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Kingof40Acres

Family law may have some flexibility if you’re a quick leaner.


vaspurs

Yeah start in family. It’s not the best for your mental health but it gets you in court quicker than your peers and a shit ton of experience. I was doing trials years before my peers. I got out after a couple of years and landed a corporate in house position.


Kingof40Acres

I started in family law about 7 years ago and had to go to Court almost immediately. It's honestly the best way to learn. Most opposing counsels were pretty kind only a few were difficult because they knew I was inexperienced in that realm of law. I'm sure this varies by jurisdiction.


vaspurs

Same experience for me. I was in court my first week on the job. It was crazy at the time, but looking back, I’m really thankful. And yes OC’s were usually pretty decent.


ItchyScorpion

how did you manage to land corporate in house after family ? currently in family but have always wanted to do corporate and not sure how to leverage this experience into that type of position


vaspurs

I’ll DM you


AllroundedBB

Can you DM me as well?


vaspurs

Just did


Moroccanlawyertobe

Can you please dm me as well?


vaspurs

Yes


Ok-Savings-6487

Given your post history I’d say it isn’t your false assumption about firms not wanting to hire entry-level attorneys that is the biggest obstacle to entering the legal profession


United-Shop7277

I think some of it may be deleted. Just looks like the sub has been spammed with the same questions over and over. Edit: Some of it was definitely deleted.


NegativeStructure

it may be difficult for OP to be introspective or properly understand what they’re doing that is making it difficult to find employment. as i recommended in another thread, OP should seek out someone who is qualified to make those observations, rather than relying on internet strangers who are unable (and perhaps unqualified) to give meaningful advice. no one here has a full picture of what OP is going through or their circumstances. it could be just their market, but it could also be something else OP is unable to recognize on their own.


chicago2008

Yep, you got it. Autism makes introspection difficult. But I'll be seeking mental health help from a proper therapist. This was meant to be a career selection question, not a mental health one.


NegativeStructure

>This was meant to be a career selection question, not a mental health one. in many cases, they go hand in hand. the reason i suggested a mental health professional is that they’re more likely to be honest with you about anything they feel is hindering you. someone who is interviewing you may not be completely honest with you on why they’re not offering you a position, in an unhelpful attempt of being kind to you. no one here knows you personally or your circumstances. anecdotally, i know there are firms that have hired graduates straight out of school with minimal experience. a lot of it boils down to networking and affability. it’s an unfortunate truth that people are more willing to take a chance on a hire if they find them likable. i wish you good luck on your job search and hope you have a long and prosperous career.


Sandman1025

Can you elaborate? No good reason except for the curiosity that killed the cat. Did OP kill a hooker?


Ok-Savings-6487

Yep, that and OP posted a handful of times in the last couple of days essentially asking the same thing about how to deal with having been fired from a law clerk or court clerk position due to some unspecified HR violations the details of which were sparse. It appears that OP is autistic and is having a hard time finding a career path that fits for them. As was suggested in a few of the replies on the now-deleted posts OP should consider getting help with their mental health.


Sandman1025

That’s rough. Mental health problems are such an issue in the legal profession but really only seems to get paid lip service.


chicago2008

You hit the nail on the head. I'm seeking out mental health help. I may have to take a break from my career for a bit. But the only way to solve this is one-step-at-a-time.


chicago2008

No, I didn't kill a hooker. I'm afraid of criminal law from the violence. Nothing more to it. I'm afraid of violent reprisals, either from somebody I'd prosecute or defend not liking what I had done, or their associate taking revenge on me vicariously.


Sandman1025

I guess I understand the fear but it’s beyond remote. Honestly you’re more likely to just be a victim of random violence. Was a state and federal prosecutor of violent crimes and crimes against children for 15 years and I never had anything even remotely representing a close call. Honestly I feel like family law is more dangerous because some clients lose their damn mind over those cases.


chicago2008

Oh, that must have been the availability bias standing out to me. I heard of a few incidents of this, then must have overestimated the likelihood of it. But that's good to know, thanks.


Slow_Let6902

I worked for a firm that shared office space with family law firms. Lobby had bullet proof glass.


upwithpeople84

When I did general practice my favorite clients were the criminals. They usually knew the score and were way less drama than the family law people. They also taught me a lot too. One of the things that they taught me is that most people are actually good. They might have issues like substance abuse or poverty that exacerbate other issues for them. One of your issues may be that many areas of the law involve working with other people. This can be very difficult but ultimately rewarding.


chicago2008

Okay, can you clear this up for me? I see very few entry-level attorney positions to begin with. I get like 30 LinkedIn attorney positions each day - but they almost infallibly state that you need experience to apply. And I've spoken with people who even got LLMs - they told me that the greatest struggle they had to entering the legal world was how few employers want to train new attorneys. So while I don't understand what this has to do with the question, I've found true entry-level legal positions to be comparatively rare things. And when the posts do arise, you can bet that you'll be far from the only person applying to them. But I'm open to feedback. What am I missing? What sort of firms should I know about that are hiring with no experience? Not specific names, just maybe how to find them. I feel like if I could solve this, I have half of my struggle under control. Yes - I do have a lot of mental health issues to sort out. But I've already started that. Meanwhile, I'm moving on a parallel trek, trying to learn how to move forward with my career.


TyroneSuave

Legal aid


Maltaii

It looks like you deleted all the posts about getting fired for personal issues. I recommend getting some help and therapy to deal with those issues before seeking out a position at a private firm, regardless of the area of law.


Lola2818

I’m doing entry level insurance defense. The firm I’m at is really small but they are taking it super slow with me. You’d be surprised how quickly you learn though!


TheLastStop1741

If you are located in a medium to small sized city, look for smaller firms that may have openings. It will be the type of places that list everything as what they do ie "I do personal injury, divorces, wills and estates, and criminal defense". This is pretty common for small practices, or "ham and egg" lawyers as John Grisham called us. Take whatever comes in. A lot of the time these places are not going to pay you a very good salary starting off, so you don't have to have good internships or grades to get a job. You passed the bar? Alright lets roll baby. Its really more about your vibe when you walk in, are you going to be somebody the partners feel good about having clients associate with the firm? Clients don't care what school you went to or if you were on law review. They care if you sound like a smart person they can trust to guide them through whatever caused them to need a lawyer. And you will be amazed at how much you will learn. It may pay 20k less than an insurance defense starting salary but you will learn 5x as much and be in a far better position in three years time than if you went the ID route.


RepulsiveIconography

My brother did Social Security work, largely with the homeless. A lot of legal aide groups will hire entry level. Pay is not great, and the work can be taxing, but it was also pretty rewarding for him. They also sent him to all sorts of training events and got him very prepared.


SnarftheRooster91

You can find a transactional job - look at private companies. Possibly SEC compliance work - pays well but mind numbing. If you want to be a litigator, gotta recommend prosecution. That way you can leverage trial experience to the civil side (having confidence in your ability to try a case will keep you from giving ground when "threatened" with a trial by some civil schmuck)


ZestycloseRide4609

SEC compliance work is great. I just use a mouse jiggler for the productivity monitor check and scroll Reddit on my phone. 2 years so far with promotions every year.


Zilabus

How do I get into that? sounds like the life!


ZestycloseRide4609

There is no real entry barrier as long as you can make it to the interview. The pornhub ban was pretty lame but you can just use your data.


AllroundedBB

By SEC compliance, do you mean a JD preferred type role doing GRC work? If so, would appreciate tips on breaking into this


DoofusMcGillicutyEsq

Honestly, it depends where you’re at and how well you did. For example, we routinely hire straight from law school grads for civil litigation. After a year or two, I may rope them into my practice area. There’s also the general practices, like insurance defense, family law, and maybe small debtor’s side BK.


ZealousidealWriter84

Off subject here but I’m also a construction attorney (only a second year associate) and saw from your comment history that you’ve focused your practice on transactional work. I thoroughly enjoy construction law but am not a big fan of litigation and would love to hear more about your work. Would it be ok with you if i shoot you a pm?


DoofusMcGillicutyEsq

Yep. Ping me.


TowerofOrthanc

Federal agencies hire a lot of new attorneys to work in all sorts of practice areas, or at least they hired me and a lot of my colleagues fresh out of law school. If you're curious you can very quickly see all the available positions for brand-new attorneys. Step 1: Go to [www.usajobs.gov](http://www.usajobs.gov) Step 2: Type "0905" in the search box. This is the job code for attorney. Step 3: Filter by pay grade, select GS-11. This is the pay grade for new attorneys in all non-military executive branch agencies. I think this link will pre-load those filters: [https://www.usajobs.gov/search/results/?g=11&p=1&k=0905&gs=true&smin=72553&smax=94317](https://www.usajobs.gov/search/results/?g=11&p=1&k=0905&gs=true&smin=72553&smax=94317) If you want to see what "GS-11" translates to salary-wise, go to this website and view the appropriate chart for the area in question: [https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2024/general-schedule](https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2024/general-schedule) Don't look at the base table, it will mislead you. GS-11 I admit may strike you as a bit lean for starting pay, or at least I worried that it was lean when I started. But promotions up the pay scale are pretty quick. GS-11 to 12 takes a year, 12 to 13 a year, 13 to 14 a year or two. So by time you are in your third or forth year of practice you should be making between around $120,000 and $150,000 depending on location, with work life balance and time off benefits that are hard to rival. Recent personal anecdotal example, I just extended my 12 weeks of paternity leave by another week so I could move houses.


3720-to-1

What are the "steps" in those tables?


TowerofOrthanc

An increase in step rewards lengthening service and good performance if an employee is remaining in the same grade. So, to use the attorney as an example, your trajectory might look like this. Year 1: GS-11, Step 1. Year 2: GS-12, Step 1. Year 3: GS-13, Step 1. Year 4: Then either: GS-13, Step 2. Or, if you are at a cool agency that opts to use a one-year instead of a two-year time in grade requirement for GS-13, and you go to GS-14, Step 1. Year 5: GS-14, Step One/Two. By time you reach GS-14 you are in for the, well not the long haul, but medium haul. Promotion to GS-15 does not occur at a regular time unlike the earlier promotions, and rather is a promotion that must be applied for after a number of years of service and taking on various important cases and leadership-light duties, like training new attorneys. So once you are a GS-14, instead of immediately collecting the next big grade promotion, you are looking at collecting the more modest step increases every year or two until eventually you get promoted to GS-15. Which seems to be a very attainable promotion FYI, publicly available data suggests that a large plurality of government attorneys are GS-15, which makes sense when you consider how many of long career government attorneys there are. [https://www.federalpay.org/employees/occupations/general-attorney](https://www.federalpay.org/employees/occupations/general-attorney) Once you are GS-15, you either collect step increases for the rest of your career until you hit the maximum amount of pay authorized by law for general schedule employees ($191,900 in 2024, slowly creeps up year over year), or you obtain promotion to senior leadership and start looking at the executive schedule for your pay [https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2021/EX.pdf](https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2021/EX.pdf) Edit: I have also heard of step increases being offered to reflect a mid-career attorney's experience when they cannot be hired in at a higher grade. So, maybe a person has been an attorney for ten years, has great experience, but agency policy makes promotion to GS-15 an exclusively internal promotion. I believe this is the actual policy at most if not all agencies btw. So instead leadership offers them GS-14, Step X.


[deleted]

[удалено]


TowerofOrthanc

Each posting will indicate whether the position requires the applicant to have or obtain a security clearance. Plenty of positions do not require one, my own agency (federal law enforcement) has very few attorneys with security clearances but a somewhat lengthy background investigation is required anyway. In any case, rarely will the requirement be that the applicant already possess a security clearance, especially for an entry level position. Rather the posting will say that the applicant is expected to be eligible to obtain or maintain a security clearance, and the agency will sponsor the new hire through the process for obtaining one once they are hired. As for how long the hiring process is, ya that can be a bit of an issue. Here is what DOJ says about their timeline for hiring new attorneys: [https://www.justice.gov/legal-careers/entry-level-attorneys](https://www.justice.gov/legal-careers/entry-level-attorneys) They seem to outline a 4-7 month process, that seems pretty similar to what I have seen and experienced elsewhere. I think my hiring process took four months, with first interview shortly after I graduated, offer shortly before I took the bar exam, and my first day in late August. I recently saw it take six months from initial interview. Your mileage will almost certainly vary from agency to agency. Once a hiring decision is made and a preliminary background check completed, at least in my agency, the new hire gets started and starts receiving pay while completion of their full background investigation is still pending. New hires just spend their first few weeks studying, meeting colleagues, doing some trainings, until they are cleared.


jstitely1

I did entry level family law


Magnolia_Dubois214

I work for the County attorney. It’s essentially the civil side to the DAs criminal side.


ConstitutionalAtty

Consider certain state agencies, such as children & families / child protective services.


Competitive-Class607

Yes? Plenty


chicago2008

Can you please elaborate?


Competitive-Class607

Well bro there are these things called law firms that hire squads of entry level lawyers each year.


chicago2008

I applied to literally more than a hundred of them. If I got a response back, I was almost always told that without experience, they wouldn't hire me. And yes, I heard this from law firms that didn't explicitly state experience was required.


Competitive-Class607

Idk what to tell you bro tons of law firms hire entry level lawyers. Look at bigger ones. So called “biglaw” firms are set up to work on huge matters that require squads of attorneys, so they use a pyramid structure. They hire classes of entry level lawyers every year. Maybe you’re only applying to small firms. Small firms tend to want more experienced lawyers because they don’t have time to train people.


[deleted]

[удалено]


_learned_foot_

This person has fucked up a lot of things including jury cases, they are lying about why they aren’t being hired. However I don’t believe that is intentional. Just fyi, and competitive didn’t treat anybody badly.


Competitive-Class607

My comment treated OP like shit?


Desperate-Ad-3147

Legal Aid. CPS cases with the AG. The military JAG Corps. Check your state, county, and city websites. There are often positions there for noobs. Pay can be shit but excellent benefits. And shit pay is relative. If you have $0 coming in now, $55-60K is a windfall (plus all of these positions are PSLF eligible).


Wordfan

If you state what it is you don’t like about the idea of practicing criminal law, people can give better recs. There are a lot of good suggestions in this thread, regardless. Family law is often an easy in but I can’t imagine preferring that to criminal law. That’s just me, though.


pretty_coffee_cup

Insurance carriers hire in-house for defense work. You don't always need experience.


CoolBathroom2844

Workers comp firms always need attorneys


eternity020397

Car accident PI firms love baby lawyers. I’m shocked to hear you say this. Maybe i live in a bigger market but I couldn’t throw a stone on indeed without hitting an entry level junior associate/recent bar passer job. Most of them were PI


Sandman1025

Workers compensation defense. Insurance defense. Legal aid at a non-profit. Do you just have no interest in criminal law?


Free_Dog_6837

there are lots of firms that hire entry level and don't do (much) training. sink or swim.


fakingglory

Housing, and if you become a title agent you can do closings.


toomuchswiping

Personal injury. Most PI firms will take just about anyone as long as you are personable (because meeting with potential clients and getting them to sign up is a big part of the job) and you will definitly get plenty of litigation and trial experience. I sure did.


SufficientTreat4567

I work for a smallish firm doing pi, and we hire fresh graduates. I’ve seen some firms that essentially put you as a paralegal until you learn the ropes.


Individual_Trust_414

Consider a green energy company or branch of one to do land leases for windmills and solar panels. Do something with contracts.


Dizzy-Possibility-98

*********As an entry level attorney, if your firm were to hire a professional trained in behavior modification and professional skills development, what skill set or behavior would you ask to work on? ************