I'm an A3. Recently switched from a T1 to another one. Worked my ass off across the board at both places. 9AM to 2AM on an average. Sometimes more.

I used to be a smart guy at college because I truly loved the law. I was interesting, I had a personality. I was excited about getting to work. Got 3 PPO offers along the way.

But slowly, all that has chipped away. I'm working on matters that sound truly incredible and I'm somehow still struggling to find the basic motivation. Fear and drive don't motivate me anymore because somewhere deep down, I know I want to quit really soon.

My practice area is so niche that less than 10 firms do it properly in India. I've been to one, rejected another, and am currently in one. The rest either don't have vacancies or are proceeded by terrible reputations. Plus, going to a T2 doesn't make much sense because it will likely just be as much work but with smaller names, more drudgery and even lesser money.

So what exactly do I do? Is anyone/has anyone been in the same boat? Is it wise to shift to in-house at my level? I have a feeling that the motivation will come back if I take a few months' break (or at least join a 9 to 5). Any options / help / advice is deeply appreciated.

I empathise with you. 24 PQE in a niche area here. Had same phase in my career few times. What really helped me get back was spending some time figuring out exactly what made me dim my lights, people and boss, money, stress, work quality, personal life, anything else? Then tried to see how best to address it. It helped that some love for my work and subject remained alive despite being switched off and sleep walking through work and kinda hating my situation, so even in these days which weren't best, I still managed to get excited or at least interested in something, keeping me going. And then I figured out what. Had discussions about what can be done. And went ahead. Also left jobs when I thought it's the best option. Can't say the same would work for you but this is what I did and it worked. If you keep on thinking deep down about leaving, honestly you would push yourself to that only, even if it may not be the best thing for you. I know the toll this phase takes and I just hope you figure out things.

so you still want tier 1 level money but dont want to suffer like a tier 1 job. take time to assess what is really important - the money or interesting work. there are enough amazing tmt firms that are not tier 1. work is good, some teams have good work-life balance. you just wont make the same money as a tier 1 but thats what you need to figure out - what are you in this for