Taking a leave of absence to join the military reserves. Good idea?
About to graduate law school and go to a reputable big law firm on the west coast. Hyped for my job and feel like I’ve made it, but I also feel a calling to serve and want to join the reserves (horrible timing rn, ik). According to my research, it would take me about a year to get through all the initial training and then I’d have to drill one weekend a month and two weeks during the summer. For the initial training, I’m not sure if it’d be better to do it before I officially start or wait a year after starting. I know being gone for a year is not really a good thing, but people leave for years to clerk all the time (although this is probably accepted since it makes people better lawyers).
Is this a bad idea? Idk how long I wanna stay in big law but I don’t wanna completely screw up my career. However, I also don’t wanna regret not giving the military giving it a try. Anybody have experience with this?
Posted Mar 14, 2026, 6:21 AM UTC