法务如何重操律师旧业.doc

法务如何重操律师旧业By ELIE MYSTAL作者：埃利米斯特A few days ago, we asked whether going in-house was still a viable option for Biglaw (大所)associates. Today we look at whether those who leave can ever come back.之前我们讨论过大所律师去做法务是否可行这个问题。今天我们来说说律师离开大所做法务后能否再转行回来。The National Law Journal did a follow-up piece on Bear Stearns attorneys who werent able to move over to JP Morgan after the merger. They report (subscription):国家法律杂志曾做了一期关于贝尔斯登公司被摩登大通收购后其法务无处就职的后续报道，报道如下：Many refugees from Bear Stearns have landed at law firms, including Bingham McCutchen; Venable; Weil, Gotshal & Manges; K&L Gates; and Katten Muchin Rosenman.贝尔斯登公司的许多失业法务现已就职于律所，包括宾汉法律事务所、Venable律师事务所、威嘉律师事务所、高盖茨律师事务所和卡登?穆沁?罗森曼律师事务所。“Its like a port in the storm right now,” said one former Bear Stearns attorney who has landed at a law firm and asked not to be identified.一位不愿意透露姓名的前贝尔斯登法务（现已就职于律所）表示，“律所现在就像是金融风暴中避风港，是我们这些失业法务最好的选择”。But as one commenter points out, moving back into Biglaw isnt easy:但正如一位评论员所说，回归大所并不容易。To get back in to BigLaw from most in-house positions is extremely difficult. If you work in a niche, like government contracts or FDA, it improves your chances significantly. However, if you are just a general corporate attorney at a company and are looking to get back in a firm, theres little shot.大多数法务要回归大所极为困难。如果你曾经的工作岗位很对口，比如负责政府（采购）合同或食物及药品管理局（FDA）事务，那你回到大所的几率就比较大。但普通的公司法务想回到律所，显然机会渺茫。Going back to the firm will likely get even more difficult as additional attorneys from Lehman and Merrill Lynch flood the midlevel market. But we can expect that displaced in-house counsel will try to get back into Biglaw, because in this market, “job security” is the Holy Grail.由于雷曼兄弟和美林证券裁员后大量法务涌入中层市场，回归律所变得更加困难。但我们可以预见到失业法务依然会努力回归大所，因为在这个市场中，“工作保障”才是王道。Do law firms actually provide a “safer” alternative? After the jump.但律所真的是法务跳槽的“更安全”选择吗？One commenter called law firm security a myth:一位评论员称，“律所安全论”只是“传说”：Since when do law firms provide any degree of security? As an associate, the clock is always ticking for starters. You have to either qualify for partnership after several years, maybe be appointed as counsel, or otherwise you are out on the street looking for legal employment as a senior associate. Heck, many partners these days are even concerned about security, worrying about their book and billables. No real job security at all there.律所什么时候开始有安全感了？律师总是分秒必争。你要么在几年后获得合伙人资格（或被任命为顾问），要么被扫地出门以资深律师身份谋求其他法律工作。目前连许多合伙人都在担心工作保障，担心着账簿和账单的问题，更何况是普通律师。这里没有真正的工作保障。With good in-house experience, it is much easier to lateral to other such positions.良好的法务从业经验有助于谋得类似职位。Many commenters believed that displaced in-house attorneys could still write their own ticket.许多评论员认为失业法务仍有比较大的选择空间。Then again, many of our commenters smoke crack out of a rose colored pipe. The NLJ reports a “success” story of a former Bear counsel who landed on his feet without going back to Biglaw:许多评论员都喜欢危言耸听。国家法律杂志报道了一名贝尔斯登公司前任法务“成功”的故事，他依然坚持做法务本行而非回归大所。Some former Bear Stearns lawyers choose to stay in-house and moved to other financial service companies, including the former Bear Stearns general counsel, Michael Solender, who is now the chief legal officer at Washington Mutual Inc.有些贝尔斯登的失业法务选择了转去其他金融服务公司继续做法务，包括前任贝尔斯登总法律顾问迈克尔?瑟兰德在内。他现在是华盛顿互惠银行的首席法务官。Nice. WaMu is exactly where you want to be right now.太好了，华盛顿互惠银行正是你现在想就职的地方。Most likely, the top in-house people will be able to find other employment. The rest of the pack will be left to fight it out, “Escape From New York” style.顶级法务人员通常能够找到其他工作。其他法务则要靠自己杀出条血路，上演一出出现实版的“纽约大逃亡”。But instead of thinking about it from a “grass is always greener” perspective, we prefer the post-apocalyptic take of one of our readers:我们不会说“形势会好转”这种好听的话，而是希望警醒读者“后世界末日”的可怕情境。Im in house at a largish public company (near the Fortune 500), less than 6 years out of law school, in a top 5 market. I have been approached several times about coming back to private practice, ostensibly because I could bring business with me, and because specialize in a tiny niche thats about to undergo exponential growth (and I probably know more about it than most BigLaw partners given my complete immersion in it at my company).我在一家大型上市公司（世界财富500强）做法务。我从法学院毕业不到6年，从事市场前5名的业务方向。我曾多次努力想回到律师行业，表面上是因为我可以带走业务，而这些业务在小公司会为我的收入带来指数级增长（并且因为我多年的法务经历，我可能比大多数大所合伙人更精于此）。That said, my salary is shit. Utter and complete crap. My hours and quality of life suck too. I had more free time and freedom of choice when I billed 2200 hours in 2006. And dont get me started on corporate bureauacracy and meaningless meetings evidently scripted loyal fans of The Office. Bursting with mindnumbing and largely inconsequential poop, topics range from whether a particular contractual phrase should read “which” or “that” to the new updates on the intranet. Intellectual stimulation is nil.我不仅工资低得可怜，就连时间和生活质量也很糟糕。但在律所，只要我在2006年完成了2200小时的工时标准，我就可以更自由地支配时间和做出选择。我不想在公司官僚又无任何意义的会议上发言，念些办公室事先写好的脚本。充满大量令人心烦意乱且毫无逻辑的废话，能从某份合同是用 “Which”还是“that”一直讨论到企业内部网最近的升级，五花八门的低智商话题。Im fatter, more depresed, and less able to control my drinking and recreational drug habits than ever before. I miss beligerent partners, oversexed senior associates, midnight memos, exorbitant salary, and happy hours on the firm tab, because at least the perks suggested that my employer took responsiblity for my misery and, above all, paid me well enough to numb it with the best shit available and afford a shrink on the Harvard faculty roster. There was, to some extent, quid pro quo. In house thinks youre lucky t