Transactional vs. Litigation Work in Biglaw
Many attorneys — some early in their Biglaw career, others a bit later — begin to question whether their choice of a transactional or litigation path is best-suited to their particular personality preferences and career goals. Of course, it’s never too late to switch if you’re deeply unhappy with the sort of work that you’re currently locked into. In most cases, however, curious attorneys are on the fence as to whether a move to one or the other (transactional or litigation work) would be reasonable, given the circumstances.
At the end of the day, the choice of whether to go transactional or to become a litigator must be personal. There are certain objective factors that may come into play in helping you make a determination, but ultimately, your choice should seriously consider the subjective alignment of interests. For help in understanding what choice may be right for you, we recommend that you speak with an experienced legal recruiter here at Garb Jaffe & Associates. We not only provide you with skilled recruitment services to help you secure a position at a top California law firm or in-house department, but can also provide career counseling services.
Let’s take a look at some of the objective-factors that might influence your decision. Consider the following.
Transactional Attorneys Have Diverse Exit Opportunities
Generally speaking, Biglaw litigators do not have transformative or diverse exit opportunities. A litigator looking to change their career might be able to move into government or non-profit work, for example, or change their particular practice area or industry focus within litigation, but in-house opportunities are quite rare by comparison. Transactional attorneys, on the other hand, have a diverse range of exit opportunities throughout their career. A transactional attorney can easily move in-house (a significant majority of in-house positions are transactional in nature), and in-house transactional attorneys also stand a better chance at shouldering responsibilities from the business-side of things.
Industry Trends Reflect a Slowdown in Growth for Biglaw Transactional Work
Generally speaking, statistics and industry trends reveal growth in the transactional sector overall. Interestingly, however, growth appears to be slowing for Biglaw transactional departments, while growth is accelerating for less prestigious, smaller, and/or boutique firms. Many industry commentators believe that this trend reflects a general acceptance among corporate entities of the quality of the work-product provided by cheaper, non-Biglaw alternatives in the transactional market. Biglaw transactional attorneys may therefore find — if this trend continues — that their career growth is stifled due to increased competition and less work. One option, of course, is to move in-house.
The Health of the Economy is Closely Tied to Transactional Opportunities
Litigation work tends to remain relatively stable, regardless of the health of the economy (though the health of the economy does play a role). Transactional work, on the other hand, is much more closely tied to the health of the economy. As the economy slows down, transactional opportunities become sparser. Attorneys who are concerned about layoffs, downsizing, and consistent career growth opportunities may find that transactional work is perhaps too sensitive to economic changes. Your career opportunities can be stifled by an economic depression, for example, that is completely out of your control. If this level of unpredictability is untenable to you, consider litigation work (or look for exit opportunities to a more stable transactional position).
Work-Life Balance Varies Based on a Number of Factors
Whether transactional lawyers or litigators in Biglaw face equivalent work-life balance issues is a matter of some debate. Work-life balance is a combination of a number of factors that do not necessarily coincide with the transactional/litigation bifurcation of work, such as the firm culture overall, your position within the firm, the health of the economy, the presence of a difficult and demanding client, among other things.
Still, despite the fact that there is some debate as to work-life balance, many attorneys find — in general — that transactional work tends to be more consistently high-volume and time-sensitive. Whereas litigators may have lull periods where they can be more laid back (with concomitant spikes of activity), transactional attorneys often have a high level of consistent work throughout the year, with additional spikes of activity on top of that. This can put a lot of pressure on transactional attorneys, particularly since their work is often time-sensitive.
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Are you an attorney interested in making the jump to a new organization and perhaps switching to “the other side” of corporate transactional/litigation work? The experienced San Francisco Bay Area legal recruiters here at Garb Jaffe & Associates have a track record of success in helping place attorneys at ideal destinations for job satisfaction and career growth. Our recruiters understand your frustrations and can help you navigate the difficulties of the legal hiring process, and — with enough preparation — can even help you to make the transition to transactional work or litigation work.
Call (310) 207-0727 to schedule a consultation with one of our legal recruiters today. We look forward to speaking with you!