Find out the underlying reason you are not happy practicing law, and what you must do to be happy.

1. Why You Are Unhappy Practicing Law:
Soldiers and Generals in Law Firms
BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH

2. Summary:
Find out the underlying reason
you are not happy practicing
law, and what you must do to be
happy.
BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH

3. BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH
Lately, when I have received calls from attorneys wanting
to make lateral moves, I have told a fair number of them
to stay right where they are. I have been doing this
because it was clear to me that they wanted to move
firms for the wrong reasons. They did not understand
their roles as either soldiers or generals in the law firm
world, and mistakenly thought that simply switching
firms would solve their problems. This is a common
problem for attorneys working in law firms and it is what
this article is about. At each step of your career, you
need to embrace the role that is expected of you as
either a soldier or general and excel at it.

4. BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH
If an attorney tries to be a general before it is time, the
attorney typically gets crushed and has an unsatisfying
career—they attorney never reaches his or her full
potential in the practice of law.
If an attorney remains a soldier and does not transition
to being a general—the attorney will have an
unsatisfying career and not reach his or her full potential
either.

5. BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH
This dichotomy plays out in all phases of an attorney’s
career. You cannot start your career as a general and
expect to succeed, just as you cannot have a long-term
career as a soldier and expect to be successful. You start
out as a soldier, but you always need to transition to
being a general.

6. BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH
A. The Soldier
For thousands of years, the battlefield has been
broken up into soldiers and generals. Soldiers are
expected to work hard, fight, be expendable,
dedicate their hearts, bodies, and souls to the cause,
and learn the ropes. The best soldiers are the ones
who fight hardest, follow orders, respect their
superiors, earn the respect of their peers, get general
mentors, learn how things work, and do the best they
can to become generals.

7. BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH
When I am talking to soldier attorneys, I am typically
speaking with attorneys such as the following:
1. The motivated, young attorney who thinks he or she
understands the system and does not think his or her
superiors know how things are done, who thinks he or
she should be making more money, and who wants to go
somewhere with (a) more opportunity, (b) partners who
will listen, or (c) a higher salary immediately. The
attorney may have been fired or may simply be looking.

8. BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH
2. The motivated, young attorney who does not pretend
to understand the system, respects his or her superiors,
is not overly concerned with compensation, and is
looking because the attorney is simply trying to improve
his or her career. The attorney may be looking because
there is not enough work, or because the attorney is not
getting enough experience in his or her practice area, or
simply because the attorney wants to move to a better
firm.

9. BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH
3. The attorney who has worked very hard for a few
years in a major law firm and has concluded that the
“system” does not work for him or her and wants to go
in-house, or to a boutique law firm with fewer demands.
B. The General
Large law firms all have an “up or out” system within
them where most attorneys are expected to leave when
they get more senior or are asked to leave. Some are
asked to leave at their eighth or tenth year, and others
are made partner and then given a few years to become
self-sufficient.

10. BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH
Regardless of what happens, attorneys inside of law
firms are expected to become generals, and if they do
not become generals, then they will not have job
security.
What is a general inside of a law firm? A general is
someone who has his or her own clients and generates
work. The general gives orders, is in control, and controls
his or her destiny. It is fun being a general, and it is
everything that being a soldier is not.

11. BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH
Should an Attorney Go In-House, or Take a Position
Outside of a Law Firm?
I only make law firm placements. Nevertheless, when it is
clear to me that an attorney will never be a general, then
I always recommend they go in-house and refer them to
a service that can get them an in-house job like
LawCrossing.com. If you are not going to succeed as a
general, and do not have the potential to be general, the
law firm life is not something that is going to work for
you. You should take a position inside of a company, or
do something outside of the practice of law.

12. BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH
Generals on Smaller Battelfields
One mistake that many attorneys make is being under
the impression that because they cannot be a general in
one firm, this means they cannot be a general in any firm
and therefore they need to go in-house or do something
completely different. This is just not the case. Being a
general at a major New York law firm is extremely
difficult. Being a general for a smaller army is much
easier.

13. BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH
The life and career of a general can be very rewarding,
and attorneys should do their best to become generals.
This is the entire point of the law firm model and the
most rewarding part of your career. When you are a
general, you have your own clients, you control your
income, and you have people below you doing your
work.

14. BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH
Conclusions:
Regardless of whether you do so in a law firm, or in-
house, you eventually need to become a general if you
are ever going to be happy and fulfilled practicing law.
The majority of the angst and dissatisfaction with
practicing law happens to the soldiers and not the
generals. The only solution to the madness is to become
the best soldier you can and along the way learn to
become a general.

15. BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH
This article “Why You Are Unhappy Practicing Law:
Soldiers and Generals in Law Firms” first appeared on
BCG Attorney Search is widely known to be the most
selective recruiting firm in terms of who it represents in
the United States.