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Currently, I practice civil defense litigation with a focus on defense of municipal and county governments. I am only barred in NJ, but plan on taking the VA Bar when I move (its folly to attempt to pass a bar exam without some sort of prep work). Further, when I move to the area, I would like to transition my focus from litigation to public policy/advocacy. I understand that there are probably hundreds of thousands of other lawyers who pour into DC every year, looking for the same type of opportunities. So, my question is how would I make myself standout against my competition who went to HYS, etc? Should I go back to grad school and obtain a Master's Degree (if so, which one?). I've thought about going back and getting my MPA or getting a L.L.M. in Trial Advocacy, but wonder if it is worth it.
I don't think it's worth going back to school for your Master's. I work in policy and have an MPA. I work with quite a few lawyers. We do the same type of work and they don't have LLMs or MPAs, just JDs. Same with the staff at the advocate groups I've worked with. I would recommend taking some courses on the regulatory process, agency guidance...etc if you haven't taken anything like that already. They have lots of short (1 day to 1 week) classes in the District. I'd start with Georgetown, the Graduate School or the Regulatory Group and see what classes they offer that fit.
The extra graduate degree is pretty unnecessary, you have experience that is what counts. The market is competitive though for public policy positions though and you did not start there, which is somewhat of a disadvantage (you will be competing against specialists who started in public policy). The civil litigation for municipal governments on the other hand is a unique niche in the area. General counsel for DC or one of the surrounding cities sounds like a niche you could fill easily, so I would not be so hasty to give up your day job.
With that being said while DC is dime a dozen for attorneys, it is also dime a dozen for attorneys who switch careers. So you are in pretty good shape one way or another.
Knowing regulatory policy is critical around here.
You have the one graduate credential, that enough.
The one thing to note is by 2016 the area might be crazy expensive.
Yeah everything is going up. Read a few days ago that the average price of a home would be around 950K in 2018.
I think he was saying that those increases are highly dependent on federal spending being at near current levels. Any significant contraction would likely affect that. I do not believe a contraction will occur, even if the republicans take power. They don't really believe in small government, they just want to cut social programs.
I think he was saying that those increases are highly dependent on federal spending being at near current levels. Any significant contraction would likely affect that. I do not believe a contraction will occur, even if the republicans take power. They don't really believe in small government, they just want to cut social programs.
Yup, federal spending usually goes up in GOP years, but it is differently allocated. More federal contractors. Which is the way things are moving now anyway regardless of administration. You are correct their primary interests are cutting social programs.
There is also the fact that the consensus is moving away from austerity, and many consider the sequestration a mistake, at least the timining of it, which may explain why it was delayed a little bit.
Growth may be slower, but the reality is the fed is more or less a stablizing force for the region, there is private companies too, just most people do not realize it. Fed, Fed contractor, Private (non-contractor), Nonprofits/NGOs, Law firms, etc.
People often forget that in NoVa many of the tech firms have no government contracts. Or Montgomery county features a biotech industry that while regulated by government, does not contract with it. DC has tons of nonprofits and NGOs, several of which depend on private fundraising and grants. This is not to mention the law firms in the district. I am not going to touch upon the financial entities in the area.
While the Fed is the largest employer, it is not the only one. It is often foolish to assume as goes the fed, so goes the region. If the macro-economy is strong, the region does pretty well based on the private and non-profit entities which are aligned with the business cycle. When it's weak, that is when the Fed helps the region, as it often grows when the economy shrinks (this is basic economics, spender of last resort). This is why DC economic growth is not always gangbusters, we are less prone to boom-bust cycles then other regions. This is what the federal goverment basically provides here. While DC often has slower growth during economic boom cycles, often because the Federal government spending is more restrained, during bust cycles we are often the first region to experience growth, and our decline is not nearly as sharp.
In reality, this is what keeps the US a functioning economy over the long run, if DC was in line with the same boom bust cycles, it would break the economy. This is simple macro-economic policy...the source of stability must always come from the government and it's associated economy, while the rest of the economy can take on new risks. Slower growth during boom cycles is healthy for us. Those places which espouse high growth, are the same places which see huge declines during busts. The low growth places, like DC, see smaller growth, but also smaller declines and more stability.
I would not bother with the extra degree, unless you are looking to do it solely for networking purposes. DC can be a lot of who you know, not necessarily what you know. The bad side is that "outsiders" are therefore at a disadvantage. The flip side of that is the DC area is highly transient and after you have been here for a few years you are suddenly on the inside because the people who used to live here all have moved.
I would really start trying to do as much networking as possible, even now. You say you live in New Jersey now -- find out who your Congressman is, if you don't know already. Try doing something, anything that might interest someone on his staff. Become friends with that person. Plan on making more network contacts through that person and people who work in the DC office. Or start networking now with law school alumni, undergrad alumni, etc. in DC.
DC is a very competitive city. You need to just work overtime on self promotion. If you are not comfortable doing that, this also might not be the place for you. Lots of people are.
The one thing to note is by 2016 the area might be crazy expensive.
It's crazy expensive now.
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