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How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:16 am
by jacko
I'm considering going to law school and like many people would consider Biglaw my target exit option. Although document review sounds lame, it sounds like Biglaw is an opportunity to work on important cases later in your career. In addition, trying to meet the billable hours requirement makes it sound like one would need to forgo having any family life whatsoever. So I guess my question is, for those who want Biglaw why does it sound appealing? Just the money? If so, is that enough to compensate for other disadvantages?
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:18 am
by twert
i think people want the prestige. there are way better ways to make money but biglaw confers social class. personally its not worth the sacrifices but i'll probably never have the option so its easy for me to disparage.
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:19 am
by legalease9
--ImageRemoved--
The one and only reason for big law.
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:22 am
by legalease9
twert wrote:i think people want the prestige. there are way better ways to make money but biglaw confers social class. personally its not worth the sacrifices but i'll probably never have the option so its easy for me to disparage.
I'm not sure how much inherent prestige big law has. I don't think the average layman would know which firms are "big law" and which aren't. But they will notice when you drop ridiculous bank buying all the ladies in the hottest nightclub drinks (when you get the free-time, which you wont have...). In other words, I think the prestige comes from the $$$ not anything inherent with the "big law" name. This is different from say a doctor, which does carry a lot of inherent prestige regardless of money.
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:27 am
by LateNight
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:28 am
by LateNight
legalease9 wrote:(when you get the free-time, which you wont have...)
this too.
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:37 am
by legalease9
LateNight wrote:
lol, I don't quite get this one...
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:44 am
by Leeroy Jenkins
biglaw sucks
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:48 am
by scionb4
I personally wouldn't do it, but I won't pass judgement on those who do. I jsut see myself doing other things.
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:51 am
by Snuffie
legalease9 wrote:LateNight wrote:
lol, I don't quite get this one...
I took this to mean "conquering the White House."
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 2:54 am
by DoubleChecks
i plan on doing biglaw right out of law school, unless i get a nice clerkship in an area i can be in (w/ the SO) and still have a biglaw firm lined up. either way, i am not looking forward to biglaw life...but it does confer great exit options and is a great 'learning' experience.
my current plan is to do biglaw 4-5 yrs, then pop out to do general counsel in-house for corporations...but im a 0L so who knows how my mind will change in the mean time lol
all i know is i dont think id want to stick around 9 yrs to become partner at biglaw because it would take up 90% of my time...im not interested in $1m a yr but no life or time w/ my family...
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 3:15 am
by pany1985
I typed "biglaw" into a google image search and this was the second picture that came up
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 3:26 am
by LateNight
I don't know what it meant either, but it is pretty terrible.
Big Law ---> No time with family --> Divorce ---> Loss of Half of all earnings ---> Working twice as long ---> Dying with less free time ---> Dead.
I might be missing something.
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 3:42 am
by gochrisgo
.
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 3:54 am
by Tofu
DoubleChecks wrote:either way, i am not looking forward to biglaw life...but it does confer great exit options and is a great 'learning' experience.
this is kind of why i might do biglaw after school (if i can get it)
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 4:10 am
by LateNight
gochrisgo wrote:LateNight wrote:Big Law ---> No time with family --> Divorce ---> Loss of Half of all earnings ---> Working twice as long ---> Dying with less free time ---> Dead.
I might be missing something.
another hyphen.
I knew it looked strange.
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 9:54 am
by 270910
The thing to realize is that outside of big law, lawyers aren't quitting work at 4, heading to the beach, sipping margaritas and going "what are those other guys thinking?"
The law is a professional and inherently adversarial field that is going to demand time/energy and put you in stressful situations no matter what. Sure, big firm work can be the worst, but for an incremental increase in stress and hours pay can literally triple.
The point is that working in general isn't a picnic, and if you take the parts of big law that are objectively worse/harder/more stressful than any other office job (legal or otherwise) big law starts to look like fantasy land. The perks are incredible, the work can be interesting (if that's your thing), the exit options bountiful, and the compensation down right silly.
People saying things like 'rofl there are better ways to make money' are kidding themselves. Yeah, if you go into ibanking and do well you'll pull down more $$$ than a lawyer. But it's not like fresh faced grads from college are turning down 100K salaries to give law school a shot... it is VERY difficult to find an entry point to a six figure salary in this world, and it almost always requires hard work, sacrifice, and talent. Such is life.
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:04 am
by The Invisible Man
if i do biglaw, it will be to pay off school debt as quickly as possible. once my debt is gone (or close to done), i'm out.
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:05 am
by MC Southstar
The Invisible Man wrote:if i do biglaw, it will be to pay off school debt as quickly as possible. once my debt is gone (or close to done), i'm out.
This, but I'm also holding onto the possibility that I might actually like it.
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:13 am
by motiontodismiss
LateNight wrote:I don't know what it meant either, but it is pretty terrible.
Big Law ---> No time with family --> Divorce ---> Loss of Half of all earnings ---> Working twice as long ---> Dying with less free time ---> Dead.
I might be missing something.
Don't get married. No marriage=no divorce.
That said, I would absolutely do it. I might even do it for life. Where else would a tax/bankruptcy lawyer go?
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:23 am
by Royal
The Invisible Man wrote:if i do biglaw, it will be to pay off school debt as quickly as possible. once my debt is gone (or close to done), i'm out.
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:25 am
by d34d9823
MC Southstar wrote:The Invisible Man wrote:if i do biglaw, it will be to pay off school debt as quickly as possible. once my debt is gone (or close to done), i'm out.
This, but I'm also holding onto the possibility that I might actually like it.
+1
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:26 am
by paratactical
.
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:29 am
by motiontodismiss
The only difference is I don't have to do it (no debt). But biglaw is inifinitely easier to get into than midlaw/tax/bankruptcy boutique fresh out of law school and pays much more. And I might like it, who knows.
Re: How do you all feel about Biglaw?
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:38 am
by OperaSoprano
disco_barred wrote:The thing to realize is that outside of big law, lawyers aren't quitting work at 4, heading to the beach, sipping margaritas and going "what are those other guys thinking?"
The law is a professional and inherently adversarial field that is going to demand time/energy and put you in stressful situations no matter what. Sure, big firm work can be the worst, but for an incremental increase in stress and hours pay can literally triple.
The point is that working in general isn't a picnic, and if you take the parts of big law that are objectively worse/harder/more stressful than any other office job (legal or otherwise) big law starts to look like fantasy land. The perks are incredible, the work can be interesting (if that's your thing), the exit options bountiful, and the compensation down right silly.
People saying things like 'rofl there are better ways to make money' are kidding themselves. Yeah, if you go into ibanking and do well you'll pull down more $$$ than a lawyer. But it's not like fresh faced grads from college are turning down 100K salaries to give law school a shot... it is VERY difficult to find an entry point to a six figure salary in this world, and it almost always requires hard work, sacrifice, and talent. Such is life.
It is a pretty severe trade-off to get that money, however. At my nonprofit, most of the attorneys leave between 5 and 6, and the support staff sometimes goes home before 5. I was once in there until 6:30 or so, finishing up a project, and the lights had been turned out when I left. QoL is amazing, and while the salary is less than half of NYC market, I could live on it, but I wouldn't be able to repay my loans if I took that job. It actually pays too much to qualify for my school's LRAP (under $100k to be sure, but still almost double what the average new college grad makes), so I would rely solely on IBR. I should note that I am far from assuming the organization would hire me full time: they have hundreds of applicants for every unpaid summer position they list.
If given the choice, people of TLS, which would you take? I should add that the work is fascinating and personally meaningful. I don't expect that I'd really get an offer from them and an SA--> permanent biglaw offer, but it is an interesting contrast to make.