BigLaw to Consulting (CA)
Hi everyone,
Currently contemplating leaving law for consulting, and any personal / second-hand experience would be much appreciated.
I'm a first-year associate doing corporate finance in CA, mostly doing acquisition finance. Long story short, though I've done quite well my position so far to get early experiences including client contact, I've become somewhat disenchanted with transactional work in general. It's more than the long hours grappling with small tedious tasks -- I understand that a life of a consultant, especially early on would also entail the same struggle but at least I would be dealing with big picture matters. As a transactional lawyer, I often feel like 95% of the job (even as a partner) is to faithfully document the client's term sheet to agreements. It is definitely a pertinent part of a deal that someone has to do, but I would rather be the one calling the shots rather than assist execute documents. Not really seeking a therapy session here, but just wanted to provide some info as to why I plan (or at least give it as thought) to leave law for consulting.
I graduated from a top local law school and I see that Mck and Bain recruit the 3Ls from my school. Didn't really have substantive work experience to be considered by m/b/b but I did take a handful of business school courses in law school involving quantitative exercise I did enjoy it. What would be my chances to get my foot in the door to interview at m/b/b? I'm particularly interested in Bain because they seem to do more PE work than others so any intel on their recruiting process for someone like in my position would be very helpful.
Also, from my short research so far, the general consensus seems to be that consultants m/b/b have far less job security than big law. Though there may not be many folks who experienced both to compare, any thoughts as to the job security for consultants in the recent years?
Thanks!
For Bain, your chances are slim although not impossible. Bain North America doesn't really do year-round hiring for Consultant-level and below. We adhere to mostly campus recruiting for our yield. Assuming you haven't applied to Bain before, your best bet is to try to network with your target office's MBA/APD recruiter and higher level alums to talk through your situation since you're only a year out.
As for job security, we have an up or out system. You need to consistently perform well and show upward progress to reach the next level, or you will get counseled out. Outside of that, the job is relatively secure. During the economic downturn around '08-'09 we didn't really let anyone go.
Thanks for the response. I'm inferring that the reason why you see the chances to be slim is because I will have a difficult time getting an interview? Once I get an interview (yes a convenient assumption), are my chances of getting hired solely determined by my interview performance vis-a-vis others?
One more follow up question: now that I look at the case interview materials, they're actually somewhat entertaining. How indicative of what consultants do day to day? Still trying to figure out what a typical day of a consultant looks like other than the often mentioned traveling + slides.
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