Case Study - An AmLaw Associate's Return to Practice

The Client

AmLaw 100 Firm

The Attorney Profile

An AmLaw associate who after earning her J.D. from an Ivy League school and practicing in BigLaw in New York decided to take some personal time off from practicing. After a year and a half away from practice, this individual was ready to rejoin the workforce and re-engaged MLA for help.

The Challenge

The associate reached out to Major, Lindsey & Africa’s Associate Practice Group for advice. What initially started as her taking time away for personal reasons, creating a bigger gap in her resume. The gap was making it difficult for her to take a traditional path back to AmLaw practice, so the Associate Practice Group recruiter recommended exploring interim opportunities as a path back to BigLaw practice.

Working with Interim Legal Talent

Knowing that MLA Interim Legal Talent was partnering with an AmLaw 100 to find a corporate/M&A attorney with expertise in M&A due diligence, M&A deals and corporate matters, our Associate team referred the associate to the Interim team believing an interim role would be the best way for her to quickly gain a foothold back into the legal market.

After carefully considering and interviewing for multiple MLA Interim opportunities, this consulting attorney was offered and accepted an interim opportunity that would not only allow her to actively return to private practice but also provide her the flexibility she was seeking. During her time consulting with our law firm client, she moved out of New York to be closer to family in the Chicago area. She continued consulting remotely and consistently received positive feedback on her work and was able to gain valuable additional experience.

Success Story

Working closely with her MLA Interim recruiter, this consulting attorney was able to identify several long term and substantive consulting opportunities that could be the necessary stepping stones to work toward her career goals.

After several months, she expressed interest in seeking permanent work as the market began to shift. The MLA Interim recruiter was able to again partner with an MLA colleague in our Chicago Associate Practice Group. Working as a team, our recruiters were able to help advise this individual on both the local Chicago market and how to leverage her recent consulting experience as she considered a permanent role. Within a short period of time, the interim counsel had multiple offers to consider and successfully selected an opportunity that would allow her to stay in the Chicago area and continue to build on her prior expertise as well as the recent skills she had acquired.