Odds of Hanging On
Nothing succeeds like success in the legal world, except for more success. For defense attorneys, that means getting acquittals in the shadow of big time, or reducing punishment at sentencing. Since being a good defense attorney is all about communicating well with others and knowing how to get things done in court, many defense attorneys start out as prosecutors.
Prosecutors have the option of staying in the government for years once they land the job—or, if they don't like it, think pleas are boring, or want a bigger paycheck—can go into private defense practice. Defense attorneys also can try out for prosecution once they learn defense attorney magic tricks—just don't mention during the interview that you became a defense attorney because you think all cops are liars.