Leaving corporate law

[FTMSunnyGiraffe]

Posting for traffic. I'm a first time mum, I have a 16 month old and work in the City as a solicitor in a niche area of corporate law. I'm really struggling since going back to work. It was hard enough before the baby but now it just feels impossible. I work about 50 hours a week at least, my time is never mine, I have to log in after putting DS to bed, constantly on call etc. I get maybe 6 hours of sleep on a good night.

Any mums on here that have left to do something else? Did you regret it? The usual route seems to go in house but I had a few interviews with clients in my area of experience I could go to and honestly the hours are still bad, 8-7 and only WFH one day a week. It would actually be worse than my current firm.

I know some become PSLs but they tend to have 10-20 year of experience so I would need a lot more years of experience before I could get into that.

I was going to suggest PSL. I know quite a few who aren’t as old as you’re suggesting, somewhere like LexisNexis?

Or HMRC (if you’re happy to take a massive pay cut!)

If you can survive on a significantly lower wage, local government lawyer work is interesting and varied but less hours and very flexible.

What about another firm that offers part time hours?

Are you tied to London? Consider a move to the regions, I’m a partner in a regional firm and the work life balance is significantly better. The salary is also significantly lower of course, but that’s the trade off.

No one offers part time hours in my area. It's transactional work, no one wants to bother with part time solicitors.

Yes, we are tied to London due to DH's job.

Is that what you do? I've been looking at that although the government legal department only seems to recruit at certain times of the year, I need to read more about how the recruitment works.

the civil service needs lawyers, would your specialism be relevant there? Probably a big pay cut and expectation to be in the office 3x a week

There are definitely easier in house jobs than you're talking about but probably a pay cut for you. The senior lawyers in my team doing broad in house work (commercial contracts, IP, bits of corporate and litigation as it arises) work 9-5, 3 days in office and 2 at home. Earn in the 70-90k range.

I'm GC and my job is very flexible but the workload pretty variable. I'm flat out this week with AGM preparation.

Go in house. Corporate background means you can do general commercial contract/co sec/governance stuff. Much better hours than transactional work. Money is less but not as low as public sector.

What is your specialism? I think this will impact things. I suspect you COULD go the inhouse route, but depending on your specialism, you'd need to look at a firm that is smaller/tier 2 and that would also be reflected in the pay.

Also, look at inhouse roles outside of london but commutable - so basically, in the larger towns just outside London like Guildford, Epsom, Richmond, Croydon, Reading, Woking, Reigate etc (and a bunch I don't know that are more North/East). They often have a less intense culture (and less intense pay).

I would also say however, that sticking it out if you can isn't a bad thing. Things will get better as you get seniority and as your DC get older. you get more control and more money (which means you can outsource more). And it gives you a lot more options at a corporate level down the line.

I'm a lawyer in the civil service and would really recommend it- interesting and important work, great colleagues (the majority of whom are ex-city looking for work-life balance without compromising quality) and a culture that actively encourages sensible working hours- people work hard but not long hours and efficiency is encouraged. Plenty of people move specialism so you wouldn't be constrained at all by having been a transactional lawyer.

Downside is the pay, which is obviously terrible compared to the city. The pension is excellent.

Yes I work in local government legal, changed after 20 years private practice. So I work for a large council, but know people who work for government legal.
You’ll have transferable skills just make sure you meet essential criteria.
Cons are pay is absolutely dire. Pros very flexible, I’m in office once a week, lots of flexibility around childcare if need that, varied and interesting work. I also like the feeling like I’m making a difference to my community.
National Highways specifically look for returners after a career break.

It depends I guess on how much you care about maintaining your higher private practice salary. Do you need the cash?

Also if you’re planning another child if might be worth waiting it out to get the maternity pay round 2. You’ll then be more senior in PQE terms which could open up more opportunities for PSL or in house roles.

How about the FCA? For what it's worth I've just secured a part time transactional role but I am 12PQE (counsel level)

If you can take a pay cut, can you downgrade to a PA role. I worked 30 odd years as a lawyer in high street firm. Left 3 years ago for corporate legal PA role. Best thing i ever did. Massive pay cut but benefits and just working til 4pm and having wfh and flexi time really makes up for loss of money. I log off and don't have to think about work until I log in the next day

But, I'm only 10 years from retirement so could take the loss

Corperate FE work is brutal

I'm thinking I actually need to get out before baby no.2 is conceived as I can't take mat leave and resign. I'd have to go back for at least 12 months otherwise they can claim all the money back.
This is the situation I am finding myself in now.

So I'd be better off in a job that is actually doable with another baby.

Also, being pregnant and working 50 hour weeks was horrendous. I was sick 24/7 for the entire pregnancy and the only way to get a break was to take a sick day, rather than anyone reducing my workload a bit.

Interesting. PAs work incredibly hard in my firm and in my previous one too. And they get very little WFH, think only one day a week and someone is breathing down their neck from the second they log in. That's what I'm scared of, going for a lower paid role and finding myself with even less flexibility and being treated like shit. Although they do log off at 5 on the dot.

Looks like government/civil service is the way to go. The pay is so incredibly low, I was hoping to find a middle ground somewhere.

DH is a low earner and doesn't have the potential for more so it's all on me.

Fair enough. 12 months is a v long time to wait!!

Sorry to hear about your sickness, that’s awful. If your team can’t accommodate you at a slower pace during pregnancy then 100% it sounds like the right decision to get out now.

Good luck with your decision!

What is your area within Corporate, and have you worked out how big a pay cut you could accept? I was an M&A lawyer, went in house after my first child and never regretted it. I still have a good salary, though its taken a while to get it back up to what I left. I also have great flexibility, wfh etc. It is possible to find. Do you have any secondment experience? Any industry specialism within Corporate? What's your PQE? All those things influence the speed and ease with which you could find something.

Yes it depends on your specialism ultimately. Some in house jobs are pretty chilled but I was in-house at an investment bank for quite some time and that was not an easy ride.

Have a think about Risk and Compliance OP. Better hours, really interesting, flexible roles available. Some jobs pay really quite well for the hours, especially senior roles in London. They would bite your hand off for transactional experience if they have any sense. The market is absolutely thriving and my team have roles spare!

there are some specialist recruiters it might be worth talking too - you can google them.

loads of people in risk have pivoted from private practice.

worth a look as public sector has its own drawbacks.

Definitely don't assume that you need to stay anywhere near your current area of expertise if you go in-house; all sorts of financial services firms (for example) will be very interested in a lawyer with decent private practice corporate experience as you'll have a ton of transferable skills. I know lots of people who have done exactly this - quite a few to insurers for whatever reason - and I'm not sure I know any who do 8-7 as a matter of course, usually nowhere near. Yes the pay will be less but corporate private practice is a straightforward deal with the devil - stick at it, make partner and you could retire comfortably in your 40s. You might look and feel 60 though, with a high chance of having become divorced and not really knowing your kids.

I managed two small children, the nursery and school juggle, I never miss bedtime and I’m quite senior now. It’s enjoyable too!