thinking of leaving biglaw after 3 months Forum

[metalz666]

My law firm is not exactly Biglaw, we only have around 30 associates in my city, but it sure acts like one. Ive been a student associate for almost 2 years there, learned some know how and it was bearable, as a student i just took off at 6pm and went home. Now, as a junior associate, im there for 1.5 months and i already cant take it anymore ! Ive been working 17 hour days, never less than 12 hrs and more and more work keeps coming. Im under a lot of pressure, stress and i often get critiqued for asking 'basic' stuff or making mistakes. I also get yelled at sometimes, so im really scared of any work i get, cause i know if i f up, ill be yelled at by some associates.

I was a really healthy individual, but no matter how hard i try i cant get to my gym, cause it closes before i even get out ! I cant take it anymore, 1.5 month is nothing, i know, but i feel im losing grip of my life and i havent been happy ever since i started cause i have no life at all...anyone experiemced something similar so early in their careers ? Should our careers and be serving our private lives, instead of taking over them ?

[mvp99]

Are you sure this isn't a really busy time for the term i.e. the situation is only temporary?

[run26.2]

Why don't you try saying no? Or tell the assigning attorney that you already have deadlines that probably will prevent you from getting any additional work that you are assigned done on time. That attorney can talk to the one you're presently working for and sort it out.

While you work hard in biglaw, it isn't to the firm's benefit if you're working to the point of exhaustion everyday. It's up to you to help the firm find a good balance in which you are productive, not seen as avoiding work, and not burning out (especially at 3 months).

[SFB222]

My start was similar. After a few more months, you'll get a better handle over things. Stay at least a year before thinking about moving on.

[johndhi]

Why don't you try saying no? Or tell the assigning attorney that you already have deadlines that probably will prevent you from getting any additional work that you are assigned done on time. That attorney can talk to the one you're presently working for and sort it out.

While you work hard in biglaw, it isn't to the firm's benefit if you're working to the point of exhaustion everyday. It's up to you to help the firm find a good balance in which you are productive, not seen as avoiding work, and not burning out (especially at 3 months).

this. if they are really as bad as you seem to suggest, I recommend looking elsewhere. It isn't all this bad.

[iplulzer]

More Stockholm syndrome posts. Biglaw is hard but what you describe sounds absolutely horrible, especially the yelling. There is no reason to put up with that if you have other options (which include other biglaw). I'd start looking ASAP.

[nickelanddime]

Sorry man. Sounds like you won the lottery. Are there other people you can start to work with? Unfortunately, you're probably going to have to hang around for at least a year until moving.

[Anonymous User]

More Stockholm syndrome posts. Biglaw is hard but what you describe sounds absolutely horrible, especially the yelling. There is no reason to put up with that if you have other options (which include other biglaw). I'd start looking ASAP.

I agree with this. Disregard my first post. I now remember what it was like working with a passive aggressive boss who failed to recognize her own mistakes . It was horrible and sometimes I couldn't sleep at night. Not worth it, especially if you have other options.

[dixiecupdrinking]

First, there's a good chance this gets better with time simply because everything is taking you twice as long as it should right now. (Which is normal and unavoidable; after six months or so, you'll start to see a real improvement in your ability to handle things quickly.) But the environment you describe sounds unbearable. I agree you should look for other opportunities but in the meantime I also agree that you can make it easier on yourself by saying no. If you're pulling 80 hour weeks, you really shouldn't be getting new work IMO.

[Anonymous User]

It's probably not feasible to leave so quickly because it will be a red flag for other employers. So the question is, how do you make your life bearable until you can leave.

I'm a partner-track BigLaw midlevel who is sought after for much more work than I can do. At one point, I tried to do it all, and ended up with comical situations - routinely working 20+ hours at a time with some full all-nighters. I had to go through that to realize that I could say no. I learned that people were understanding when I described what was on my plate and the deadlines I was facing. If I was already booked until midnight, in general people did not actually expect me to take on their work and address it between midnight and 7 AM, barring a genuine emergency situation where literally no one else was available (this has happened only one time in the past year, for example, and the professional rewards of pulling that one all-nighter for that key senior partner have been huge). And once you develop a reputation for being a very hard worker, doing excellent work, and being sought after ... people will understand/explicitly acknowledge that you are "in demand" and may simply not be available to take more work.

As for the gym: this is something else I've learned. You just have to (wo)man up, push yourself away from your desk, and go do that 30 minute run or swim or bike ride. Just like you can't eliminate sleep from your life for your job's sake, you can't eliminate exercise. You don't need to advertise where you're going, and I'd strongly recommend you not make a point of discussing your exercise at work. (Otherwise, sleep-deprived, far from fit partners and senior associates may think, "Jeez, it's great that S/HE thinks s/he has so much time for exercise.") Just do it. You don't owe the firm an apology for keeping yourself fit and in good health.

[Johann]

The work will always be there. Walk in and set a time you're leaving at the beginning of the day and leave at that time. If a lawyer says where is this you should be done just tell him you're swamped and haven't had time. Ask one of the partners how he would prioritize everything that's on your plate. Let people know assigning you work you are really busy and they have to talk to the partner assigning you work to clear it. Bottom line though if the older lawyers won't help you out, help yourself and leave after a 12 hour day.

[Anonymous User]

I'm the BigLaw anon before Johann.

Let people know assigning you work you are really busy and they have to talk to the partner assigning you work to clear it.

Crediting this - just talk to the partner you want to use for this beforehand. Then you can say to all others, "[Important Partner] has me doing a lot for him/her, and they've asked me to touch base with them before taking on all new work."

You'll find that if you're a great associate, partners get very territorial and want to claim large swaths of your time. So if there's one or two that you really like working for (bonus points if they are more senior/rainmaker types) and you've got a lot of stuff to do for them, just touch base with them and ask if you can do this. This is very easy to do: you frame it in terms of how you like working with them, you want to be sure your matter(s) with them get the attention they need, etc., so while you want to help as many partners as you can, you don't want it to be at the expense of the Very Important Tasks you are handling for them. (Most partners like to hear this.) With their signoff, you've got yourself a very effective filtering mechanism. You can say yes to all the things you want to take (do clear them by "Important Partner" if you've promised them you will) and turn down everything else based on their dibs on your time.

I only do this where I'm consistently billing 12+ hours a day or over the 250 billable hour threshold...but again, if you're sought after, that is more or less all the time.

[Shaggier1]

I'd start looking ASAP.

This. Also, don't take any shit. If you have already decided you'd be willing to leave, what is the harm is setting boundaries.

[bjsesq]

I'd start looking ASAP.

This. Also, don't take any shit. If you have already decided you'd be willing to leave, what is the harm is setting boundaries.

Holy shit, blast from the past. Sup, fucker?