I want to start my career in such an investment advisory firm's legal department but later want to move to a law firm in M&A or VC. Is it an unwise move? Can it be done ? Has it been done ? Any answers would be welcome.

No you won't be able to do it. Try something else

Could you tell me what do you mean ? So if I work in house in M&A I wont be able to make a move to a law firm after that in M&A ?

If you have done M&A in in house, then you can easily switch to law firm in M&A.

Yes ofcourse you can move from law firm to in-house. I remember when I was in Luthra a relatively senior in-house counsel from IBM had joined us as partner. Law firms regularly hire from in-house teams of ICICI and other banks. TMT teams hire from media related companies and entertainment houses like Disney and Netflix. My friends from NSE, Sebi have all had successful law firm careers. In short it depends a lot on your educational pedigree, experience, seniority and the stream/sector that you specialize in. If you are at the top of your game in these metrics it is doable. At senior levels there is a known trend of General Counsels joining law firms as partners or consultants. Having said that in general lateral movements from in house to firms are ofcourse not as common as law firm to law firm movements, which obviously are much easier and simpler.

So you mean that movement from In-house M&A IB and law practice to law firm is non existent ?

Google me.

A 7-word comment posted 2 years ago was not published.

The reverse is a wiser and easier move. Learning and hardwork would be more at a law firm than an in-house team.

Should look for growth in the initial years.

I agree but I just wanted to know if I start at an Investment advisory firm where I get to work with Investment Bankers and Lawyers and then want to move to a law firm....would that be possible ?

I moved from working inhouse with their M&A team (large MNC) to a Tier 1. It is a different issue that I very quickly realised the law firm route isn’t for me. But to answer your question, you may lose a few years of seniority but it is most definitely possible.