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I’m a final-sem law student graduating in about 2 months. Unfortunately, I didn’t receive any PPOs and was rejected from one assessment due to vacancy constraints. I currently don’t have any corporate law offers.
I’ve been offered a traineeship with a reputed company in a legal forensics role, which I’ve accepted for now. However, my long-term interest is in general corporate / M&A work, and I’m unsure about the crossover.
I wanted to understand:
1. Is there any real scope to move from legal forensics into general corporate/M&A later?
2. Will starting my career in forensics negatively impact future corp law opportunities?
3. Should I continue with this role while applying elsewhere, or would it be better to exit early and focus solely on corp law roles?
4.
Would really appreciate guidance from seniors or anyone who has made a similar transition. Feeling quite confused at this stage.
Thank you.
1. If you can get into a tier 2/3 law firm, it would be an easier way to a tier 1 (if that's the ambition, not suggesting that it should be) than through legal forensics. If that's not a possibility, I'd suggest you take what you can and actively network then to find opportunities at a tier 1/2/3 law firm, if that's something that you'd still be interested in/have your heart set on it. Do try and land tier 2/3 roles than tier 1 - the exposure you'd get would be worth a lot and you perform better when you make a switch to a tier 1 later (generally, compared to someone starting at a tier 1 firms);
2. Not really but there could be some discount to your PQE; doesn't matter in the long run.
3. Take what you get, upskill, network, apply for interviews. You'll have 2-2.5 year window within which you can make a switch to another practice area at a tier 1/2/3 law firm (can't speak for others but I'm more likely to interview someone who's working somewhere (and is adjusting to work life from college life) than someone who chooses not work till something suitable comes by). The ability to work with people, whether you like them or not, is extremely valuable and highly underrated. There's also a chance that you might like what you do. Legal forensics might not sound glamorous but getting really really good at a niche while having a solid understanding of a variety of practice areas, for me, is the holy grail.
Lastly, and I'm not quite sure how to say this without it seeming like I'm discounting your worry but - things generally work out, they may not always go to plan but in retrospect, I wish I'd have worried less about all this stuff. Hang in there, it's generally a fun journey.