Federal Government - Early Retiree June 6

[rapoole]

Yeeha! I have been planning this for 5 years. At 55 I am taking early retirement from a job as a Federal prosecutor in the DC area, and moving to Wilmington NC where I will open up a solo practice doing wills, trusts and estate planning.

Some here will say that's not really retirement. To each his own. For me it means making my own schedule and no boss. No more airplanes, TSA, hotel rooms and Federal judges. More time to spend with my 14 year old son. And an opportunity to create my own practice instead of being an apparatchik. My plan is to keep it going until I can't do it any more, or till it stops being fun, whichever comes first.

I will have a pension, savings in a 401K type plan (700K) and will pull equity out of the house. Speaking of which, I got 3 offers in 9 days at good prices, which I attribute to being in a good school system in a close-in neighborhood in Northern Virginia. The buyers are a couple of PhD economists who work for the Federal Reserve Bank, who have been transferred to DC to work on their regulatory programs. Isn't that ironic? I feel like the luckiest man on earth given the gloom and doom surrounding real estate generally. Knock on wood.

Besides starting up a new career, I intend to get involved in the community and to spend time kayaking with my son. And I want to try fishing. From a kayak.

I have posted here before, but am re-introducing myself because it has been a while. I don't really have any questions at this time, but I have learned a lot lurking here over the last 5 years or so. Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to make thoughtful and informative posts. I will probably spend some more time here in coming months.

rapoole

 

[Martha]

Long time no see! Congratulations on the retirement and on the house sale. So no more trial excitement and stress. I certainly do not miss litigation and my litigation experience was all business related. No one was going to jail.

So what are you doing to prep to do wills and thrills?

 

[rapoole]

Preparing for solo practice

Hi Martha!

Well, besides having cards made, I have been taking all the CLE's I can for the last four years. I have been through the basic estate planning series in DC twice, and took the NC series once. I joined the NC Bar Estate Planning section and have been to a couple of annual meetings. I have also taken more advanced classes as they became available here in DC, and a lot of reading. I intend to stick to the basic time tested techniques till I feel well grounded (no FLP's for me!).

I am planning to purchase one of the estate planning software systems. Initially I was interested in Cowles Legal Systems, but since they were swallowed up by West (the evil empire) I am skeptical that they offer the same level of service. So now, I am looking at Wealth counsel. Also a less expensive alternative, ForeTrust. Tabs3 for accounting/billing. Perhaps you have suggestions?

rapoole

 

[Martha]

I am blessed with never having to do my own billing, but I have heard good things about Tabs. No idea on the estate planning software.

Don't talk bad about the evil empire. It is a big employer in my state.

 

[rapoole]

Evil Empire

Sorry, didn't mean to step on any toes. However they seem kinda unresponsive, and the folks I talk to are unfamiliar with the products they are selling. Which is unfortunate.

R

 

[oma]

Apparatchik (Russian: аппара́тчик, Russian pronunciation: [ɐpɐˈratɕɪk] plural apparatchiki) is a Russian colloquial term for a full-time, professional functionary of the Communist Party or government; i.e., an agent of the governmental or party "apparat" (apparatus) that held any position of bureaucratic or political responsibility, with the exception of the higher ranks of management.


Good word. New one for me.

Welcome and congrats.

 

[Martha]

Sorry, didn't mean to step on any toes. However they seem kinda unresponsive, and the folks I talk to are unfamiliar with the products they are selling. Which is unfortunate.

R

Eh, just kidding. I know they are a big unwieldy behemoth.

Enjoy your kayaking and fishing.

 

[hoping]

Rapoole, I am curious. What was life like as a federal prosecutor? I have the option of taking an AUSA job now, at a 90% salary cut. Is it worth giving up the big bucks in a law firm to take this job?

 

[rapoole]

Hoping

Hi hoping-

I have had a great career as a Federal prosecutor. I have handled interesting, challenging cases. I have tried cases against some of the best white collar defense lawyers. As a prosecutor, one has a fair degree of autonomy in trying cases. There is plenty of second guessing on indictment decisions and guilty pleas, but I made most of the strategic decisions in the cases I handled. There's a lot of accountability - when you rise to deliver the opening statement in a jury trial, every eye in the courtroom is on you. Your screwups are all yours, so you had better be prepared. I found it very motivating.

Should you leave a law firm to be a prosecutor? Depends on you. Are you really happy at the big firm? I mean really? How important are those big bucks? Does quality of life matter to you? I had a conversation last week with a partner at the biggest firm in Salt Lake City, who is my adversary in a case I'm handling there. I told him about my taking retirement at 55 to move to the beach and hang out my shingle. He told me he envied me, and would do the same thing if he could, but can't afford to. So which of us do you think is better off? If you really would like to retire early some day, a big law firm is an unlikely place to do it. Once you get on that treadmill of mortgage, Lexus payments, college tuition, etc., escaping into early retirement is very unlikely.

Sorry, this is starting to sound like a rant. I'll leave you with this thought. Making partner at a big law firm has been compared with winning a pie-eating contest where the prize is more pie. If being there makes you happy, fine. But for me, the choice would be easy. Take the AUSA job. At worst, it will burnish your credentials and give you trial experience which you can use to return to a law firm someday.

Good luck, and tell us what you decide.

rapoole

PS - I just read some of your other posts. Now that I know your situation a little better, I think it's a no-brainer. Take the new job.

 

[Gworker]

Congrats rapoole. Did you ever do time at Super Court? I am in Fed LE and have a while to go before I can retire. I left DC almost two years ago for the sub-office life and just that is a dramatic change of pace. There are some aspects of DC life that I miss but not much. I'm slowly working my way towards retirement, this is just a downshift right now. Enjoy retirement, I can't wait. I keep maxing out that TSP.

To hoping: I don't know all the apsects of life as an AUSA but work with them quite a bit. The thing with the govt is life can change with each new political appointee that takes charge.

 

[rapoole]

Gworker and Hoping

No, Gworker, I never worked in Super Ct. I tried one case in Federal Court in DC during the 90's, but everything else I've handled has been out of town. Life on the road has its rewards but cost me my marriage (or at least contributed to the split). I'm overdue for a change.

Hoping- Gworker is right that life in a US Attorney's office can be dependent on the on the US Attorney, who is a presidential appointee. And each new appointee brings his or her own priorities and approach to the job. Moreover, we've been through a bad patch with the politicization of those positions by the current administration. However, I think that situation has improved, and never did affect the vast majority of AUSA's, whose approach to the job is apolitical.

rapoole

 

[hoping]

Thanks, Rapoole. I won't have to deal with the travel (I think), but it will be a big change to move from defense to prosecution. Have you known people who did defense work at big firms for 10+ years and then became federal prosecutors?

 

[rapoole]

Hoping

I can't say that I know of many examples of attorneys who moved to the government after more than a decade on the defense side. The ones I have known who moved in that direction from big firms were mostly early-career attorneys who made the move to get trial experience. The few I have met who made that change after 10 or more years of experience have been folks who I suspect were not that happy with firm life. And perhaps not very successful (though that's speculation).

I have met a fair number attorneys over the years who moved from government to firms, and were successful at the firm, but who said they would move back to the government if they could afford to. Maybe they were just being ingratiating, but I don't think so. It's the golden handcuffs.

Can you tell me where you have an offer?

 

[hoping]

Rapoole, Thanks for the response. I'd rather not identify the office. What's your impression of Federal Defenders?

 

[chinaco]

Congrat rapoole.

It must be nice to turn the page. I am looking forward to it.

 

[rapoole]

Hoping

The public defenders I have dealt with have generally been professional and competent. I respect the fact that they do a difficult and necessary job. I think their burnout rate is higher because of the difficult clients they deal with. I've dealt with a few who were over the top, but not many.

 

[hoping]

Rapoole, thanks again. I think I am taking the leap for the AUSA position. One question -- how long does the clearance process take?

 

[rapoole]

Clearance

It's been a long time since my last involvement in the clearance process. It can take a long time, but I don't have any recent info. There may be ways to accelerate the process - provisional hire contingent on subsequent clearance - but again, no recent info.

 

[Vincent Brannigan]

Am I correct that you are a FERS retiree ? My wife is FERS and we have been looking at the retirement issues. IIRC there is a big pension hit to go at 55. Are federal attorneys exempt from the hit?

FWIW I'm a law prof who just was made Prof. Emeritus after 30 years. I'm in the old state system which is like CSRS

 

[rapoole]

Hi Vincent

Yes, I'm a FERS retiree. I accepted an early-out offer which gave me essentially the same pension as I would have had if I had waited another 2 years to retire at 30 years of service. You are correct that my pension benefits would otherwise have been much reduced.

 

[hoping]

Rapoole, if you are still out there, I had a question. Would you really take a 90% pay cut for an AUSA position? Is it 10x better than a firm, or am I just looking at it the wrong way? Hope you are enjoying your new life!

 

[rapoole]

Law Firm/AUSA

Hello Hoping.

In deciding whether to make the jump to an AUSA job, I took into account the fact that your financial position was already pretty secure. I got that from reading other forums here.

I took the 90% pay cut with a grain of salt. I am retiring at the top of the salary scale - $150K. I am retiring with a pension and lifetime health benefits. Not many criminal litigators even at big firms earn 10 times that much with comparable benefits.

If the USAO is bringing you in at a much lower salary, your raises will come fast in the early years. You will have job security. You will have interesting work (most of the time). Chances are you will have the option to retire after 20 years with a pension on an early out offer.

Law firm existence is pretty grim in my experience, and the headlines bear that out. Job security appears illusory. Defined benefit plans are the exception. Most people I know at firms are locked into the high cost lifestyle choices that would make early retirement impossible.

So, would I really take a 90% cut? The answer is, how much do you need the money today (you indicated substantial savings and high-earning spouse), how much do you really like what you are doing now (I am guessing you are ambivalent at best), and where do you want to be in 5, ten and 20 years? I don't know of any classmates who at 55 are walking away from their present career with an income, substantial savings, health insurance, and the freedom to start anew. Which is what I am doing. Your mileage may vary.

Best,
rapoole

 

[rapoole]

New Life

Cleaning out the office today with a song in my heart.

New life begins Friday afternoon.

rapoole

 

[hoping]

Rapoole, Thanks for the thoughtful response. It really is a 90% pay cut, actually even more than 90%. Assuming I eventually make it to the 150k mark, which will take a while given where I am starting, it would be an 80+% pay cut. I keep getting stuck on the fact that if I stay with my firm another year or so, I will likely have over $5.5 million, more than enough to retire comfortably. But then I think about the fact that I am young and, if I had a job I loved, I probably could work at least another 10 years. My firm may be an exception to the rule, but we have great benefits, a defined benefit pension plus 401k, job security, etc. So the question is whether I will love the AUSA job so much that it will compensate for everything I would give up. Never having been a prosecutor, I am finding it very difficult to make that assessment. Thanks again for your insights.

 

[rapoole]

Hoping

Being an AUSA is still a job and you will still have bosses. It's a question only you can answer.