Summary: Relocating to a new market will often be an attorney’s best option to move up in the legal market for several reasons explained in this article.
Relocating to a new market is a great way to move up in the legal profession. Harrison Barnes explores why relocating is a good idea in his article, “Why Relocating to a Different Market Is the Greatest (But Little Known) Way for a Law Firm Attorney to Get Ahead in the Legal Profession.” With the lateral market being extremely competitive, finding a way to get a little edge will never hurt.
Changing firms within your market can be a good way to get ahead in the industry. Switching often is not a good idea because it tells potential law firms that you are a flight risk. If there are things with your current firm that you wish to change or forget, getting a fresh start is a great excuse to relocate. Making mistakes in your current position will greatly diminish any chances of advancement so moving to a new firm must happen if the attorney wishes to move up.
Relocating provides an attorney the opportunity to write a new history for themselves. You can change things about your past and current career trajectory to something you want it to be. A blank slate is a great time to prove your worth to a new firm and be the attorney you want to be.
Relocating gives an attorney the chance to take their time to find the right fit instead of taking the first job that gets offered to them even if they didn’t want it. Now the attorney will have the experience in the industry to know what firm culture is right for them, what firms have the best work, what type of work you want to be involved in, and more.
Changing markets is an even better way of getting ahead in your career. An attorney looking to move firms should open up the doors as wide as possible by looking at all markets for the right job. Relocating to a new city for family reasons is one of the most important factors that make it easier to move up so up so an attorney needs to consider all options in the new city. Law firms that an attorney may interview with will be focused on their motivation to move to be closer to family instead of fearing the attorney made mistakes at their previous job.
Just moving firms within the same market raises some red flags for law firms. They will assume that attorneys moving in the same market are only doing so to escape a problem. The problem may only be something minor like a bad culture fit but to the law firm, the attorney is still a risk. Law firms will assume that an attorney moving to a new market is doing so for a better reason like moving to be close to family.
It does not matter if the attorney is moving to or from a smaller market to a larger one, the options for jobs will be plentiful. Attorneys moving to a smaller market can apply to any and all law firms even if they aren’t advertising job openings. An attorney from a large market will have experience and skills that many smaller firms will be happy to have. Attorneys moving from a smaller market to a large one like New York City or Los Angeles will be greeted with open arms because they bring with them an enthusiasm to work in a major market that other attorneys have lost.
Do you think attorneys relocating to a new market have better odds at moving up? Tell us in the comments below.
To learn more about how to get a better job, read these articles:
- 10 Reasons New York Law Firms Are the Best and Produce the Best
- Top Law Firms Consider 6 Questions When Hiring Lateral Attorneys
- The Lateral Market Plays by a Different Set of Rules
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