant email monitoring)
@Peeeas I would love to do STEP exams however am cautious to invest financially without any guarantee. The weekend course sounds wonderful (was it CLT?) however my concern is how I approach the next step/getting a job.
I have emailed citizens advice bureau and various voluntary pro bono schemes. CAB havent got back to me, the voluntary schemes say I need to be an established private client/family lawyer in order to practise.

I never did a litigation seat -I did the 2 week course instead, and do regret it as I would like to have experienced it and actually found the 2 week course very interesting. Issue was that I was at a very city/corporate finance focussed firm during my training contract.