How I Left the Law
After practicing law for a decade, I took a job as a contracts manager.
My position is a “JD preferred” position. This means that a law degree helps, but is not required.
I tried for years to leave the law. I went to networking events. I asked friends to introduce me to people. I did a lot of “informational interviewing.” In the end, I got my job by applying online directly. They say that job hunters only have a 10% chance of getting a job by applying directly on a company’s website. Or some ridiculously low number. Your application goes into the black hole, where it is never seen or at best quickly scanned then discarded. Then, a few months later, you get an automated email that the position has been filled.
You’ll see discouraging stories like this a lot. Don’t apply online. Find somebody at the company and send them an email and ask for an introduction. Maybe that works. It didn’t for me, but I think I’m an exception. My employer’s HR department is terrifically responsive, and I got an email back within a day or two of applying. First a phone interview. Then two in-person interviews. Then I was hired. The whole process took about a month from when I applied, which is pretty fast.
Contract management or contract administration is a great alternative career for lawyers. You can use your legal experience without practicing in the traditional sense. When I was with a firm, I’d get a contract for review from a client. I’d redline it and send it back with comments and things to consider. Usually that was it. I never really knew what happened after that. Usually I never learned whether the contract was signed or not. Sometimes the client would send me a copy of the executed contract. Except for M&A deals, I never handled the signature process. I was never asked about renewals. Almost always, my role started and ended with a round of redlines and a few discussions with the client and sometimes opposing counsel.
I still do a lot of that in my current role. I draft and review contracts. I negotiate with our business partners’ lawyers. I do redlines. But I’m responsible for moving a contract’s lifecycle. So I make sure it gets signed. Then I save it and catalog it.
We sign all contracts electronically using Docusign. I had never used Docusign at my firm. When I first started sending contracts for signature electronically, I was amazed. It was so efficient and made the whole process so easy.
My position is a “JD preferred” position. This means that a law degree helps, but is not required.
I tried for years to leave the law. I went to networking events. I asked friends to introduce me to people. I did a lot of “informational interviewing.” In the end, I got my job by applying online directly. They say that job hunters only have a 10% chance of getting a job by applying directly on a company’s website. Or some ridiculously low number. Your application goes into the black hole, where it is never seen or at best quickly scanned then discarded. Then, a few months later, you get an automated email that the position has been filled.
You’ll see discouraging stories like this a lot. Don’t apply online. Find somebody at the company and send them an email and ask for an introduction. Maybe that works. It didn’t for me, but I think I’m an exception. My employer’s HR department is terrifically responsive, and I got an email back within a day or two of applying. First a phone interview. Then two in-person interviews. Then I was hired. The whole process took about a month from when I applied, which is pretty fast.
Contract management or contract administration is a great alternative career for lawyers. You can use your legal experience without practicing in the traditional sense. When I was with a firm, I’d get a contract for review from a client. I’d redline it and send it back with comments and things to consider. Usually that was it. I never really knew what happened after that. Usually I never learned whether the contract was signed or not. Sometimes the client would send me a copy of the executed contract. Except for M&A deals, I never handled the signature process. I was never asked about renewals. Almost always, my role started and ended with a round of redlines and a few discussions with the client and sometimes opposing counsel.
I still do a lot of that in my current role. I draft and review contracts. I negotiate with our business partners’ lawyers. I do redlines. But I’m responsible for moving a contract’s lifecycle. So I make sure it gets signed. Then I save it and catalog it.
We sign all contracts electronically using Docusign. I had never used Docusign at my firm. When I first started sending contracts for signature electronically, I was amazed. It was so efficient and made the whole process so easy.