I spent nearly 4 years with law firms (tier-1) and then nearly 5 years in-house. My years in-house were tons more interesting, productive and enriching than my time at firms. I guess I was fortunate in working for a company where the lawyers weren't simply paper-pushers. I picked up my best lawyering skills in-house - where you can't simply issue an opinion saying "No, it can't be done" - you have to find a way to get it done and see it through to execution and beyond. For the first couple years I think I made significantly less than my law firm peers (given tax structure + the limitations of pay bands etc) but it was corrected in time and in the last year or so I was pretty happy with my pay. Still probably significantly less than a law firm, but it was the best trade-off. I worked roughly 10-7.30 (only a few exceptions), did little to no grunt work, and literally never had a boring day. Eventually I quit to do my own thing, but look back on the job with lots of appreciation.
Not much to say about my law firm days - pretty bog standard, all nighters, toxic bosses kinda stuff. Most importantly I felt zero connection to the work and environment. It was a good training ground in terms of what never to settle for.
For the first couple years I think I made significantly less than my law firm peers (given tax structure + the limitations of pay bands etc) but it was corrected in time and in the last year or so I was pretty happy with my pay. Still probably significantly less than a law firm, but it was the best trade-off. I worked roughly 10-7.30 (only a few exceptions), did little to no grunt work, and literally never had a boring day.
Eventually I quit to do my own thing, but look back on the job with lots of appreciation.
Not much to say about my law firm days - pretty bog standard, all nighters, toxic bosses kinda stuff. Most importantly I felt zero connection to the work and environment. It was a good training ground in terms of what never to settle for.