Career Clinic: Will I be forgotten while I'm on secondment?

I was once told by a partner in my MC firm that secondments tend to result in one of two outcomes. Either it goes amazingly well, the client is very happy and it raises your profile within the firm or it doesn't go so well and your profile diminishes. Only you can really know which one is more likely in your case. However, having experienced the former and then a few years later used my experience to move in-house, I would jump at the chance.

Anonymous -06 Dec 2007 | 15:25

Are you kidding? This is a great opportunity, and if it goes well will be a real string to your bow. (Obviously I'm assuming that you're going to a decent multinational and not the local county council.)When you come back everyone who wants to do any work for that client will want to be your best friend (seniors included), and you will be paraded around other clients as having industry experience, a good grasp of how businesses actually work, commercial awareness, being able to advise in context and not just in a vacum, etc. And that's because all of those things will be true - taking you head and shoulders above your peers who have never left their ivory towers. You'll make some great contacts and it will give you a fresh and invaluble perspective on things. Keep in regular touch with your firm if you're genuinely concerned about being forgotten - a flow of emails full of glowing reports of what you've been doing will soon have them sitting up and paying attention. Push for every opportunity you can whilst you're there, and make sure you're getting exposure to the real, high-value/strategic work and the senior management team/personnel, rather than just being a basic lackey for the stressed out, over-worked in-house counsel. One final thought - your colleagues might have struggled to settle back in because they saw another way of doing things and maybe questioned whether they were all that happy in their roles before they went, rather than it being down to the firm not welcomming them back with open arms. Good luck, and enjoy it!!

In-house Counsel, Bluechip PLC -06 Dec 2007 | 16:28

Client secondment can be a revitalising opportunity. It can help your approach to practice enormously to see what life is like on the other end of the phone. So far, so good. But there are downsides too, and falling off the rader of the partners you work for is one of them. There are a number of steps you can take to avoid this. Participate fully in regular departmental business, such as monthly know-how meetings. Make sure that your desk is not reallocated (pop into your old office on a regular basis to say hello and deal with any queries or admin). Make sure your matters remain "your" matters (brief people in full but remain available and ask them how things are going when you pop in). Pass feedback to the client partner regularly on an informal basis. Suggest a framework for the them to monitor how things are going on a regular basis for the purposes of ensuring your secondment there remains valuable for both the firm and the client. Think intelligently about what you're doing and what it brings to your practice; offer to give training sessions/write articles on what you've learnt when you come back. Don't pass up an opportunity to socialise with your colleagues so that they don't forget you either. Finally, secondments are sometimes made available as a way of edging someone out. Before you go, are you convinced that is not the case and/or happy to go quietly?

Ex-MC Lawyer -06 Dec 2007 | 16:36

There are a number of things you can do to make sure this works for you. Make sure you stay on group email circulation lists and check your law firm email account regularly. Return to your firm to attend training or group retreats. Schedule a meeting with the client relationship partner before you go and ask him/her what they know and what they would like to know about the client. Pick up the phone or write an email to the client relationship partner at least once a month, passing on details of what you have learnt about the client (whether this is to do with how the organisation is structured, who has just been promoted, who has just left, what markets they are looking to enter, what other law firms they have been using lately etc.). Make friends with new colleagues at the client so they continue to pass on gossip to you after the secondment has ended. Have fun!

Anonymous -06 Dec 2007 | 17:28

Unless you think you will be stuck in a back office reviewing legal opinions, seize the opportunity. My own experience has given me a whole raft of new contacts and accelerated my promotion so I have hardly been forgotten. Make the most of it and you can use it to further your position rather than it being a hindrance. Partners will love it if you integrate with the clients, and the break from your usual work will surely be a refreshing change. It is really up to you what you make of it.

Solicitor, mid tier -07 Dec 2007 | 13:14

Have a think about who the client is - (sector, industry, "big player", on the rise, going through a particularly critical phase?); what their relationship is to your firm (longstanding client, new client, client your firm is "dependant" on for a large portion of budget, have colleagues who've done a secondment there enjoyed it?, is the secondment something your firm "has to" provide if they're to keep/get more work?); and what you want to get from the secondment (exposure to an important client (realising it can be important in a variety of ways), enhance/gain industry or sector knowledge, any chance you would want to work in-house for them or one of their competitors in the future?, any desire to move in-house at some point in the future - if so, most will want/look for some previous experience (if "only" a secondment) in-house). If you want to remain plugged in and in the loop with your firm and firm colleagues, you've got to make the effort. Sadly, all too often it's "out of sight, out of mind" - but...if they're a really important client or target client for your firm, it shouldn't be too difficult to maintain ties - provided you are able to help your firm develop a better understanding and relationship with the client. Get to know the client, and I'd bet your firm will be quite keen to know what you know. That said, if your firm hasn't been particularly interested in secondees that have previously returned to the firm, maybe it's because they either assume they've already got a great relationship with the client and don't really need to work on it/know more - short sighted at best, good way to lose a client at worst.

City Gurl -07 Dec 2007 | 16:43

It's the perfect excuse to get away from the office for six months. If you're good enough, you will be made partner, if not you have yourself to blame and not a short term secondment that can only do you good

Investment Banker -09 Dec 2007 | 12:15