<p>Gosh and here I was happy that yesterday my son was offered a position by Biglaw firm he is summer associate for,starting after he finishes his Judicial Clerkship with US District Court of Appeals judge. Seriously, though… last summer he worked at the legal office of a big oil company. Many of the lawyers had been at the Biglaw firm he spent this summer with, and has the offer from. He has been really deliberate in trying to get what the options look like… And I think he is reasonably clear on at least some of the pros and cons. His uncle, previously managing partner of a patent law firm now with a ‘virtual law firm’ gave him an excellent college grad gift- professional counseling with someone who works mostly with mid-career lawyers. </p>
<p>He will earn more $ in his first year as a junior associate than I earned my first 5 years as a doctor… and has an equivalent amount of debt… </p>
<p>The expectation that things will never change seems ludicrous, honestly. Biglaw or otherwise, being planful first and resilient second gets you where you need to go.</p>
<p>Well said, ariesathena #54 and #56.</p>
<p>robyrm2, your son will learn many things and develop an excellent skill set if he works hard, which clearly he has always done. He will be fine and successful. The key thing is for him to remember that debt decreases options, and when he gets his bar exam bonus and his clerkship bonus and his annual bonuses, he should consider paying down some debt and putting some money aside so that he can be in a position of strength at the mid-level fork in the road and make the perfect choice for himself at that point in his career. Congratulations! You must be very proud.</p>
<p>Thanks, Zoosermom… I am happy for him, and proud. He can evidently defer debt repayment for the year of the Clerkship, but has money saved (from working before law school, from being a well paid summer associate, from gifts) and plans to start repayment immediately and aggressively. YOu are absolutely right about maintaining options. This is the same conversation we have had about how to balance his needs.</p>
<p>Robyrm2, something that often isn’t communicated well is that clerks have an alternate and preferred hiring track, and also receive preference in terms of work assignments once they begin work at law firms. The preference continues throughout their careers and clerks are (all things being equal) given a bit of a boost at partnership time, and also in terms of employment for the rest of their careers.</p>
<p>For someone coming out of law school in this era, your son is in the absolute best shape it is possible to be.</p>
<p>Let me start by saying up front that I am not involved in the legal field at all so I really don’t know anything about how the offices run. Forgive me if what I am about to ask seems way off base or out right stupid…</p>
<p>Why couldn’t a model work where instead of hiring two associates for 160k each and killing them with hours etc. hire 3 and pay them each 100k and let them have a life? It seems that they would be more effective if they have a little life and balance.</p>
<p>^^Not enough work to go around…more would have to be laid off sooner.</p>
<p>That would be three sets of bonuses and three sets of administrative costs. Law firms are all about per partner profits.</p>
<p>Zoosermom… thanks! I imagined the clerkship to be meaningful, but didn’t really appreciate the practical impacts. I couldn’t be happier for him…</p>
<p>@parentofpeople: Some of the issue (I think) is also base workload versus peak workoad. If your base workload is sixty hours per week, but can spike to 110 hours a week during crunch time, you’re not going to hire two lawyers to do it - you don’t want them working thirty hours a week each during slow times.</p>
<p>@parentofpeople - The other issue is that there is only so much you can divide up the work without losing consistency and knowledge about the transactions. Actually, at times, one of the most difficult things about my work and my role is that when the “crazy hours” times hit, you can’t simply pull in more people to help. You need the people who know the ins and outs of the deal, and who have been there all along the way, to carry the deal through closing and beyond. </p>
<p>Let’s not forget, either, that the cost of having three people divide up the work of two people is made enormously more expensive because of the cost of providing benefits. The three people would have to be paid significantly less than the two were in order for a business to break even on that trade.</p>
<p>robrym2, I agree completely with Zoosermom that his clerkship will serve him for many years to come. Most associates do not stay with their first firm and clerkships are extremely important in lateral hiring. I have clients who will only consider those with clerkships when looking to fill a position. The sought after boutique firms also value clerkships, even after many years of practicing. It is something that will set him apart throughout his career.</p>
<p>Thanks, Cartera. Hopefully it will help him to have the kind of career he wants to have… Plus, presumably it really does have substantial upside in terms of the breadth of experience, etc… !</p>