Absolutely miserable in Biglaw Real Estate internship. Is it possible to transition to the buy-side or brokerage?

I hate my Biglaw Real Estate internship so much. I went to law school to practise litigation but I was thrown into the Real Estate practice group. I knew nothing about Real Estate cause I hated studying property law and real estate transactions. 

I find the work to be extremely dry and boring but it is the only skillset that I have right now. 

I have 2 options: To drop out from law school after 2L or transition to other real-estate companies.

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful
liminfer

I hate my Biglaw Real Estate internship so much. I went to law school to practise litigation but I was thrown into the Real Estate practice group. I knew nothing about Real Estate cause I hated studying property law and real estate transactions. 

I find the work to be extremely dry and boring but it is the only skillset that I have right now. 

I have 2 options: To drop out from law school after 2L or transition to other real-estate companies.

Licensed attorney here who went into development (I have done multifamily, retail, and office).  I did my two summers at law firms and did not like it at all, but I had no interest in litigation.  If you are at a good law school with a good class rank, there will still be recruitment for litigation 3L and ONE YEAR after graduation (do not extend the search beyond this time, it does not end well).  If you are sure you want lit, forget about real estate.  They are very different.  As a rising 3L, do not drop out, it would create a big resume gap and you will look back on law school and wonder what could have been.

By buy side I assume you mean finance/acquisitions/portfolio roles.  Those are very tough to get for attorneys.  I would get your ARGUS certification asap and take excel courses at the nearest business school.  Know basic modelling and joint waterfalls.  The tests for entry-level roles will be simpler than this, but you want to ace them.  Arguably the best way to obtain RE employment for attorneys is development roles.  You work on entitlements, permitting, and some construction oversight.  It is great knowledge, but it does pay a good deal less than big law.  Brokerage with 0 salary and all commission is always an option, no need to rush into it.  

Feel free to DM me.  I despised law and am happy I went into RE.  

 

Enim quia qui veritatis id dolorem. Adipisci et quod quisquam aliquam facere magni. In omnis officiis nihil fugiat illum. Quaerat illo adipisci consequuntur distinctio et quasi. Et eos ea ea maiores temporibus. Minima beatae aspernatur consectetur deserunt quis ab mollitia. Non veritatis adipisci quae voluptate eum.

Dolor aut maiores molestias qui hic dolor. Totam ut et quidem sed qui ut. Voluptates qui sit cum similique.

Ea nobis at eum inventore quas ipsa aspernatur. Minus aut voluptatem reprehenderit ea. Labore cumque dignissimos consequatur recusandae fugit est corrupti. Sed totam sint labore quia et commodi ratione. Quis vero fugiat laboriosam non.

Accusantium est voluptates sequi id. Saepe aut sunt et iure possimus dolores facere. Saepe et sit autem quia eaque eum mollitia autem. At quidem aut dolor quod.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (53) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”