Ann Israel is the legal profession's Dear Abby. A New York legal recruiter since 1979, Ann is a past president of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants. Advice for the Lawlorn is updated every Tuesday.

Q:I'm a second-year corporate associate at a big New York firm, and I was recently assigned to a practice group in which I have very little interest. This assignment will only last for six months, and it may be very good experience, but I'm afraid that after six months the firm will once again put me someplace that I don't want to be.

Should I lateral to a new firm?

I'm feeling a little disillusioned by the way my firm assigns associates without regard to the associate's career goals. Maybe I'm silly, though, to think that any big firm considers an associate's career goals over the firm's needs.

Disillusioned

Dear Disillusioned: I was saddened by your question because it seems to me that not only are you feeling disillusioned by your own firm but it would seem that at this very early stage in your career, you are starting to feel disillusioned by the practice of law.

When you joined this firm, didn't you understand from the beginning that there was always a chance you might go into a rotation assignment that was not of the greatest interest to you?

Not every firm puts junior associates through a rotation program during their first two to three years of practice. Many firms allow their new associates to permanently join a department, and then the assigning partner doles out the work. If you are in a corporate department and are interested in M&A work, you can hope that you will be assigned to some M&A deals. However, just as in a firm that puts associates through rotations, you might end up with banking assignments long before you ever see an M&A deal.

Of course, there are some firms that break down departments very specifically. Corporate work might be broken down into a number of different departments: M&A, securities, banking, etc. If you are associated with a firm that is set up in this manner and there is no rotation program, you can feel confident that you are going to be doing the type of work you want to be doing (hopefully), as long as you have been assigned to the practice group that is of interest to you.

Unfortunately, you are not in either of those types of firms, but instead, you are in a firm that rotates its junior associates into different groups every six months. Again, I must ask, surely you knew this was how your firm worked before you signed on.

I was happy to read that you are open-minded enough to recognize that this new assignment might very well be a good experience. After all, the rotation should be somewhat in your practice field, and so perhaps it will wind up being something of interest to you after all. And yes, the next rotation might not be so good. Or, it might be great. I guess that is the luck of the draw when it comes to a rotational system.

So, let's discuss what you had to say about law firms considering associates' desires. I suspect you are absolutely correct that when it comes to the big picture, a law firm is really more concerned about its own needs than the career goals of a junior associate. But then again, isn't that the way that all businesses work? Do you really believe that IBM cares -- or even knows about -- the career goals of junior employees? Or what about the privately owned bakery down the street from your apartment -- do you believe the owner is planning the bakery's future around the new employee's career plans?

I am not certain that any business can afford to cater to junior employees because statistics tell us that they may not be here tomorrow. Just look at what you are already thinking: You are not certain that your next rotation will be what you want, so you are already thinking about moving on.

Does that mean that your firm doesn't care about you? No, of course not. You are the future of the firm, and the firm is investing a lot of money in you during your first few years of practice to train you. The rotation program is giving you an opportunity to see all different aspects of a particular practice and allowing you to figure out where you want to "declare your major" once you have finished your rotation.

Now, this doesn't mean that everyone is happy with this program, and certainly, it can happen that one can be rotated into one uninteresting department after another. Could this be the wrong law firm for you? It can happen, although this being the second or third month into your second year, it would be best if you could hang in there for at least another nine months or so. I will tell you that there are a number of job opportunities for your class year right now, and so if you really feel compelled to start a search, this isn't a bad time.

One thing you do need to take into consideration is the fact that you have been doing a rotation, and that means that you have spent no more than six months in a department during your first year of practice and are now in your third rotation. There will be some firms that won't meet with you because you won't have the same amount of experience in one area that their second-year associates have. Don't worry about being rejected by one or two firms. Most of the firms understand what goes on with the firms that have rotation systems.

In the final analysis, I would advise you to try to stick it out for a while longer, if at all possible. However, no one should be miserable, and it is just so sad to hear someone so junior being unhappy. So, if you really find yourself to be terribly discontented, update your law school resume and start accepting a few of those headhunter telephone calls that you are receiving each day.

Best wishes!

Sincerely,
Ann Israel
President, Ann Israel & Associates