We are witnessing a tremendous migration of lawyers leaving the public sector for the private. In just the first month of the new administration, several thousand employees, many of them lawyers, have been fired from government positions. Still more attorneys in the federal government are considering leaving. Government lawyers are now flooding the market.

If you are thinking about or already in the process of leaving the public sector, here is what you need to know: Many lateral hires struggle in private firms because they do not understand the different culture of private versus public sector work.

Consider the case of Leo, an attorney with 15 years’ experience in the U.S. Treasury Department. Leo had a terrific and granular understanding of domestic foreign investment policy, which of course made him valuable to Firm X, whose stable of clients included many foreign nationals. Leo was delighted to join the firm as partner and see his salary skyrocket, and he hit the ground running.

Leo intended to prove himself to be the same great team player he had been at Treasury. He understood his responsibility to the attorneys he supervised. He gladly offered his expertise to colleagues. He took any assignment given. What Leo did not understand was how partnerships work and specifically, how rewards and compensation are meted out.

After two years, Leo was surprised to discover that his compensation had dropped. Leo thought his mentorship of senior associates would be viewed as a service the firm would reward. He expected the long hours he devoted to the firm’s multinational (and lucrative) clients would boost his compensation. Even when he was loaned to the partnership’s Tax Practice Group, he assumed his work there would result in additional compensation. That didn’t happen. Meanwhile, he learned through the grapevine that colleagues were reaping benefits he thought he had earned. Leo quickly became dispirited—and mad.

Leo did not foresee that, by joining the partnership, he was entering a completely different professional culture; he did not understand the priorities in this new environment.

The Measures of Success

Public sector work operates on fairly clear categories. Government organizations run under the dictates of a strict organizational chart. There is always a clearly defined higher authority to consult. When there is a dispute or disagreement, the decision maker is known to all and is obliged to reveal his or her rationale. Positions and their compensation are clearly defined by statute. Hard work, being a team player, helping your colleagues carry forward leadership initiatives – these are the means to success in public sector work.

Partnerships work differently. Their operations are often somewhat decentralized, and their power centers are diffuse. For example, the individuals who comprise the Compensation Committee do not necessarily share the complex factors that govern their decisions. Decisions about compensation often have little to do with who works hardest but instead depend on who brought the client’s business to the firm. compensation committees also rely on factors that support the needs of the partnership: for example, who might be thinking of leaving the firm, who needs to be enticed to stay or rewarded, or who sacrificed a bonus last year because of revenue shortfalls.

Leo did not fully realize how business generation credit (usually the top factor in setting partner compensation) worked at this firm. Firms compensate according to what they value. And compensation committees are not always transparent in how they arrive at these decisions. Moreover, the factors that influence them can shift according to business conditions.

For instance, is the firm trying to double its global revenue? That may mean whoever hustles more benefits. Is its priority to strategically grow practices that serve certain key industries or sectors? Does the firm want to spread the profits? These are questions anyone leaving government for a law firm partnership position needs to understand.

Three Crucial Questions to Ask

Here’s what anyone considering a switch from the public sector to a private law partnership needs to find out.

  1. What are the measurements for success? Firms vary widely on how they measure success. Billable hours may or may not be a high priority. All firms value revenue generation, whether from new clients (“origination”) or the proliferation of new business from existing clients. Firms vary widely in how they mete out this reward, including who gets that credit. Some firms follow a formulaic “you eat what you kill” approach (a single partner gets credit for business from that client). Other firms recommend or require credit-sharing among lawyers whose connections and efforts are deemed to have led to that revenue for the firm. That is especially relevant to lawyers whose government service gave them highly specialized expertise.
  2. Who measures your success? Your expertise may or may not fall within a single practice group at the firm. If you are hired by the Tax Practice Group, but are spending your time with M&A, who will measure your contribution? Be sure to ask a lot of questions going in about what you will be working on and where, and how the revenue will be credited. Have frank discussions about these questions and ask for as many examples as the firm will provide. You want to have clear expectations of how to meet your—and the firm’s—goals.
  3. Who will be your best and trusted source? Because firms vary enormously in decision-making processes, you need a trusted source to guide you and answer questions. This should be someone who has thrived at the firm and understands this particular firm’s inner workings. Too often in law firms, especially firms with closely guarded compensation decisions, gossip can pass for data. Make sure you get reliable information.

 

Leo eventually found a trusted and reliable guide, just as he was thinking of jumping ship. His new mentor explained that Leo needed to sit down with the head of the Tax Practice Group and figure out a plan that would reward him for sharing his expertise. Leo also met with the chair of the Compensation Committee, for a long overdue discussion of how he might fare better in the coming year.

Every firm is different. So is private sector and public sector work. Be sure to understand those differences and recognize that a higher salary is only the beginning of a compensation plan, not an end. Learn the new culture you are joining to ensure your success within it.

Leo is now chief of the Hiring Committee, by the way.

Lauren Krasnow, JC, PCC, is an executive coach, speaker and consultant to law firm leaders. She is a chapter leader of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). In 2023 and 2024, Lawdragon named her a Global 100 Leader in Legal Strategy & Consulting.