If you are considering lateraling to another firm, there is no more pivotal time in your legal career than the fifth year of practice. Your fifth year is when you should start thinking about finding a new job if you’re not happy with your current one. Do not stop. Do not pass go. Get your resume ready, think about what you want out of your next job, and get in a mindset to move. If you are truly happy where you are and it’s going to get you where you want to go (in-house, to partnership), count yourself lucky and then sit pretty.
In many professions, seniority is a pure asset. I personally prefer a doctor with some grey hair. In lateral law firm moves, seniority tips over and becomes a hindrance for many roles starting in the sixth year. This isn’t a complete blanket rule; I occasionally see a rare role for a very senior associate, but these are often not partnership track or they’re hyper-niche.
What’s the big deal about being a sixth or seventh year? Let’s start with some hard data. In running a search for all the Am Law 100 firm jobs for fifth years across a number of major markets in the U.S.—including the Bay Area, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, and Boston—there are 785 total roles for fifth years. For sixth years, there are 628. For seventh years, there are only 382. That is across all those markets. That is the cliff.
Now, what are the odds that in that number of sixth- or seventh-year opportunities that there is one job in your practice area that is available at the right time and at a firm you’d go to? Not great. Which is why the drop from sixth-year to seventh-year jobs is relevant here; it may take you awhile to find something you’re excited about. It may take moving “downstream” to find a job.
Who are you up against? There are 3,412 fifth-year associates in those markets. Of those, 1,584 attended top 25 schools; 1,194 attended top 14 schools; and a full 605 attended top five schools. Of these fifth-year associates, 390 completed U.S. Court of Appeals, U.S. District Court, or U.S. Supreme Court clerkships. This is your competition for the increasingly small number of jobs as you advance.
One of my candidates—a sixth year who has impeccable credentials in every respect other than her class year—said she feels like “overripe fruit.” She’s succeeded at everything she’s ever done—from her sterling Ivy League education to her high-profile federal clerkship. By all indications, she’s a talented lawyer. But the firms she wants to go to are not interested in meeting her. Why not? It’s entirely about seniority.
So, what’s the problem with associates past the sixth year?
You’re increasingly expensive. You make a lot of money. That’s great! Enjoy it. You’ve earned it. But that also means that you’re a pricey bet for another firm.
You’re in the mold of your firm. Firms undeniably have different moods and flavors. If you’re at a fairly formal East Coast firm for many years, it can feel like a leap for a San Francisco-based firm to hire you. They may simply think it’s too late for you to learn their ways.
Your motives are dubious. You say you’re on a promising track to partnership where you are, and you’re solidly a sixth year—why would you risk it and move now? This is pushback I get constantly as I represent sixth and seventh years. There is a huge amount of skepticism and a fear that more senior lawyers are being pushed out.
Is your firm getting you where you want to go? Are you going to be able to make partner there or go in-house from there? Are you happy? If the answer to any of these questions is anything other than a firm yes, it could be time to test the market. I wouldn’t wait another year. As lawyers, we’re accustomed to succeeding, and the application process after the fifth year can present more of a climb, even for truly exceptional associates.
