Biglawyers. Are any of you happy? Was this job better than others you've had? Forum

[Desert Fox]

Third year V37, I'm drunk as fuck crying while watching the leftovers (seriously s1 e6 guest is just heartbreaking).

Big law ducking sucks. I'd rather bag groceries. Don't make the same mistakes. Drop out. Now.

[El Pollito]

lolol

[Johann]

As someone who was pretty much dead inside before law and a normal good dude, big law is brutal in your emotions. It's a fucking roller coaster of emotions because of the hours and just time spent being yelled at in front of a computer. Your relationships turn unhealthy because of the toxicity of biglaw. I regret ever proposing to my SO who I very much love because I'm 100% sure I'll be divorced within 3 years of marriage if I stay in biglaw.
If you are smart, there are way better ways to earn money.

[Anonymous User]

I'm a third-year litigation associate at a V10, and although my first year was really rough, and I was close to quitting, I'm starting to love it. I've constantly gotten lots of responsibility, including assignments that are more typical for people 2-3 years more senior than I am, and I'm starting to get noticed by partners and senior associates. I love the work that I do (not in a substantive way, because who gives a shit about securities or M&A litigation), and I'm toying with the idea of staying on and gunning for partner. The one negative--and it's a big one--is that the hours are brutal, and I'm not sure I have the additional years of this in me, especially if I want any semblance of a life outside the office (which I have only on an intermittent basis as it is).

What does this mean then? I get that some people buy into the delusion of it being important because that helps them get through the day, but to actually love it yet not for substantive reasons? Generally wondering what you mean.

[dixiecupdrinking]

As someone who was pretty much dead inside before law and a normal good dude, big law is brutal in your emotions. It's a fucking roller coaster of emotions because of the hours and just time spent being yelled at in front of a computer. Your relationships turn unhealthy because of the toxicity of biglaw. I regret ever proposing to my SO who I very much love because I'm 100% sure I'll be divorced within 3 years of marriage if I stay in biglaw.
If you are smart, there are way better ways to earn money.

Yeah you can't really put a price on this.

The problem is, when it's bad, it's bad, and your relationships and emotional wellbeing suffers, but you don't have time to find another job. Then when you hit a lull it's easy to think this isn't so bad, why would I take the paycut to leave? Rinse, repeat. Eventually you just have to commit to the understanding that (for most people) it's not worth it.

[Anonymous User]

As someone who was pretty much dead inside before law and a normal good dude, big law is brutal in your emotions. It's a fucking roller coaster of emotions because of the hours and just time spent being yelled at in front of a computer. Your relationships turn unhealthy because of the toxicity of biglaw. I regret ever proposing to my SO who I very much love because I'm 100% sure I'll be divorced within 3 years of marriage if I stay in biglaw.
If you are smart, there are way better ways to earn money.

Yeah you can't really put a price on this.

The problem is, when it's bad, it's bad, and your relationships and emotional wellbeing suffers, but you don't have time to find another job. Then when you hit a lull it's easy to think this isn't so bad, why would I take the paycut to leave? Rinse, repeat. Eventually you just have to commit to the understanding that (for most people) it's not worth it.

Yeah, this. It might be better to quit with no job (a bunch of people at my firm have done this), so it will force you to do something/anything else with your life. It will be hard initially but you end up figuring it out in the end.

Also, it turns sooo many people obese... I can't say this enough. I don't get it - it ravages your looks/weight. Not. Worth. It.

[nealric]

As someone who was pretty much dead inside before law and a normal good dude, big law is brutal in your emotions. It's a fucking roller coaster of emotions because of the hours and just time spent being yelled at in front of a computer. Your relationships turn unhealthy because of the toxicity of biglaw. I regret ever proposing to my SO who I very much love because I'm 100% sure I'll be divorced within 3 years of marriage if I stay in biglaw.
If you are smart, there are way better ways to earn money.

Yeah you can't really put a price on this.

The problem is, when it's bad, it's bad, and your relationships and emotional wellbeing suffers, but you don't have time to find another job. Then when you hit a lull it's easy to think this isn't so bad, why would I take the paycut to leave? Rinse, repeat. Eventually you just have to commit to the understanding that (for most people) it's not worth it.

Yeah, this. It might be better to quit with no job (a bunch of people at my firm have done this), so it will force you to do something/anything else with your life. It will be hard initially but you end up figuring it out in the end.

Also, it turns sooo many people obese... I can't say this enough. I don't get it - it ravages your looks/weight. Not. Worth. It.

You can't change Biglaw, but you can change your attitude towards it. Biglaw won't make you fat- binge eating without exercise makes you fat. Blame biglaw all you want, but it's ultimately your choice to order that burger and fries from seamless instead of a salad. I started gaining weight in biglaw- after it got to the point where I was going to have to buy new pants, I decided I had enough and got to work. Started lifting every day at lunch (I answered emails between sets) and eating a high-protein salad for lunch. Ended up 10 pounds under where I had been in law school and in much better shape. HTFU and start searching now if you are so miserable.

[zot1]

I have a friend who works in biglaw 9-5:30 with a 2k billable requirement. He says he hasn't and won't need to work more than the stated hours to meet requirement. So I guess happiness in biglaw exists?

[Desert Fox]

I have a friend who works in biglaw 9-5:30 with a 2k billable requirement. He says he hasn't and won't need to work more than the stated hours to meet requirement. So I guess happiness in biglaw exists?

I guess padding hours is the true key to happiness in biglaw.

[ruski]

I have a friend who works in biglaw 9-5:30 with a 2k billable requirement. He says he hasn't and won't need to work more than the stated hours to meet requirement. So I guess happiness in biglaw exists?

I guess padding hours is the true key to happiness in biglaw.

seriously just do the math it doesn't make sense. I guess this guy takes no vacation, eats a home-packed lunch at his desk every day, socializes with absolutely no one , and only takes ghost poops

[Anonymous User]

As someone who was pretty much dead inside before law and a normal good dude, big law is brutal in your emotions. It's a fucking roller coaster of emotions because of the hours and just time spent being yelled at in front of a computer. Your relationships turn unhealthy because of the toxicity of biglaw. I regret ever proposing to my SO who I very much love because I'm 100% sure I'll be divorced within 3 years of marriage if I stay in biglaw.
If you are smart, there are way better ways to earn money.

Yeah you can't really put a price on this.

The problem is, when it's bad, it's bad, and your relationships and emotional wellbeing suffers, but you don't have time to find another job. Then when you hit a lull it's easy to think this isn't so bad, why would I take the paycut to leave? Rinse, repeat. Eventually you just have to commit to the understanding that (for most people) it's not worth it.

Yeah, this. It might be better to quit with no job (a bunch of people at my firm have done this), so it will force you to do something/anything else with your life. It will be hard initially but you end up figuring it out in the end.

Also, it turns sooo many people obese... I can't say this enough. I don't get it - it ravages your looks/weight. Not. Worth. It.

You can't change Biglaw, but you can change your attitude towards it. Biglaw won't make you fat- binge eating without exercise makes you fat. Blame biglaw all you want, but it's ultimately your choice to order that burger and fries from seamless instead of a salad. I started gaining weight in biglaw- after it got to the point where I was going to have to buy new pants, I decided I had enough and got to work. Started lifting every day at lunch (I answered emails between sets) and eating a high-protein salad for lunch. Ended up 10 pounds under where I had been in law school and in much better shape. HTFU and start searching now if you are so miserable.

I'm not fat, I'm just saying a lot of other people are and I don't get why they don't seem to care. My BMI is like 20 (still fatter than when I started the job though).

I'm already looking, but most law jobs look just as bad.

[Desert Fox]

I have a friend who works in biglaw 9-5:30 with a 2k billable requirement. He says he hasn't and won't need to work more than the stated hours to meet requirement. So I guess happiness in biglaw exists?

I guess padding hours is the true key to happiness in biglaw.

seriously just do the math it doesn't make sense. I guess this guy takes no vacation, eats a home-packed lunch at his desk every day, socializes with absolutely no one , and only takes ghost poops

I know a guy who does this but even worse. It's like 9:45-5:30p but every time I stop by he's just goofing off looking at stuff to buy since we are all MBA rich.

[Tls2016]

I have a friend who works in biglaw 9-5:30 with a 2k billable requirement. He says he hasn't and won't need to work more than the stated hours to meet requirement. So I guess happiness in biglaw exists?

Your friend is lying to you or else is on the way out the door. No one can refuse to be responsive every day after 5:30pm in biglaw unless you are in a job where you have no work.

What department is your friend in?

[nealric]

As someone who was pretty much dead inside before law and a normal good dude, big law is brutal in your emotions. It's a fucking roller coaster of emotions because of the hours and just time spent being yelled at in front of a computer. Your relationships turn unhealthy because of the toxicity of biglaw. I regret ever proposing to my SO who I very much love because I'm 100% sure I'll be divorced within 3 years of marriage if I stay in biglaw.
If you are smart, there are way better ways to earn money.

Yeah you can't really put a price on this.

The problem is, when it's bad, it's bad, and your relationships and emotional wellbeing suffers, but you don't have time to find another job. Then when you hit a lull it's easy to think this isn't so bad, why would I take the paycut to leave? Rinse, repeat. Eventually you just have to commit to the understanding that (for most people) it's not worth it.

Yeah, this. It might be better to quit with no job (a bunch of people at my firm have done this), so it will force you to do something/anything else with your life. It will be hard initially but you end up figuring it out in the end.

Also, it turns sooo many people obese... I can't say this enough. I don't get it - it ravages your looks/weight. Not. Worth. It.

You can't change Biglaw, but you can change your attitude towards it. Biglaw won't make you fat- binge eating without exercise makes you fat. Blame biglaw all you want, but it's ultimately your choice to order that burger and fries from seamless instead of a salad. I started gaining weight in biglaw- after it got to the point where I was going to have to buy new pants, I decided I had enough and got to work. Started lifting every day at lunch (I answered emails between sets) and eating a high-protein salad for lunch. Ended up 10 pounds under where I had been in law school and in much better shape. HTFU and start searching now if you are so miserable.

I'm not fat, I'm just saying a lot of other people are and I don't get why they don't seem to care. My BMI is like 20 (still fatter than when I started the job though).

I'm already looking, but most law jobs look just as bad.

Keep looking. There are good law jobs out there. It takes time and work to find the good ones.

[zot1]

I can't verify the truthfulness of his statememts. Based on everything I know about biglaw, I agree it makes no sense. But if he's saying that's how it is, I have to believe him.

Insurance defense.

[Desert Fox]

I can't verify the truthfulness of his statememts. Based on everything I know about biglaw, I agree it makes no sense. But if he's saying that's how it is, I have to believe him.

Insurance defense.

That makes even less sense. ID work is super fee sensitive.

[zot1]

I can't verify the truthfulness of his statememts. Based on everything I know about biglaw, I agree it makes no sense. But if he's saying that's how it is, I have to believe him.

Insurance defense.

That makes even less sense. ID work is super fee sensitive.

I'm sure that's true, but I don't work in his building. I have no way of confirming or denying what he has told me.

[Desert Fox]

porb just pads.

[Abbie Doobie]

sounds like we need a myth busters episode to confirm this guy's claim

[Cogburn87]

I'm a third-year litigation associate at a V10, and although my first year was really rough, and I was close to quitting, I'm starting to love it. I've constantly gotten lots of responsibility, including assignments that are more typical for people 2-3 years more senior than I am, and I'm starting to get noticed by partners and senior associates. I love the work that I do (not in a substantive way, because who gives a shit about securities or M&A litigation), and I'm toying with the idea of staying on and gunning for partner. The one negative--and it's a big one--is that the hours are brutal, and I'm not sure I have the additional years of this in me, especially if I want any semblance of a life outside the office (which I have only on an intermittent basis as it is).

What does this mean then? I get that some people buy into the delusion of it being important because that helps them get through the day, but to actually love it yet not for substantive reasons? Generally wondering what you mean.

It means he doesn't like doing doc review and creating privilege logs, but he likes managing first years on those tasks because he thinks he's going to make partner for doing it.

[Anonymous User]

I'm a third-year litigation associate at a V10, and although my first year was really rough, and I was close to quitting, I'm starting to love it. I've constantly gotten lots of responsibility, including assignments that are more typical for people 2-3 years more senior than I am, and I'm starting to get noticed by partners and senior associates. I love the work that I do (not in a substantive way, because who gives a shit about securities or M&A litigation), and I'm toying with the idea of staying on and gunning for partner. The one negative--and it's a big one--is that the hours are brutal, and I'm not sure I have the additional years of this in me, especially if I want any semblance of a life outside the office (which I have only on an intermittent basis as it is).

What does this mean then? I get that some people buy into the delusion of it being important because that helps them get through the day, but to actually love it yet not for substantive reasons? Generally wondering what you mean.

It means he doesn't like doing doc review and creating privilege logs, but he likes managing first years on those tasks because he thinks he's going to make partner for doing it.

I'm the first quoted poster. What I meant is that I don't really care, as a person, about the outcome of the cases I work on. My friends who, say, do civil liberties impact litigation or work as a public defender really care about the outcome of their cases and the role they play in the legal system. I have no such illusions, nor do I think I'd be very good at doing that type of work. What I do enjoy and think I'm reasonably good at is the mechanics of litigation: taking depositions, prepping expert witnesses, trials, and even doc review. Not caring about the outcome except to the extent that I am paid to do so frees me up to enjoy the game of high-stakes commercial litigation. If I got a bunch of evidence thrown out through a clever legal maneuver in a case where it meant that someone innocent might go to jail (not that I have a clue whether that could happen), I might not enjoy it. But do I enjoy working on a brief arguing for preclusion of some piece of evidence critical to the Fortune 500 company on the other side? You bet. I recognize that, for a lot of different reasons, what I do isn't for everyone, but I actually think it might be the right fit for me.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Yeah I'm glad I don't do something like products liability work where doing a good job for your client might result in actual identifiable people getting fucked over in identifiable ways. Fundamentally commercial disputes are much more liberating.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah I'm glad I don't do something like products liability work where doing a good job for your client might result in actual identifiable people getting fucked over in identifiable ways. Fundamentally commercial disputes are much more liberating.

I do it actually. Never really feel that bad tbh. I hate big bad businesses more so I rationalize it by saying at least I'm only fucking over 1 person rather than 100s every time I defend a bank in some shady shit it did.

[Anonymous User]

it seems ive made the wrong choice twice.. first accounting now law... on the other hand Ive only 2 friends, love money and have absolutely no hobbies. Will I make it past the first year?

[Anonymous User]

it seems ive made the wrong choice twice.. first accounting now law... on the other hand Ive only 2 friends, love money and have absolutely no hobbies. Will I make it past the first year?

Accounting isn't as bad as law if you're not at a Big4 doing public accounting.

Just go back to accounting/become CPA.....then go work in house somewhere