Any biglaw lawyers here genuinely enjoy their job? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I havent met one yet.

Met my mentor today who had practiced for a decade. I asked during lunch whether he enjoyed his job at his biglaw. He was drinking water and choked while chuckling. He said lawyers at big firms have a short shelf life where if you are not on partner track then 6-8 years is max and you get pushed out. And no other biglaw firms will take you even if you ask for a 3-4 year salary.

Seriously can someone who is genuinely happy check in here and help convince us newbies we are not going to be miserable? This legal field seems to be unique in that everyone hates being a lawyer and biglaw lawyers hate it even more.

[El Pollito]

Hi.

[sublime]

Stop making so many anon threads and use the search function.

[dixiecupdrinking]

"Enjoy" is probably not the right way to look at it. It's a demanding, stressful, and time-consuming job for which I'm more than fairly compensated, and that's enough for now. There will be a tipping point where it isn't enough anymore.

At its best I spend a lot of time and energy on things I find interesting and engaging, or where I'm truly invested in the outcome. In between those times, there are weeks and sometimes months where I spend a lot of time and energy on minutiae I couldn't care less about, and which has to be done to the same standard.

A lot of this can describe most jobs, probably. Biglaw is just more of it for more money.

[WhiteCollarBlueShirt]

for newbies, i would recommend applying elsewhere and broadly... but if you're in law school, it's probably too late

[Barack O'Drama]

"Enjoy" is probably not the right way to look at it. It's a demanding, stressful, and time-consuming job for which I'm more than fairly compensated, and that's enough for now. There will be a tipping point where it isn't enough anymore.

At its best I spend a lot of time and energy on things I find interesting and engaging, or where I'm truly invested in the outcome. In between those times, there are weeks and sometimes months where I spend a lot of time and energy on minutiae I couldn't care less about, and which has to be done to the same standard.

A lot of this can describe most jobs, probably. Biglaw is just more of it for more money.

0L, so feel free to ignore me. But as I've alluded to on here before, an older friend of mine works in BL. When I asked him this question a while back, this is more or less the exact same sentiment towards BL he had.

[brotherdarkness]

Checking in. Enjoying biglaw so far. Work is interesting, colleagues are smart, pay is good. Pretty entertaining environment too, with all the crazy people and lulzy emails.

[Abbie Doobie]

there are plenty of biglaw lawyers that enjoy their job. everyone at dla piper for example.

[PennBull]

Hi.

[Anonymous User]

I think it's possible for certain people to enjoy litigation. Even if biglaw litigation isn't interesting in the immediate, it can lead to jobs that are. However, I have no idea how anyone can find any aspect of corporate interesting.

[PennBull]

However, I have no idea how anyone can find any aspect of corporate interesting.

I have no idea how someone could like a thing that I do not like myself

[dailygrind]

"Enjoy" is probably not the right way to look at it. It's a demanding, stressful, and time-consuming job for which I'm more than fairly compensated, and that's enough for now. There will be a tipping point where it isn't enough anymore.

At its best I spend a lot of time and energy on things I find interesting and engaging, or where I'm truly invested in the outcome. In between those times, there are weeks and sometimes months where I spend a lot of time and energy on minutiae I couldn't care less about, and which has to be done to the same standard.

A lot of this can describe most jobs, probably. Biglaw is just more of it for more money.

That's my view too. Most people don't enjoy their jobs. That's why they have to get paid to do them. I draw a more than fair salary for the work I do, I am generally okay with the type of work I'm doing, and that's more or less all I'm looking for.

[smaug]

I think it's possible for certain people to enjoy litigation. Even if biglaw litigation isn't interesting in the immediate, it can lead to jobs that are. However, I have no idea how anyone can find any aspect of corporate interesting.

What jobs are those? This seems dumb.

[Anonymous User]

I think it's possible for certain people to enjoy litigation. Even if biglaw litigation isn't interesting in the immediate, it can lead to jobs that are. However, I have no idea how anyone can find any aspect of corporate interesting.

What jobs are those? This seems dumb.

AUSA, fedgov, etc. Very high job satisfaction from what I've seen.

[smaug]

I think it's possible for certain people to enjoy litigation. Even if biglaw litigation isn't interesting in the immediate, it can lead to jobs that are. However, I have no idea how anyone can find any aspect of corporate interesting.

What jobs are those? This seems dumb.

AUSA, fedgov, etc. Very high job satisfaction from what I've seen.

Just do AUSA. lmao.

What percentage of biglaw litigators do you think end up in those positions?

[Johann]

I think it's possible for certain people to enjoy litigation. Even if biglaw litigation isn't interesting in the immediate, it can lead to jobs that are. However, I have no idea how anyone can find any aspect of corporate interesting.

What jobs are those? This seems dumb.

because litigation leads to FUNemployment

[Anonymous User]

However, I have no idea how anyone can find any aspect of corporate interesting.

I have no idea how someone could like a thing that I do not like myself

Sure, just that the number of people capable of enjoying corporate biglaw for the substance of the work is near zero. Especially if they've done any other white collar job. I've been at it for awhile at 2 firms. I don't know of any other white collar job so full of people that wish they could leave their profession entirely.

The OP was clearly asking for opinions, and I don't know anyone that enjoys the actual substance of the work. It's literally just paperwork and dealing with what are usually pointless regulations. The only people I've met that "like" it are into the money or have self-deluded themselves into thinking it's prestigious. If you like it, great. I'm just saying if OP's a 0L thinking about law school and biglaw, then my advice is to consider why even after all that money it's consistently rated as the most miserable white collar profession.

[Anonymous User]

I've spoken to 5 senior partners at my firm who straight up told me they don't want their kids to be lawyers...so I'm guessing they don't even enjoy their jobs and they're just in it because they get paid millions. Associates are only paid like 1/10th to 1/20th of what a partner is paid though - so the money doesn't seem that good for what they make you give.

Biglaw would be perfectly fine IMO if it were 9 to 5, not on call. But the constant 24/7 and constant working on the weekends/nights thing just ruins it for me - there's no amount of money that would be enough for me to stay in biglaw for a long time if I had no down time since we're constantly on call 24/7.

I think biglaw is like living intern year of residency over and over and over again - except there's no end in biglaw and there's no real light at the end of the tunnel. You also need to be at least a 5th year or maybe even 6th year to land a decent in house job these days...5-6 years is a LONG time, and not all in house jobs are great either.

So yeah, I don't think I've met a larger proportion of the population who literally wants to quit their profession

[PennBull]

However, I have no idea how anyone can find any aspect of corporate interesting.

I have no idea how someone could like a thing that I do not like myself

Sure, just that the number of people capable of enjoying corporate biglaw for the substance of the work is near zero. Especially if they've done any other white collar job. I've been at it for awhile at 2 firms. I don't know of any other white collar job so full of people that wish they could leave their profession entirely.

The OP was clearly asking for opinions, and I don't know anyone that enjoys the actual substance of the work. It's literally just paperwork and dealing with what are usually pointless regulations. The only people I've met that "like" it are into the money or have self-deluded themselves into thinking it's prestigious. If you like it, great. I'm just saying if OP's a 0L thinking about law school and biglaw, then my advice is to consider why even after all that money it's consistently rated as the most miserable white collar profession.

well I know several, including myself, who are certainly not in it for the money or give a shit for the prestige

sorry everyone you know just works in shitty transactional practices

[Anonymous User]

I think it's possible for certain people to enjoy litigation. Even if biglaw litigation isn't interesting in the immediate, it can lead to jobs that are. However, I have no idea how anyone can find any aspect of corporate interesting.

What jobs are those? This seems dumb.

AUSA, fedgov, etc. Very high job satisfaction from what I've seen.

Just do AUSA. lmao.

What percentage of biglaw litigators do you think end up in those positions?

Based on departure memos at the 2 firms I've worked for, not many but more than this forum seems to think. Transactional is almost all inhouse jobs with the same miserable work on better hours. Happiest biglawyers I know paid off their debt and left the profession.

[El Pollito]

However, I have no idea how anyone can find any aspect of corporate interesting.

I have no idea how someone could like a thing that I do not like myself

Sure, just that the number of people capable of enjoying corporate biglaw for the substance of the work is near zero. Especially if they've done any other white collar job. I've been at it for awhile at 2 firms. I don't know of any other white collar job so full of people that wish they could leave their profession entirely.

The OP was clearly asking for opinions, and I don't know anyone that enjoys the actual substance of the work. It's literally just paperwork and dealing with what are usually pointless regulations. The only people I've met that "like" it are into the money or have self-deluded themselves into thinking it's prestigious. If you like it, great. I'm just saying if OP's a 0L thinking about law school and biglaw, then my advice is to consider why even after all that money it's consistently rated as the most miserable white collar profession.

People like to complain, but at the end of the day no one I work with wants to leave yet.

[yay]

However, I have no idea how anyone can find any aspect of corporate interesting.

I have no idea how someone could like a thing that I do not like myself

Sure, just that the number of people capable of enjoying corporate biglaw for the substance of the work is near zero. Especially if they've done any other white collar job. I've been at it for awhile at 2 firms. I don't know of any other white collar job so full of people that wish they could leave their profession entirely.

The OP was clearly asking for opinions, and I don't know anyone that enjoys the actual substance of the work. It's literally just paperwork and dealing with what are usually pointless regulations. The only people I've met that "like" it are into the money or have self-deluded themselves into thinking it's prestigious. If you like it, great. I'm just saying if OP's a 0L thinking about law school and biglaw, then my advice is to consider why even after all that money it's consistently rated as the most miserable white collar profession.

People like to complain, but at the end of the day no one I work with wants to leave yet.

Because they cant or dont want to?

[philepistemer]

I think it's possible for certain people to enjoy litigation. Even if biglaw litigation isn't interesting in the immediate, it can lead to jobs that are. However, I have no idea how anyone can find any aspect of corporate interesting.

Are you notable for your distaste for corporate law?

[El Pollito]

However, I have no idea how anyone can find any aspect of corporate interesting.

I have no idea how someone could like a thing that I do not like myself

Sure, just that the number of people capable of enjoying corporate biglaw for the substance of the work is near zero. Especially if they've done any other white collar job. I've been at it for awhile at 2 firms. I don't know of any other white collar job so full of people that wish they could leave their profession entirely.

The OP was clearly asking for opinions, and I don't know anyone that enjoys the actual substance of the work. It's literally just paperwork and dealing with what are usually pointless regulations. The only people I've met that "like" it are into the money or have self-deluded themselves into thinking it's prestigious. If you like it, great. I'm just saying if OP's a 0L thinking about law school and biglaw, then my advice is to consider why even after all that money it's consistently rated as the most miserable white collar profession.

People like to complain, but at the end of the day no one I work with wants to leave yet.

Because they cant or dont want to?

I'm not in lit, so the latter.

[Anonymous User]

I think a lot of people are just in it to pay off their loans and save up some money before moving in house or out of law...