Ascending the Legal Ladder: Tips for Junior Associates to Move from Mid-sized to Prestigious Law Firms

Description

Harrison shares tips for junior associates to move from mid-sized to prestigious law firms
Being in a practice area that is in demand is the best way to work up to a more prestigious law firm
Specializing in a practice area increases the chances of getting into a more prominent law firm
Mid-size and smaller firms often have generalists, while specialists are preferred by more prestigious law firms
Corporate law or specialized areas such as IP litigation and patent law can be in high demand
Follow these tips to move up the legal ladder and succeed in your career.

Transcript

Transcript:

So the best way to work up to a more prestigious law firm is to be in a practice area. The first thing that's in demand. If you're in a practice area where there are few people in that practice area, that becomes in demand, then you'll then, it's not that hard to work up to a more prestigious law.

So when the economy's excellent, if you're a junior associate at a mid-sized law firm and you're doing corporate or some sort of version of that, you shouldn't have too much trouble moving to a more prestigious law firm when that becomes very much in demand. If it's, it used to be IP litigation, a patent; this is that practice area.

But the practice area is the most important thing. Typically, if you're at a mid-size firm, one of the things I would recommend is to be in the more specialized you are in your practice area, the better. So if the type of work you do, the more specialized you are, the more likely you are to get into a more prominent law firm.

Have specialists, and mid-size and smaller firms will often have generalists.