anyone got tips on dealing with prestige-obsessed lawyers? I'm probably going to be in this profession for at least 10 years out of necessity, and I need a way to cope. I don't like superficial people. But I have to do big law for the money (at least like 5-6 years so I can make as much money as possible before they boot me). And all I keep running into is very fickle shallow empty souls who seem to crave prestige at every corner. This is not a joke. Seeking tips to cope with this personality-type.

I almost feel desperate to have non-law friends, but I don't know where to find them at this point. Did a horrible job keeping in touch with college friends. Now I'm fucked. Mostly, I'm concerned about my own inability to force myself to like about 90% of the people in my own profession. Maybe its an acquired taste. Or maybe I'm the biggest aspie of them all. At this point, I've lost all contact with my old balanced reasonable self because I too find myself lusting prestige.

Get into the club scene do lots of "party favors" in bathroom stalls... Talk about how none of your coworkers could get past the door.. Get laid a lot....

Moral to the story: If you can't beat them join them and take it to the next level...

Practice in a secondary market.

Please delete this post. I can't believe I wasted my time reading what you wrote. How did your random stream of consciousness become a post. #overit

In my experience basically everybody who is part of the rich upperclass is a prestige whoring snobby full of self son of a bitch. But it still sucks that you have to work with those people

Can you be more specific about what it is your colleagues do that bothers you? It's not easy to give advice about something as general as "dealing with a type of person."

In an alternate universe another version of OP makes a different post entitled "getting sick/tired of money-obsessed profesion"...

Feeling this myself a lot lately. Just really wasn't that way where I grew up or where I went to undergrad. Vault rankings don't really make the most sense but people will take V10 over a V20 just for prestiges sake. Or law review, is anyone actually passionate about proof reading?

There are quite a few exceptions...I have some nice rich friends....though money does tend to ruin people, especially people who didn't work for it. I know someone whose step daddy is an actual billionaire-money to him means drugs, partying and doing absolutely nothing with his life, despite having in my opinion more than enough talent to succeed. Then you have the idiot rich-I like these the best. It is so funny to me that complete morons who have "business sense" can become somewhat wealthy. Most often this business sense is being stingy, selfish, not caring about anything but money etc. They get very angry when I step on them intellectually which by the way is quite easy...The idiot rich and the smarter rich also get mad when I show no sign of being impressed with their money. My attitude towards other people's money is quite simple-They are not going to help me with their money, so what does it have to do with me? I'll make my own money.

The legal profession is infested with smarmy bastards who think the world of themselves. However just because a person is smarmy doesn't mean they won't help you. In fact it is good for these ego driven people to think that like The Barber of Seville, they are the pimps of whatever playground they inhabit. Figarooooooooooooo!!

Go read the article where Elie looked at no-offer rates in 2010 by Vault quartile, then tell me Vault rankings are irrelevant.

Unfortunately, a lot of the people on this site seek what you don't like. You have a good plan. Be politically correct and work to get along. No one likes everybody where the work. Stick to your goal and see where you are and how you feel at the end. Be proud of what you accomplished and remember there are some lawyers who are not in the group you describe.

Why do people assume that they are the only "real" or non-superficial person in their school/firm? This is narcissism. It's another form of the "special snowflake" syndrome. Just be yourself and stop assuming that everyone else at the firm is some prestige whore. You'll probably find a lot of other folks who are just like you and are probably assuming you're just another prestige whore. Make this your mantra: "I am not special. There are plenty others like me." It'll serve you well.

OP: If this is what occupies your mind, then your life is too easy.

+1. Seriously. There are plenty of "normal" people who aren't uber prestige-obsessed. Get over yourself.

Not prestige-obsessed. They understand that schools is usually a signaling function to firms that the applicant is best to do the work. Unlike undergrad, those with the highest LSAT and GPA combo usually go to the highest-ranked school. Those at lower-ranked schools that get jobs are ballers in one way or another. Many clients also demand top-school grads. This is probably because they also have a simple understanding of the economics of student placement.

I don't know that many attorneys at top firms . Those that I do know don't give a care in the world where the person is from once in the law firm.

OP: So prestigious, he doesn't care about prestige.

He was into prestige before it went mainstream.

OP y u mad bro? Truth is you probably aren't going to last 5-6 years anyways in biglaw HTH. Plus it sounds like you aren't at a prestigious firm so your lateral opps may be limited too.

ITT: An OP who misses out on the prestige boat bashes the prestige boat.

You know, I replied originally without reading your message. To give you an honest reply, whenever I have cynical feelings towards others, I realize it is due to self-esteem issues. I don't think you'd care if you didn't have something going on wrong in your life. Take up surfing or snowboarding or chess or boxing or comic books. Get a wife/husband. Learn a language. Do better work. I bet you'd stop caring and notice that some of those "prestige-obsessed" lawyers are nice people who have been really successful at being a lawyer and feel pride in it. I know i would if I had to sacrifice like most partners have to to move up.

There was a post on ATL a month or two back about choosing between Harvard and Yale, and Elie wrote about how if you say you went to Harvard Law, people will get a little gleam in their eye that says "this guy didn't go to Yale," and so everyone from Harvard feels the need to make an excuse for why they didn't get into or didn't choose Yale. That boggled my fucking mind. Like, is that actually a thing that happens anywhere? Does anyone really judge you negatively for going to HARVARD FUCKING LAW?

Dude, sit down. What the he11 do you think the answer to that question would be?

Elie is fucking joking. It's ATL dude.

This.

Way less dick-measuring.