Changing specialties within the same profession

Hi I'm new here but I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice. Does anyone have any experience changing specialties within the same profession. I am an attorney who has been practicing medical malpractice and general negligence defense for over ten years. I would like to try something else. I have never felt comfortable as a litigator and think that my personality would be better suited to some other area of the law. I realize that I may be taking a step backwards career and salary wise, but if I could be happier with my job, I think it would be worth it. My problem has been that I seem to be pigeon-holed. Employers do not want to give me a chance as an entry-level attorney in another area because I have so much experience in my area.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

Re: Changing specialties within the same profession

Hi there. I'm also an attorney (Intellectual property and complex commercial litigation). Have you considered going in-house and managing that company's outside litigation counsel? Many companies don't do any in-house litigation, but require in-house lawyers to "supervise" (for lack of a better word) and manage their litigations and their outside litigation counse. Even though you don't have much commercial litigation experience, I would think you may have a shot at getting in the door in this area because of your litigation experience. Yes it still is within the realm of litigation, but you wouldn't actually be the one litigating. Just a thought!

Also, have you considered looking into some government jobs? I happened to be looking recently into job postings for the FBI and came across civilian positions within the military and other areas of the government. They were high paying jobs, especially for someone with 10 years of experience, and I specifically remember several looking for people with experience in med mal. I don't recall exactly how I got there, but it I know I started by googling "FBI job opportunities" and using whatever search engine I found on the FBI home page.

I hope this helps. Feel free to FM me if you want to bounce ideas around.

Re: Changing specialties within the same profession

Thanks for the good ideas Kara. I have disliked what I do for far too long and it has begun to take its toll. I loose too much sleep over it and life is too short. I've actually thought about going into Claims with an insurance company as at least it would let me use what I know without having to work nights and weekends.