How to return to law after a career break

Yes. The OnRamp Fellowship, a returner program for lawyers described below, is built for long breaks: it requires a hiatus from the practice of law for at least two consecutive years [1], and it says more than 120 lawyers [2] have returned to the workforce through it over the last decade.

Firms also rehire lawyers who once worked for them. In the NALP Foundation’s latest attrition study, covering 141 participating firms in the U.S. and Canada [3], the share of firms that rehired at least one former associate was 44%, down from 49% in 2024 [4], and these boomerang associates were 6% of all associate hires, down from 11% in 2024 [5]. The study does not say how many of them were coming back from a career break.

Expect employers to wonder about three things, even if no one says them out loud: whether your skills are current, whether you are committed, and whether you will leave again. A good return plan answers all three before an interviewer asks.

For a job practicing law, yes. Before you apply anywhere, look yourself up on your state bar’s attorney search. You may be active, inactive, retired in states that offer that status, or suspended or listed as not eligible to practice for unpaid fees or missed continuing legal education. Each status has its own path back.

Getting back to active status takes several steps, and the rules differ by state. In California, for example, inactive lawyers must be fingerprinted prior to being placed on active status [6], so fingerprinting comes first, and the request to return goes in online through My State Bar Profile. Once that is done, your active status is effective on the date that the State Bar receives your signed form and fee [7], and the State Bar may require you to show compliance with a past-due MCLE requirement within 60 days [8]. MCLE is California’s continuing legal education requirement; in the period when you return, it is prorated based on the number of months during the compliance period when you were active and not exempt [9]. Other states set their own steps, so read your own state’s rule and ask the bar how long processing takes.

A license that lapsed or was resigned is harder to fix. The State Bar of California warns that if you simply stop paying annual fees, your license will be suspended [10]. It also says re-admission after resignation would require a reinstatement petition in the State Bar Court, an expensive and time-consuming process which usually entails retaking most of the bar exam [11].

If you moved while you were away, your license may be in the wrong state. Many states admit lawyers licensed elsewhere on motion. NCBE defines that as admission without any additional testing except, where required, the MPRE [12], the professional responsibility exam. Motion admission depends on recent practice: Arizona, for example, requires that applicants have held a law license in active status for 3 out of the 5 years immediately preceding application [13]. A long break, or years on inactive status, can rule that route out and leave the bar exam as the way in. NCBE’s admission on motion chart lists each state’s rule. If you are aiming at a company job, read the licensing step in going in-house, because in-house lawyers have their own rules.

Interviewers trust recent work more than old work. A few months of real legal work before you apply often counts for more than another course. Ways to get it:

• Continuing legal education in your target practice. Choose courses that cover what changed while you were away, then say what you learned in interviews.
• Pro bono. Legal aid groups and court self-help centers take volunteers. Emeritus pro bono rules, where a state has them, waive some of the usual licensing burdens for attorneys who limit their practice to pro bono only [14], and an ABA article notes that, increasingly, attorneys who are inactive or engaged in work other than the practice of law are eligible under the rules [15].
• Contract and project work. Document review, discovery and short-term contract roles through legal staffing agencies give you current skills, a recent reference and sometimes a permanent offer.
• Part-time and flexible roles. Some firms and legal departments hire part-time or project-based counsel, and small businesses and nonprofits need occasional legal help.
• Writing and bar activity. An article, a short talk or a bar committee seat shows current knowledge and rebuilds your network.
• Tools. Learn the research, document and AI tools your target employers use now. Interviewers notice when a returner is current.

If you did relevant work during the break, use it. Board service, volunteer leadership, a family business, compliance or policy work, and teaching all show judgment and current skills.

Aim where your past experience counts and the hiring process can absorb a gap.

• Your former employer. If you left on good terms, call former partners or supervisors first. They know your work, which removes much of the risk a gap suggests.
• Mid-size and small firms. They often need lawyers who can work on their own from the first week, and some care less about an unbroken resume.
• Company legal departments. Practical judgment and industry knowledge count, and life experience during a break can add to both. See going in-house.
• Government and legal aid. Many of these jobs are posted publicly with set criteria, and federal jobs can be open to a license from another state. The Justice Department says that, as a general rule, a candidate with a law degree who is an active member of the bar of any U.S. jurisdiction [16] is eligible for an attorney position; each vacancy announcement lists any extra criteria.
• Large firms. Possible, especially through referrals, your former firm or a returner program, but do not make them the whole plan. Large firms hire associates by class year, and a gap is harder to fit into that system.
• JD advantage roles. Compliance, contracts, privacy and policy jobs can be a bridge back or a new path. See JD advantage jobs.

If you never practiced after law school, treat the return as a first legal job search with more life experience behind it. Get licensed where you want to work, look at roles that train new lawyers, such as small firms, government agencies, legal aid groups and contract review, and use what you did in the meantime. An entry-level job a few years after law school is a normal start, not a step back.

Not sure you want to practice at all? Test it before you commit: a contract project or a pro bono matter tells you more than months of thinking. See alternative careers for lawyers and what you can do with a law degree.

A returnship is a temporary job, usually paid, for people coming back after a career break, with a permanent role as the goal. iRelaunch, a company that works with employers on return-to-work programs, describes returnships as a cross between a college internship program tweaked for the mid-career returning professional and a leadership development program [17]. It says most have an "intent to hire" philosophy, meaning the employer expects to hire the returner at the end [18], but the permanent role is not guaranteed [19].

The OnRamp Fellowship is a returner program built for lawyers. It is a re-entry platform that matches experienced lawyers returning to the workforce after a career hiatus with law firms and legal departments in the US for year-long paid positions [20]. Its applicant page sets out the terms:

• Experience: at least three years of full-time, post-licensure legal practice experience at one or more mid-sized to large legal organizations [21].
• Time away: a hiatus from the practice of law for at least two consecutive years [1]. OnRamp defines the hiatus as being unemployed, working outside of the legal profession, or being underemployed in a non-legal or temporary/contract legal role [22], so contract legal work during a break still counts as time away.
• License: an active license to practice law in the United States [23]. For a law firm fellowship, applicants must be licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction where they plan to apply [24], while legal department applicants can be licensed to practice law in any jurisdiction unless the posting indicates otherwise [25].
• Pay: full-time fellows are generally paid a stipend of $115,000 [26] to $225,000 [27] for the year, depending on the organization, plus benefits.
• Support: individualized coaching with experienced career coaches who work with fellows throughout the year [28].
• Cost to apply: $175 [29] for the skills, values and writing assessments.
• No promise: OnRamp notes there is no guarantee of an offer or employment at any of the participating organizations [30].

Applications open in rounds, so check OnRamp’s site for the next one.

iRelaunch says the returner pool across professions is predominantly female, as the largest subset of the relauncher population is women who take career breaks for childcare reasons [31]. That does not make OnRamp women-only: it says it is open to everyone, regardless of gender, race, and other identities [32].

Large companies also run returnships for their own openings, and iRelaunch keeps an up-to-date list of return to work programs, returnships and opportunities for relaunchers [33]. Check whether a program includes legal or compliance roles before you apply. Your law school’s career office may help too; many serve alumni.

Say it once, plainly, and move on. Interviewers mostly want to know that the break is over and that you are ready.

On your resume:

• Add a one-line entry for the break with dates and a short reason, such as caregiving, relocation or health. You do not owe anyone private details.
• List what you did that counts: courses, pro bono, board or volunteer leadership, consulting or a family business.
• Keep your strongest legal experience easy to find, even if it is older.

In interviews, use three parts: why you stepped away, what you did to get ready, and why this role now. For example: "I stepped away to care for my parents. Over the past year I took courses on the changes in my practice area and handled pro bono matters for a legal aid clinic. I’m ready to return full time, and this role uses the contract work I did for years before my break."

Short gaps barely need explaining. A few months between a clerkship and a firm job, or between two jobs, fits in one line. For a long break, say how long it was without hedging. A hidden gap looks worse than an explained one.

It does not have to. If you are planning a break, a few steps now make the return easier:

• Decide whether to keep your license active or move it to inactive status, and never let it lapse. Learn your state’s path back before you need it.
• Keep up some continuing legal education in the area you expect to return to.
• Stay in touch with colleagues, clients and mentors.
• Leave on good terms. Your old employer may be your easiest way back.
• Do some legal work during the break if you can, even pro bono, so your experience stays recent.

A coach who works with returning lawyers can help you decide whether to return or pivot, set a plan and a timeline, rewrite your resume, and practice your answer about the gap until it sounds natural. A coach can also help you negotiate a schedule that works and plan your first months back. OnRamp builds coaching into its fellowship: it lists individualized coaching with experienced career coaches who work with fellows throughout the year [28] among its supports.

Look for a coach who has worked with returners in your part of the market, and ask for references from lawyers who made a similar return.

In this directory, start with coaches who list returning to law, then widen the search to job search and lateral moves and leaving law and career change. 80 of the 198 listings say the coach offers a free consultation, so you can talk with several coaches before you pay. Read how to choose a career coach and what a lawyer coach costs, or answer three questions in the coach matcher.