Are there any 9 to 5 jobs as a lawyer? Forum

[pollywolly88]

And if so, how much would a 9 to 5 lawyer job pay?

Thanks!

[rpupkin]

And if so, how much would a 9 to 5 lawyer job pay?

Thanks!

Retake or, alternatively, drop out.

[baal hadad]

And if so, how much would a 9 to 5 lawyer job pay?

Thanks!

yabro you can do 9pm to 5am jokceying some commas on the deal time so that partner can have it on his desk when he wakes up

this is pretigious work and it starts at 160k/yr

[Aeon]

Government work is pretty much the only area where one can consistently work fixed hours, usually 8 to 5 with an hour's break for lunch. For the federal government pay scales, see: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversigh ... -schedule/. Entry-level attorneys usually start around GS-11. Fair warning: federal government attorney hiring is very competitive. It can be more difficult to get a job there than in BigLaw.

[Emma.]

Government work is pretty much the only area where one can consistently work fixed hours, usually 8 to 5 with an hour's break for lunch. For the federal government pay scales, see: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversigh ... -schedule/. Entry-level attorneys usually start around GS-11. Fair warning: federal government attorney hiring is very competitive. It can be more difficult to get a job there than in BigLaw.

Lol at the idea that gov't attorneys are able to consistently work 8-5.

[lawschoolftw]

Govt had better hours, but definitely not 9-5. I work about 11-12 hours a day plus a few hours on weekend and most of my attorney friends would say I have food work life balance.

The only real 9-5 I can think of would be a career clerk for a judge, which are very difficult to get.

[lacrossebrother]

Government work is pretty much the only area where one can consistently work fixed hours, usually 8 to 5 with an hour's break for lunch. For the federal government pay scales, see: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversigh ... -schedule/. Entry-level attorneys usually start around GS-11. Fair warning: federal government attorney hiring is very competitive. It can be more difficult to get a job there than in BigLaw.

Lol at the idea that gov't attorneys are able to consistently work 8-5.

lol at calling an agency after 5 and expecting an answer

[rpupkin]

And if so, how much would a 9 to 5 lawyer job pay?

Thanks!

No joke: don't go into law if you want a 9 to 5 job. It's not that kind of profession. You'll find lawyers who work 9 to 5 hours (usually for low pay), but it's not common and you shouldn't count on it as an outcome.

In my experience, the people who like being lawyers (and those people do exist) don't mind that their lives are consumed by their jobs. That needs to be your mindset going into this career. If work-life balance is high on your list of priorities, find another profession. I'm serious.

[Aeon]

To be fair, if you litigate for the government (i.e.: DOJ), chances are that you'll be putting in some extra hours.

[071816]

Pretty much only in-house and government jobs. Money depends on the specific position.

[Johann]

Govt had better hours, but definitely not 9-5. I work about 11-12 hours a day plus a few hours on weekend and most of my attorney friends would say I have food work life balance.

The only real 9-5 I can think of would be a career clerk for a judge, which are very difficult to get.

You are probably a striver then. The govt attorneys I know get like 6 weeks off a year with holiday/vacation/sick time and work 9-5 with an hour lunch in included in that.

[lawschoolftw]

Govt had better hours, but definitely not 9-5. I work about 11-12 hours a day plus a few hours on weekend and most of my attorney friends would say I have food work life balance.

The only real 9-5 I can think of would be a career clerk for a judge, which are very difficult to get.

You are probably a striver then. The govt attorneys I know get like 6 weeks off a year with holiday/vacation/sick time and work 9-5 with an hour lunch in included in that.

Realized this was misleading--I'm in private practice.

[ub3r]

What's the distinction between government work and "BigFed"? Is the latter pretty much DC exclusive? I'm assuming BigFed is much harder to get and more prestigious.

[Johann]

What's the distinction between government work and "BigFed"? Is the latter pretty much DC exclusive? I'm assuming BigFed is much harder to get and more prestigious.

The friends I know in government are all like State's Attorneys or weird state/local/city government attorneys. They make way less than federal government attorneys but they have the kushest jobs of all time. SAs are around 55k and city attorneys are around 85k. The main distinction is whether your state or city employs you or the federal government.

[twenty]

Realized this was misleading--I'm in private practice.

I was about to say -- if you tried to work an 11 hour day, they'd turn the lights out on you because you'd be the only person left in the office.

[dudders]

State prosecutor. Got to work at 6 a.m., sent a jury out for verdict at 7 p.m. Currently hangry, listening to Diane Rehm, and shopping for bathing suits ... No idea how long I'll be here and I haven't even looked at my docket for tomorrow.

Not a 9 to 5 job. (Sometimes it is, but not usually. Usually it's like this.)

[lapolicia]

What's the distinction between government work and "BigFed"? Is the latter pretty much DC exclusive? I'm assuming BigFed is much harder to get and more prestigious.

It's not any kind of official distinction, obviously. I think BigFed usually refers to programmatic (e.g., not internal agency matters) attorney jobs at major federal agencies. While most of these jobs are in DC, many agencies like the SEC and DOJ have offices around the country. Hiring for entry-level attorneys though is nearly all in DC, so if you are looking for a BigFed job you have to be open to starting in DC. The advantage of these jobs is that most are interesting, pay well (not biglaw well, of course, but six figures pretty quickly), have great benefits and PSLFP, are generally around 9-5, and often have good exit options. They are generally very hard to get largely because there are so few openings.

[TheOnePercent]

Answer has to be this classic JD Advantage opportunity.

[Pizzaburger]

Federal judge. Hours are pretty good and you have decent job security.

[Skool]

There's plenty of public interest jobs with 9-5 hours. A lot of public interest lit has big law co-counsel that does the long hour monkey work discovery type stuff. Other public interest focuses on training, publishing, policy analysis, policy advocacy that is 9-5.

There are tons of moms in my office and everybody makes it home to have dinner with their kids everyday. Plenty of flexibility for those people to deal with emergency family stuff when it comes up.

Not a gov office.

[A. Nony Mouse]

There are federal attorneys who have posted here about having to get authorization to work over 40 hours in a week, and every hour they do work over 40 they get back in leave. Sounds pretty close to 9-5 to me (well, 8-5 with lunch).

I do not have one of these positions, personally. There are a lot of days that I can do 8-5, but lots of days I can't (I never pull close to biglaw hours and rarely work on the weekends, but if I had a lot of cases going to trial that would change quickly).

[ub3r]

Federal judge. Hours are pretty good and you have decent job security.

What's the common path to becoming a federal judge, anyways?

Sorry for injecting my own curiosities into this thread, but maybe others are learning as well.

[rpupkin]

Federal judge. Hours are pretty good and you have decent job security.

What's the common path to becoming a federal judge, anyways?

1. Attend HLS at sticker

2. Network with future presidents and senators

3. Profit

[tww909]

Career law clerks often work 9-5ish. They're the ones who've got it figured out if you ask me.

Edit: and depending on locality adjustments and JSP salary advancement arcana I don't really understand, they can make 100k+.

[ub3r]

Federal judge. Hours are pretty good and you have decent job security.

What's the common path to becoming a federal judge, anyways?

1. Attend HLS at sticker

2. Network with future presidents and senators

3. Profit

just three steps? sign me up