Job offer dilemma (advice welcome)
I’m going on 20 years of practice at a midsize firm. About 1/3 of my practice is insurance defense (design professional focus), 1/3 construction industry practice and 1/3 general commercial. After years of being counsel and not “on track” for partnership, my practice group asked me to go on track so I did last year. I’m told if I work on development priorities, including reducing low rate insurance defense work, I am in the zone for next year. For most of my colleagues who stayed on track, it’s a 10+ year runway to partner, and we are lockstep, so it’s straight to equity partnership.
Recently I was approached by a recruiter about an in-house senior level claims manager position for a specialty insurer for their design professional liability line. It involves some coverage analysis, claims handling and strategizing with outside counsel, and interfacing with underwriters. I interviewed and just received an offer. It would be fully remote (currently I work half remote at the firm bur am told to increase my profile for partner progression), no billable hours, reasonable work hours and benefits, and baseline salary is about what I make now as counsel.
I believe my firm that partnership is on the horizon - but I no longer know if that’s what I want. There’s a 2300 total hour commitment, and partners have to hustle (biz dev, community engagement, associate training, all the things on top of work). My husband recently retired and I’m middle-aged. I’m good at my job, but feel I no longer have the hunger that I did earlier in my career. We are financially comfortable (one child in middle school), though obviously partnership would have a greater economic reward. I love my firm colleagues and most of my clients, but getting sick of the grind. New position would allow me to manage outside counsel and strategize with design clients on resolution without being the one to take deps, go to court, file motions, etc. All things I excel at but which are less exciting as time goes on.
I need to make a decision. Anyone been in this boat? Advice, pros and cons, regrets or lack thereof? Many thanks in advance.