My husband is getting fired again. Forum

[Anonymous User]

So it is like 1 year at biglaw firm #1 and 2 years at biglaw firm #2?

Honestly, this trajectory is not that bad. He's probably a similar candidate to many in-house entrants/regional biglaw/midlaw entrants as well.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Even if your husband was an A- biglaw associate, he'd be out on his ass in another couple of years. It isn't a stable career for the vast majority. If you want him to have a job that he can keep indefinitely, that's a separate discussion you guys need to have.

You're right, I know. Early on we talked about how he'd eventually transition out of biglaw and how unlikely it was he'd ever become partner. I knew the odds were low. I guess I just didn't anticipate his being fired from his only two jobs as a lawyer so early on his career. Long term he'll probably do something else. Right now he's determined to be in biglaw to make a bigger dent in his loans. I don't expect the next job to last very long, so at least I'm mentally braced for it this time. The last time this happened, I was naively optimistic that it'd last more than three years.

That's good. It sounds like you have the right perspective. But part of what I meant to express, and didn't really, is that the nature of biglaw is so different from most jobs that you shouldn't be too discouraged by his trajectory. In most jobs, getting "fired" means you fucked up, or else there's something structurally changing about the company. That's really not necessarily the implication in biglaw. The business model relies on associates getting "fired." You and your husband should try not to take it too hard or personally.

[kykiske]

He attended a T14 and landed a V100 firm through OCI. He was fired after about a year and given 6 months to find another job. The comments he received at the time were that he was slow to produce work and that his work didn't conform well to the standards of the firm.

He found a job quickly at another firm, also V100, in another market. We moved. He received positive performance reviews and everyone seemed to like him. He had no shortage of work. Everything was good.

In about April or May this year, he decided that he'd like to relocate to [major American city]. I was on board. He's fortunate to be in a practice area that's in high demand. Recruiters were beating down his door. He's been working with two recruiters since June. The opportunities weren't as plentiful as he expected in the city we want, but he has 2 interviews in the next month at some high-ranked firms. They'd be a step up from his current firm.

A week ago he was told to find another job. He has 3 months with a possibility of negotiating more time then. Reasons cited: he's been distracted lately and his work hasn't been as high quality as it was. They were on the fence, but thought it was best that he leave. He told me that he knew his work was suffering and that he could've done better. That seems to me like he was warned and didn't kick it into high gear. I'm wondering if mentally he'd checked out because he knew he didn't want to stay. From the outside it also appears so sudden to me considering his last PR at the beginning of the year was very good.

I'm supporting him and reassuring him. I'm happy he wanted to lateral and that he has two interviews lined up. (Fortuitous timing.) It's possible he'll be re-employed soon. I am feeling very defeated, though.

I'm not a lawyer and I have no sense of how common this is. I can't help but think this is fairly unusual. I'm having a difficult time coping. I'm worried that he'll just get fired again in a couple years.

He's incredibly smart. This isn't a reflection of his intelligence, but something's going on. I don't know what needs to change or if he should exit this career.

Advice? Anecdotes? Anything? I need some perspective. I don't want to emotionally unload on him.

I'm wiling to bet several dollars that this is Manali, or a similar troll. The handle "scissorhammers" is brand new and only has ~10 posts. And all posts so far are in this thread.

[los blancos]

Your husband is more than likely a shitty associate and/or a weird personality that people can't get along with. This is not uncommon. It seems he can at least fake it during interviews so that's a good sign. It's pretty easy to extend your Biglaw run by a year or two by just lateraling since firms don't ever know why you left your previous firm and it looks like that's what your husband's path will be. In a couple years, once he's on the verge of being let go again for being mediocre, he can probably find some type of in-house position or lateral down to a midsized firm. Fake it til you make it!

I know we're probably all getting trolled here but is this a srs post

[A. Nony Mouse]

It’s not Manali. I’m pretty sure they are in fact the person who asked about their husband lateraling, but neither are Manali.

[Anonymous User]

I have a friend who did 2 years - 1 year - 3 years at 3 different biglaw firms and was twice "fired" - last 2 firms. The middle firm does what most do with laterals (last in - first out) and the last was just the natural attrition in Biglaw.

[lolwat]

I think everyone else has already mentioned that it's actually not that bad to be pushed out of biglaw after 3 years (at the second firm, anyway).
But I think if he's been in biglaw for 4 years and still needs to "make a bigger dent in his loans," some more aggressive saving needs to be going on, starting, like, yesterday.

[TheSpecialist]

Not sure if this is the same person, but if it's not, you should find this thread useful as it's almost exactly the same question: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... ired+again

[rpupkin]

I believe this is OP's fourth thread on her husband in the last year or so, and each one features several inexperienced attorneys offering speculative advice based on incomplete information. If OP is real and actually wants to help her husband, this is not a good way to go about it.

[izha]

The same poster, another husband.

[scissorhammers]

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