Career Clinic: Is it risky transferring to finance after the crunch?

There's always plenty of finance work, always has been even during recessions. The danger comes for the in-house lawyer, who may have responsibility for just one or two products, and if that area suffers a downturn, he/she might be at risk. In private practice I would not worry unduly. Good luck. Remember though, once you become a finance lawyer your options will be limited to the finance field, but that could include in-house in a bank, say.

May -13 Sep 2007 | 16:36

If the firms are still hiring, have a little faith. It costs a lot to hire people, even at a junior level, and firms don't do it unless they know they have something to keep the hirees occupied. Having said that, when you come to choose the firm you move to, go somewhere that has at least some semblance of an insolvency practice, or at least some good partners with experience in that area. A lot of insolvency specialists moved into finance (particularly securitisation) as that took off and they will be very well placed in relation to the restructuring work that is bound to come their way after the crunch. If nothing else, it will do you no harm at all to ask about the firm's experience in that area in second round interviews.

MC lawyer -14 Sep 2007 | 16:40

Don't join a US firm doing securitisation. This is the worst of all worlds. Securitisation is boring and the hours are long at UK firms. At US firms it is even worse, but without the training.

Anonymous -14 Sep 2007 | 16:47