<p>Reserving this thread.</p>
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Also, teams. We have softball, bowling, soccer, etc., and aside from being ruthlessly competitive, they involve physical activity, as well. (Plus drinks after, but I digress.)</p>
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For a lot of young attorneys, the light at the end of the tunnel is paying off law school debt and then doing other work with stellar training and a great brand on the resume. Of course, not every choice is for every person, but partnership track isn’t the only option. But you make a very critical point. The affirmative vote total isn’t akin to reaching the summit of a mountain and surveying your domain. There is just as much hard work yet to come. I often think that the relatively young retirement age for so many firms is an acknowledgement that they have worked so hard for so long.</p>
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<p>That’s exactly the point. Many attorneys don’t last through the years, even if they can land a Biglaw job/make the big dollars for a year or three. The attrition rate is astounding at Biglaw - not only because people leave but also because law firms have become increasingly harsh over the years about telling associates at review time that they should probably take a few months and find a “more suitable environment”. </p>
<p>The real issue, of course, is the tremendous debt that weigh down many law school graduates. Many have no choice but to hope and pray that they can land a Biglaw job, and then to kill themselves to keep it. How else can a young associate afford to support him or herself while paying considerable student loan payments each month. Those loans will not go away for years and years, are rarely paid off through loan forgiveness or similar programs, nor are they dischargeable in bankruptcy. </p>
<p>If an attorney finds him or herself miserable at Biglaw, they necessary years there are going to be brutal beyond imagination. The choice is difficult. It can be misery at Biglaw or constant financial struggle for years.</p>
<p>I caution those considering law school to consider carefully what the student loan debt burden will mean for them. Consider what I and others like unbelievable, zoosermom and ariesathena have said. You may find that you love your job despite the heavy toll that it takes on work/life balance. You may also find that you hate it – and you need to think through what happens then.</p>
<p>I want to work two full-time jobs this summer to get a feel for Big Law hours. Would this be a reasonable rite of passage? </p>
<p>Since you worked two jobs and went to school, tell me some of the differences between the hours then and the hours now. I know that you have kids now, so that’s a whole different story, but does the pressure of the firm and the drive of those around you make it easier to put in the hours now than it did when you were young and in college?</p>
<p>I went to a challenging undergrad and had three jobs plus played a varsity sport (I only worked one job with reduced hours at a second during the primary season for my sport). Though that was good preparation, what I do now is significantly more challenging in terms of time commitment.</p>
<p>I’m always reminded of this quote when I think of work:</p>
<p>“Sometimes it is not good enough to do your best; you have to do what’s required.” -Winston Churchill</p>
<p>I’m pretty determined to change my lifestyle. I’ve been having it pretty comfortably lately, but it’s hard to achieve anything great that way. Your posts really changed my outlook. Not sure why, I don’t even know you. And there have been plenty of people like you that I have met throughout my life. Maybe now I’m just ready to really put in the dedication. </p>
<p>I do miss the small things a little already, but one has to make sacrifices. Oh, I run long distance, too. I’ve been using that lately as a great way to get some energy instead of a way to pass my free time. It works wonders. </p>
<p>This post may sound silly, but I really have changed. I’m not exactly sure why. I just want to achieve something. I guess I was just finally ready to give myself that little push.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>A little off topic, but you may want to try some high intensity interval training. You can get a great workout in twenty minutes, and some would say it is much better for you than steady state long distance running. Just my two cents.</p>
<p>I can’t change what I love. I’m a runner. Takes one to know one.</p>
<p>Enlightening discussion here. </p>
<p>Question: During a typical week (say ~80 hrs) for a senior partner, how much of that is in-office time and how much is work-from-home?</p>
<p>For me, at least 70 of the billable hours are typically worked in the office (which usually translates to 80-90 actual hours in the office). That time does not include time it takes to get showered, dressed, to and from the office, etc. Yes, it can be brutal.</p>
<p>When I do work from home, I am shut up in my home office away from my family. When it is time to cook meals or go out or spend time with the family, the work stops. There is no way to do the intense work I have to do unless I am shut away in my office where I can focus. It would not be fair to my clients otherwise.</p>
<p>Working from home is not always an option. It depends on the client, the transaction, your team, and the situation at the moment. I hate hauling my butt into the office on weekends, but it has to happen all too often. As the team leader and primary point person for our client, sometimes you just need to be there in the office. </p>
<p>To be clear, my hours vary. Next week and the week following, I will probably bill closer to 90 hours/week, which pretty much means I won’t be sleeping except for a few hours here and there. I will close two deals and then I should have a couple of more moderate weeks of like 60 hours/week billed (about 80 - 85 hours/week working - will have to catch up on paperwork, business development, professional reading, CLE, etc., all of which are non-billable).</p>
<p>Another question relating to the original Biglaw Horror Stories theme of this thread: I’ve heard of situations where an attorney will spend days on an urgent matter (a deal, an upcoming trial, etc.), only to find that the deal or trial has fallen through and everything they did was for nothing. Does this kind of thing happen very often?</p>
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<p>That is the nature of the beast, but I wouldn’t say everything that was done counted for nothing. The vast majority of litigation matters settle before trial. Sometimes that happens months before trial. Sometimes it happens the day of trial. The attorneys preparing for trial have to assume the trail will go even if they are 99% sure it will settle. Sometimes it is good trial prep that causes the case to settle so that effort is not wasted. I never did transactional work, so I don’t know how attorneys feel when a deal they have worked on for a very long time falls through.</p>
<p>Yes, it happens sometimes in transactional work. It’s possible to work for months on a deal, working those 12 hour days and weekends, only to have the deal fall apart. You just roll with it. Most companies obviously try to avoid spending a lot of money on transactions that are going to fall apart.</p>
<p>Yikes. Don’t know where to start…so many posts. </p>
<p>I saw someone say that there was a “buy-in” into biglaw partnership. I was curiuos if someone could explain that (assuming I heard/read correctly …just lazy to check the earlier pages, lol)? </p>
<p>So, once an associate reaches partner review stage, then if he/she makes it through, are you guys saying he/she has to pay a fee of some kind to become a partner?</p>
<p>Also, someone had mentioned gyms inside of biglaw firms. </p>
<p>Out of curiosity, are there other recreational places? I’ve heard of showers as well, but am curious about lounges, book/library rooms, game rooms, etc. </p>
<p>How much of a “fortress” is biglaw? Could a person sort of live there for months if need be? :)</p>
<p>There are no “game rooms” or other “recreational places” at BigLaw; if the firm has a gym, it’s no big deal-most employers have a gym these days(quality varies, of course). The cafeterias, etc, are supplied to keep you working longer and harder, not for “recreation”; this ain’t Silicon Valley…</p>
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It’s possible to work for months on a deal, working those 12 hour days and weekends, only to have the deal fall apart. You just roll with it. </p>
<p>True, I guess you’ve got no choice but to roll with a deal that falls through. But, aside from being demoralizing (months of work up in smoke), wouldn’t it inspire you to not give 100% in subsequent situations, especially if it’s happened to you several times? Or does this happen rarely enough so as not to be utterly soul-crushing?</p>
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<p>As a litigator, I never felt the least bit demoralized when a trial settled. I doubt transactional lawyers feel that way either. Of course, if the deal falling through harms your client in some way, you feel badly about that because the client’s interest is your interest. I was often disappointed when a trial settled because real trial experience was hard to come by in a large law firm. We were chomping at the bit to get into the court room. We understood, however, that only the really bad cases were typically tried so there was always the chance of a really bad outcome. That could be demoralizing.</p>