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[FSK]

I've determined my schedule is 9-6:15 if the partner I'm working for is in the office, 9:530 if not, and as long as need be when the work calls for it.

[Anonymous User]

I feel like an asshat saying this, but its sort of a kick in the teeth seeing my classmates with comparable grades at much better/more prestigious firms than I am at. Just reminds me how terrible of an interviewer I am.

[smaug]

I feel like an asshat saying this, but its sort of a kick in the teeth seeing my classmates with comparable grades at much better/more prestigious firms than I am at. Just reminds me how terrible of an interviewer I am.

You can't eat prestige.

[J9ofDiamonds]

I feel like an asshat saying this, but its sort of a kick in the teeth seeing my classmates with comparable grades at much better/more prestigious firms than I am at. Just reminds me how terrible of an interviewer I am.

You can't eat prestige.

seriously, wgaf

[J9ofDiamonds]

I have been consistently 9:30-6:30 with 1.5-2 hour lunches. I stayed until 7:30 once and left at 6 once

[doctoroflaw91]

Everyone at my firm seems to come in and leave as they please. I'm a morning person and our firm has a gym, so I work out there and am in my office by 8:30. I generally leave around 5:30 or 6, but I stay later if I need to.

[BigZuck]

You guys keep saying you stay later if you need to but what does that look like? Are you getting assignments that take up more than like 30 hours a week? Assignments with a short turn around? I havent experienced anything like that yet.

(No offer?)

[trebekismyhero]

You guys keep saying you stay later if you need to but what does that look like? Are you getting assignments that take up more than like 30 hours a week? Assignments with a short turn around? I havent experienced anything like that yet.

(No offer?)

Same, I have gotten two assignments that take about 40 hours, but I had two weeks to do them. Only one person in my class that I know of had an assignment that was kind of a fire drill and even they didn't stay past 7

[trebekismyhero]

I feel like an asshat saying this, but its sort of a kick in the teeth seeing my classmates with comparable grades at much better/more prestigious firms than I am at. Just reminds me how terrible of an interviewer I am.

You can't eat prestige.

seriously, wgaf

Yeah, it is not a kick in the teeth if you are at any market or near market paying firm. You're doing fine and stop worrying about prestige. If you did strike out or at some shitlaw firm, then you are not an asshat

[jbagelboy]

I feel like an asshat saying this, but its sort of a kick in the teeth seeing my classmates with comparable grades at much better/more prestigious firms than I am at. Just reminds me how terrible of an interviewer I am.

When you see the cravath kids actually work 12 hour days consistently, and not entirely because they're striving but because the senior associate actually expects them to, savor every morsel of your relative lack of "prestige."

[beepboopbeep]

You guys keep saying you stay later if you need to but what does that look like? Are you getting assignments that take up more than like 30 hours a week? Assignments with a short turn around? I havent experienced anything like that yet.

(No offer?)

i stay late if

1. we have an evening event that would make it pointless to leave at a normal time

2. i slacked off / had a bunch of training / ended up taking a super long lunch w/ associates, that meant i did no work during the actual workday

3. pathern calls for a meeting, at, like, 5:30

i think the only people here who are actually needing to stay late to work are people doing deals and/or people who had an assignment from a junior/midlevel that was part of something the partner decided they needed ASAP. so, not super common. i wouldn't worry about it at all.

[fish52]

As a former summer, having talked about this issue with many other summers in years past: I think TCR is don't leave before 5:00 and/or before any associates have left (doesn't look good to beat ALL of them out of the office). At the same time, you're wasting your summer if you are staying past 6:30. You will never again in the near future of your lives make so much for doing so little - maximize that.

Also, don't assume that the fact "no one is in the office after 6pm" means they aren't logging back in from home at night and on weekends... or that they are leaving that early the rest of the year when summers aren't around. Be aware that as summers you are only seeing the tip of the iceberg, and even then, only the side of that tip that the firm wants you to see. No lie, firms often tells their associates to dress more casually, take longer lunches, and leave the office earlier during the summer as a show for the summers. It's all part of the game.

[BigZuck]

As a former summer, having talked about this issue with many other summers in years past: I think TCR is don't leave before 5:00 and/or before any associates have left (doesn't look good to beat ALL of them out of the office). At the same time, you're wasting your summer if you are staying past 6:30. You will never again in the near future of your lives make so much for doing so little - maximize that.

Also, don't assume that the fact "no one is in the office after 6pm" means they aren't logging back in from home at night and on weekends... or that they are leaving that early the rest of the year when summers aren't around. Be aware that as summers you are only seeing the tip of the iceberg, and even then, only the side of that tip that the firm wants you to see. No lie, firms often tells their associates to dress more casually, take longer lunches, and leave the office earlier during the summer as a show for the summers. It's all part of the game.

Out the firms or it didn't happen

[Anonymous User]

1L SA with a South American firm and my hours are 8:45-7:30.

Sounds like I got shafted.

[Anonymous User]

My firm's been pretty straight up with me. Ex: "yeah I get back online after dinner at home"; Enjoy summer b/c once you're a first year, you'll be working your ass off on busy months (litigation).

Staying late: only day I left past 6:00 is when I had a fire drill assignment that the client needed the day it was assigned.

[Robb]

My firm's been pretty straight up with me. Ex: "yeah I get back online after dinner at home"; Enjoy summer b/c once you're a first year, you'll be working your ass off on busy months (litigation).

Staying late: only day I left past 6:00 is when I had a fire drill assignment that the client needed the day it was assigned.

+1, although I haven't stayed past 5:30. Might change tomorrow because I don't want to turn in this assignment late.

1L SA with a South American firm and my hours are 8:45-7:30.

Sounds like I got shafted.

But the South American part is cool. What country, if you don't mind saying for risk of outing?

[rpupkin]

No lie, firms often tells their associates to dress more casually,

Sorry, I think this is a lie. Neither of the firms I worked at suggested anything of the sort, and I've never heard of a firm urging its associates to change the way they dress for the sake of the summer program. ("Damn, it's August! Now that the SAs are gone, I've got to go back to wearing a suit every day.")

I guess I can believe that your firm does or did this, but multiple firms? I think you're making shit up.

[El Pollito]

No lie, firms often tells their associates to dress more casually,

Sorry, I think this is a lie. Neither of the firms I worked at suggested anything of the sort, and I've never heard of a firm urging its associates to change the way they dress for the sake of the summer program. ("Damn, it's August! Now that the SAs are gone, I've got to go back to wearing a suit every day.")

I guess I can believe that your firm does or did this, but multiple firms? I think you're making shit up.

i don't think that's real

[Desert Fox]

fobstory.jpeg

[El Pollito]

No but firms carefully manage who you meet socially to give you false expectations. Stressed out people don't go to shitty events and aren't invited to new ones.

my friend accidentally got invited to a summer lunch and told people he wanted to kill himself

[trebekismyhero]

No but firms carefully manage who you meet socially to give you false expectations. Stressed out people don't go to shitty events and aren't invited to new ones.

my friend accidentally got invited to a summer lunch and told people he wanted to kill himself

Holy crap. I hope your friend just quit the firm.

[rpupkin]

No but firms carefully manage who you meet socially to give you false expectations. Stressed out people don't go to shitty events and aren't invited to new ones.

Yeah, no question that firms orchestrate the summer experience in a way that conceals the unpleasant realities of associate life. I just thought the "firm tellsl us to dress casually for the summers" line was amusing bullshit.

[jbagelboy]

No but firms carefully manage who you meet socially to give you false expectations. Stressed out people don't go to shitty events and aren't invited to new ones.

my friend accidentally got invited to a summer lunch and told people he wanted to kill himself

lol. I'm sorry for your friend, but this is terrific. I need more somber, widely inappropriate misanthropy from the associates in my life right now.

[Desert Fox]

fobstory.jpeg

[trebekismyhero]

If everyone who wanted to kill themselves left big law, the desks would be empty.[/quote]

Hmm. How early do you start getting calls from headhunters then?