The Young Lawyer’s Journey: Career Changes

I will always be grateful for the experience I had at my first law firm. When I think about it, it’s really that experience that made me a lawyer. I earned the degree, and I passed the bar exam. But that firm gave me my first client and my first real legal issue to solve.

In many ways, I had a typical experience. It was a midsize health law firm, still owned and managed by the founding partners. I was fresh out of law school, waiting on bar exam results, and quickly coming to the realization that I didn’t know much about how law was actually practiced.

The partner I worked for, Jack, was tough — very much “old-school” in his approach to training new associates — but over time, we found our stride. What he offered in experience I learned to match in effort, and notwithstanding the occasional reminder of my inexperience, I came to enjoy not just working his files but working with him, in partnership, to deliver for our clients.

So, when, at just two years into practice, I was presented with the opportunity to move in house with Ochsner Health, I had very mixed emotions. Transparently, I had thought my career might take me in that direction eventually. I had grown up around hospitals and healthcare providers, and hospital administration had always interested me. But I was very much still learning how to be a lawyer.

Moreover, I felt a deep sense of loyalty to my law firm. They had offered me my first clerkship, which led to an associate offer (my only associate offer). It’s not lost on me that not everyone lands in their desired practice area right out of law school, but they took a chance on me and gave me the opportunity to be a health lawyer.

Maybe even more importantly, I had worked hard for that job. After I interviewed for a summer clerkship, I followed up — they might argue relentlessly — until they finally gave me an offer. I split my summer between their Lafayette and New Orleans offices, made my interests in an associate offer clear, and followed up on that offer with the same tenacity.

When I finally started as an associate, I used every misstep, every tough conversation (constructive or not) as an opportunity to redouble my efforts to prove to them — but, probably, even more to myself — that I belonged there. I was proud of the work I had accomplished and the reputation I had earned.

But I couldn’t help but feel guilty. They took a chance on me; they were the first to give me an opportunity. How could I be so quick to explore perceived greener pastures?

Eventually, I made the tough decision; I took the job with Ochsner, not knowing where it would lead or if I’d even be successful. As of this July, I have been with Ochsner for ten years.

It will come as no surprise that the firm survived without me. I wasn’t the first associate to leave, and they have hired many more since then. What did surprise me was that Jack congratulated me on the offer. If anything, I think he was proud. He used to brag that I wasn’t the first associate he had trained to go on to work for one of Louisiana’s top health systems.

In fact, our paths continued to cross routinely. My old firm represents a number of hospital service districts that do a variety of business with Ochsner. As any transactional attorney will tell you, it’s not uncommon that some deals get done because of the relationships between opposing counsel, not in spite of them, and as it turned out, those first few years of practicing alongside Jack proved to be the very reason we were able to accomplish a lot of great things for our clients.

There are parts of my story that may differ from yours. You may choose to stay; certainly, some lawyers spend their entire careers fulfilled by the experience they have with their first firm. More likely, you too will choose to go — most lawyers do change jobsat leastonce in their careers — but maybe the boss you’re leaving behind will struggle to be happy for you. For some, changing jobs may be an experience you undertake multiple times throughout your career.

But nearly all of us will be faced with the decision to stay or go at some point in our careers. As a young lawyer, you may be wrestling with that decision at this very moment. Remember that it’s ok to choose what’s right for you. Life will go on, for you and for them. Your former firm will survive; you will survive. Even if it ends up not being the right move, it won’t be your last opportunity to make a change in your career.

Being a young lawyer can be scary, but making tough decisions is part of the job. If you’re struggling with your career choices, know that you’re just at the beginning of a story that’s barely been written. Inevitably, we do our best work when we feel fulfilled by that work. If you haven’t yet found fulfillment in our profession, know that you have options, and you can find the success you are looking for if you’re just willing to take a leap.