I won't mind long hours! I do 90 hours weeks during finals! Forum

[runinthefront]

.

[worldtraveler]

As an aside: how prestigious are snack/coffee options in biglaw? How prestigious are biglaw gyms? What exactly is seamless, and can I brag about it to my non-biglaw pseudo-friends?

My boy told me at Skadden they had catered breakfast every morning and lunch also.

Anyway..as a 0L. I do not understand why other 0L's argue against attorneys who are actually in big law or intimately connected to it. They are there, we haven't even cracked open a hornbook yet, but some 0L's are going to refute what people who are already there are saying about it...If everyone is saying (through years of old threads) the same thing, why not just believe it is the way it is. I never hear prospective IBD Analysts say "ugh well Goldman can't be that bad." They pepper their angus and prepare for what's to come. But here on TLS, people actively fight against attorneys saying...ehh it must not be that bad, you just arent working hard enough, etc.

I finished law school and don't know what that is.

[jbagelboy]

As an aside: how prestigious are snack/coffee options in biglaw? How prestigious are biglaw gyms? What exactly is seamless, and can I brag about it to my non-biglaw pseudo-friends?

My boy told me at Skadden they had catered breakfast every morning and lunch also.

Anyway..as a 0L. I do not understand why other 0L's argue against attorneys who are actually in big law or intimately connected to it. They are there, we haven't even cracked open a hornbook yet, but some 0L's are going to refute what people who are already there are saying about it...If everyone is saying (through years of old threads) the same thing, why not just believe it is the way it is. I never hear prospective IBD Analysts say "ugh well Goldman can't be that bad." They pepper their angus and prepare for what's to come. But here on TLS, people actively fight against attorneys saying...ehh it must not be that bad, you just arent working hard enough, etc.

I finished law school and don't know what that is.

is Chemerinsky a hornbook? cause then I have looked at one

[thesealocust]

As an aside: how prestigious are snack/coffee options in biglaw? How prestigious are biglaw gyms? What exactly is seamless, and can I brag about it to my non-biglaw pseudo-friends?

Prestigious all around, but you won't get answers to these because they would be outing (the combination of snack/coffee/gym choices can be fairly unique firm to firm - i.e. only a few firms have gyms or cafeterias in the office)

Seamless is a service for ordering takeout online, billing the firm and/or client directly. It's basically a bicycle service picking up restaurant food for you if you (work a certain amount or at a certain time) up to (a certain cost limit) (again, details can be outing).

Yes, you can brag about it, but in practice seamless is cold comfort - I'd rather be going home, and spending the time picking food, eating food, and getting delivery downstairs is usually annoying rather than empowering if I'm tethered to the office at night (read: there's usually a lot of urgent work to get done, and not infrequently people waiting on me, which is a big stressor when it comes time to triage)

[Theopliske8711]

As an aside: how prestigious are snack/coffee options in biglaw? How prestigious are biglaw gyms? What exactly is seamless, and can I brag about it to my non-biglaw pseudo-friends?

Prestigious all around, but you won't get answers to these because they would be outing (the combination of snack/coffee/gym choices can be fairly unique firm to firm - i.e. only a few firms have gyms or cafeterias in the office)

Seamless is a service for ordering takeout online, billing the firm and/or client directly. It's basically a bicycle service picking up restaurant food for you if you (work a certain amount or at a certain time) up to (a certain cost limit) (again, details can be outing).

Yes, you can brag about it, but in practice seamless is cold comfort - I'd rather be going home, and spending the time picking food, eating food, and getting delivery downstairs is usually annoying rather than empowering if I'm tethered to the office at night (read: there's usually a lot of urgent work to get done, and not infrequently people waiting on me, which is a big stressor when it comes time to triage)

How often do you get indigestion?

[thesealocust]

I have an iron clad stomach of steal. Last night I had a bag of chips and a pint of ice cream for dinner, today 95% of my food has been coffee.

GOOD TO GO PUT ME IN COACH LET'S DO MORE LAW

[Humbert Humbert]

As an aside: how prestigious are snack/coffee options in biglaw? How prestigious are biglaw gyms? What exactly is seamless, and can I brag about it to my non-biglaw pseudo-friends?

Prestigious all around, but you won't get answers to these because they would be outing (the combination of snack/coffee/gym choices can be fairly unique firm to firm - i.e. only a few firms have gyms or cafeterias in the office)

Seamless is a service for ordering takeout online, billing the firm and/or client directly. It's basically a bicycle service picking up restaurant food for you if you (work a certain amount or at a certain time) up to (a certain cost limit) (again, details can be outing).

Yes, you can brag about it, but in practice seamless is cold comfort - I'd rather be going home, and spending the time picking food, eating food, and getting delivery downstairs is usually annoying rather than empowering if I'm tethered to the office at night (read: there's usually a lot of urgent work to get done, and not infrequently people waiting on me, which is a big stressor when it comes time to triage)

Is this really true? I pretty much assumed everyone had a cafeteria. I probably eat ~90% of my meals at my firm's cafeteria. Couldn't imagine having to go outside 2-3 times a day mid-winter/rainstorm/heatwave to get food. The options for food around my office also suck, so there's that.

[Arboreal]

As an aside: how prestigious are snack/coffee options in biglaw? How prestigious are biglaw gyms? What exactly is seamless, and can I brag about it to my non-biglaw pseudo-friends?

My boy told me at Skadden they had catered breakfast every morning and lunch also.

Anyway..as a 0L. I do not understand why other 0L's argue against attorneys who are actually in big law or intimately connected to it. They are there, we haven't even cracked open a hornbook yet, but some 0L's are going to refute what people who are already there are saying about it...If everyone is saying (through years of old threads) the same thing, why not just believe it is the way it is. I never hear prospective IBD Analysts say "ugh well Goldman can't be that bad." They pepper their angus and prepare for what's to come. But here on TLS, people actively fight against attorneys saying...ehh it must not be that bad, you just arent working hard enough, etc.

What's weird to me is how different these anecdata are from my experiences working in a 500+ attorney firm (albeit it a non-NYC/DC/LA, non-Vault firm [though we have market-paying satellite offices in these cities]) and from the conversations I've had with the associates there.

I've made a point to often peek around the office early and late to see for myself who is or isn't around beyond regular business hours. Between 7:30pm and 7:30am, the office is a ghost town. To boot, young attorneys seem happy; they claim to like the partners; "ragequit" isn't part of the lexicon.

I don't understand the disparity. How can the culture I see every day be so different from the horror stories I read about?

[rpupkin]

Couldn't imagine having to go outside 2-3 times a day mid-winter/rainstorm/heatwave to get food. The options for food around my office also suck, so there's that.

My firm does not have a cafeteria. And going outside a couple of times a day to get coffee/food is the only thing that keeps me sane. I don't care if it's raining or hot.

Oh, and I also graduated law school without knowing what a "horn book" is.

[rad lulz]

,

[rayiner]

As an aside: how prestigious are snack/coffee options in biglaw? How prestigious are biglaw gyms? What exactly is seamless, and can I brag about it to my non-biglaw pseudo-friends?

My boy told me at Skadden they had catered breakfast every morning and lunch also.

Anyway..as a 0L. I do not understand why other 0L's argue against attorneys who are actually in big law or intimately connected to it. They are there, we haven't even cracked open a hornbook yet, but some 0L's are going to refute what people who are already there are saying about it...If everyone is saying (through years of old threads) the same thing, why not just believe it is the way it is. I never hear prospective IBD Analysts say "ugh well Goldman can't be that bad." They pepper their angus and prepare for what's to come. But here on TLS, people actively fight against attorneys saying...ehh it must not be that bad, you just arent working hard enough, etc.

What's weird to me is how different these anecdata are from my experiences working in a 500+ attorney firm (albeit it a non-NYC/DC/LA, non-Vault firm [though we have market-paying satellite offices in these cities]) and from the conversations I've had with the associates there.

I've made a point to often peek around the office early and late to see for myself who is or isn't around beyond regular business hours. Between 7:30pm and 7:30am, the office is a ghost town. To boot, young attorneys seem happy; they claim to like the partners; "ragequit" isn't part of the lexicon.

First, my NYC office was pretty empty after 7:30pm too. I'd leave around 6:30, have dinner with my wife, put the baby to sleep, then log back in for a few more hours of doc review.

Second, people don't like to take the shine off the image they present about firm life, which I find frustrating. It's part of a the big narrative that starts around 2L callbacks, and that people perpetuate because they worry that not doing so will make everything seem less prestigious.

[melodically]

As an aside: how prestigious are snack/coffee options in biglaw? How prestigious are biglaw gyms? What exactly is seamless, and can I brag about it to my non-biglaw pseudo-friends?

My boy told me at Skadden they had catered breakfast every morning and lunch also.

Anyway..as a 0L. I do not understand why other 0L's argue against attorneys who are actually in big law or intimately connected to it. They are there, we haven't even cracked open a hornbook yet, but some 0L's are going to refute what people who are already there are saying about it...If everyone is saying (through years of old threads) the same thing, why not just believe it is the way it is. I never hear prospective IBD Analysts say "ugh well Goldman can't be that bad." They pepper their angus and prepare for what's to come. But here on TLS, people actively fight against attorneys saying...ehh it must not be that bad, you just arent working hard enough, etc.

What's weird to me is how different these anecdata are from my experiences working in a 500+ attorney firm (albeit it a non-NYC/DC/LA, non-Vault firm [though we have market-paying satellite offices in these cities]) and from the conversations I've had with the associates there.

I've made a point to often peek around the office early and late to see for myself who is or isn't around beyond regular business hours. Between 7:30pm and 7:30am, the office is a ghost town. To boot, young attorneys seem happy; they claim to like the partners; "ragequit" isn't part of the lexicon.

I don't understand the disparity. How can the culture I see everyday be so different from the horror stories I read about?

Similar thoughts here, though I work at a "midlaw" firm in a major market. Market-paying, high-level work, great work environment. Firm clears out by 7:30 every night, and that's not so people can go home and log back in. People stay with the firm for a while and actually make partner. Others leave for nice in-house gigs. Obviously, Biglaw is a different animal, but it's jarring how different it seems from my 80-attorney firm.

EDIT: Just want to make clear that I'm a paralegal, so make of that what you will.

[thesealocust]

First, my NYC office was pretty empty after 7:30pm too.

I've found that at my firm, it really depends on seniority, time of year and practice area.

During some brutal times I could count on the paralegals and junior associates in one specific group to basically be there round the clock with me, while some other groups cleared out very quickly in the evening night after night.

[Arboreal]

As an aside: how prestigious are snack/coffee options in biglaw? How prestigious are biglaw gyms? What exactly is seamless, and can I brag about it to my non-biglaw pseudo-friends?

My boy told me at Skadden they had catered breakfast every morning and lunch also.

Anyway..as a 0L. I do not understand why other 0L's argue against attorneys who are actually in big law or intimately connected to it. They are there, we haven't even cracked open a hornbook yet, but some 0L's are going to refute what people who are already there are saying about it...If everyone is saying (through years of old threads) the same thing, why not just believe it is the way it is. I never hear prospective IBD Analysts say "ugh well Goldman can't be that bad." They pepper their angus and prepare for what's to come. But here on TLS, people actively fight against attorneys saying...ehh it must not be that bad, you just arent working hard enough, etc.

What's weird to me is how different these anecdata are from my experiences working in a 500+ attorney firm (albeit it a non-NYC/DC/LA, non-Vault firm [though we have market-paying satellite offices in these cities]) and from the conversations I've had with the associates there.

I've made a point to often peek around the office early and late to see for myself who is or isn't around beyond regular business hours. Between 7:30pm and 7:30am, the office is a ghost town. To boot, young attorneys seem happy; they claim to like the partners; "ragequit" isn't part of the lexicon.

First, my NYC office was pretty empty after 7:30pm too. I'd leave around 6:30, have dinner with my wife, put the baby to sleep, then log back in for a few more hours of doc review.

Second, people don't like to take the shine off the image they present about firm life, which I find frustrating. It's part of a the big narrative that starts around 2L callbacks, and that people perpetuate because they worry that not doing so will make everything seem less prestigious.

Hmm...

I take your point, but I'm not convinced it's true, at least not of the five or six associates I know really well, that they're polishing a turd they thought was a brass ring when they were chasing after it. I have certainly met some of those folks, but the likes of what is described on these forums simply doesn't seem to be happening where I work.

Do you think most of the associates in your position (which I assume is most associates) would sugarcoat the realities of their professional lives from potential law students?

ETA: Paralegal as well...

[IAFG]

Our paralegals aren't shielded from anything.

[thesealocust]

Sugarcoating to lawstudents is a completely accepted cultural reality. I've seen partners joke about dropping summers from working group lists for deals that rage into the night/weekend.

[t-14orbust]

Supposing I have to work an all-nighter on a tuesday night, am I expected to just keep chugging through wednesday as normal? How does this work exactly

[IAFG]

Supposing I have to work an all-nighter on a tuesday night, am I expected to just keep chugging through wednesday as normal? How does this work exactly

Only if you have a full day of work that needs to get done. Protip: since you had to be up all night due to how swamped you were, you do.

[rayiner]

Supposingnighter to work an all-nighter on a tuesday night, am I expected to just keep chugging through wednesday as normal? How does this work exactly

Only if you have a full day of work that needs to get done. Protip: since you had to be up all night due to how swamped you were, you do.

Right. It's not like school where you pull an all nighter because you procrastinated on an otherwise manageable deadline. You do it because you have more work than can get done during regular waking hours, and its unlikely that crush will let up the next day.

[seespotrun]

Sugarcoating to lawstudents is a completely accepted cultural reality. I've seen partners joke about dropping summers from working group lists for deals that rage into the night/weekend.

The recruiting coordinator at my firm started shooing associates out of the office at 7 p.m. last summer after the hiring committee got wind that some SA's were concerned about the hours junior associates were putting in.

[t-14orbust]

Anyone have any redeeming qualities of biglaw they want to throw into the mix?

[seespotrun]

Anyone have any redeeming qualities of biglaw they want to throw into the mix?

$

[rpupkin]

Anyone have any redeeming qualities of biglaw they want to throw into the mix?

The pay is good, particularly if you managed to escape law school with no or minimal debt.

If you happen to work on the right matters with the right people, you can learn a ton in a relatively short period of time. But that's mostly beyond your control.

Some people are cool. Not everyone is a miserable senior associate coked-out on adderrall and gunning for partner. I'd say about half the associates at my firm are nice people and fun to hang out with outside of work.

ETA: I only work with litigation associates and partners.

[IAFG]

Anyone have any redeeming qualities of biglaw they want to throw into the mix?

I get a little buzz off seeing my work in the financial news. The partners I work with are pretty fucking smart, which is cool when it's not their laser beam at my work product. Sometimes people are impressed by my firm name. I have a great library/librarian at my disposal.

[t-14orbust]

Anyone have any redeeming qualities of biglaw they want to throw into the mix?

The pay is good, particularly if you managed to escape law school with no or minimal debt.

If you happen to work on the right matters with the right people, you can learn a ton in a relatively short period of time. But that's mostly beyond your control.

Some people are cool. Not everyone is a miserable senior associate coked-out on adderrall and gunning for partner. I'd say about half the associates at my firm are nice people and fun to hang out with outside of work.

Cool. Too bad I'll have dat debt.