Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day? Forum

[A. Nony Mouse]

Yeah, I'm realizing that part of the reason I don't want to work from home is that our technological solutions are less than ideal, and we also still have enough stuff on paper that depending on what I'm doing, hauling it all home is impracticable. But I also live about 12 mins from my office, so it's not that bad - if I had any real commute I'd probably feel differently.

(I'm also much more efficient when in the office, at least on weekends, because I know I can leave as soon as I'm done. If I'm at home I stretch everything out more and take a lot of breaks.)

[Anonymous User]

Jr. Inhouse position with a focus on tech trans and data privacy (company is non tech), Midcap company, secondary city. Salary ~140k-150k after bonus.
Just went in-house after working at a regional big law firm for 2.5 years.

This is a typical day

6:45am - 8am - Wake up, eat, shower, watch CNN.
8am - 9am - drive and get into work.
9am - 10am - figure out what needs to be done. Surf the web and read some news articles.
10am-11am - draft a couple of amendments and confirm business details with business managers.
11am-12noon - surf the web and review redline changes that came back from a contract that was just sent to the vendor. Give the business manager a call to discuss. Then make changes and send a follow up email about the changes.
12-1pm- surf the web/eat lunch/give my law firm friends a call to see how they are doing.
1pm-2pm - review a privacy policy and make changes.
2pm - 3pm - review an article or watch a presentation about a certain legal topic either as a refresher or to learn new drafting techniques or concepts. Yesterday I watched a presentation about cloud computing issues.
3pm-5pm - surf the web for half the time and review any new contracts that come to my desk for me and to talk to business managers and make redline changes to the documents. Reviewed a NDA agreement as well.
5-6pm - Help out on some corporate related due diligence work on either some acquisition or development we are looking into.
6pm-7pm - wrap up any remaining work (usually by 6:15pm) and workout.
7-8pm - drive home, cook/eat dinner
8-10pm- talk to friends, surf the web, watch CNN and laugh at any outlandish comments made by Trump. I have a last call to check for any (emergency) work emails at 10pm (highly unlikely).
10-11pm - usually fall asleep while watching tv or surfing the web on my couch.

I'd say about 1/2 of my work is substantive and the other half is boring (either low dollar amounts where the other party wouldn't make changes or making amendments to current contracts). There are some days that I really wish I was back in a law firm. Sometimes my work day seems a little too comfortable.

I don't know if other people have this issue after working at a big law firm, but I can't stop checking my work email every half hour, even when I am not working.

[Danger Zone]

Please tell me how to get exactly that job

[SplitMyPants]

Also, were you in Tech Trans / Data Privacy at your firm, or some other corp work?

[Anonymous User]

Also, were you in Tech Trans / Data Privacy at your firm, or some other corp work?

I was split between tech trans and corporate. I didn't have a ton of data privacy experience prior to going inhouse. They were mostly hiring for a generalist that can do a little bit of everything. When I got there, there was a push to focus more on data privacy and also there was a void so I was picked as the person to do that. My work obviously isn't all data privacy but I am spending more and more time on it.

[Danger Zone]

Can you tell us approximately how big the company is? And how big the in house legal team is?

[Anonymous User]

Can you tell us approximately how big the company is? And how big the in house legal team is?

The company is a publicly traded midcap. The legal department has 10-15 lawyers in us and eu

[barkschool]

Can you tell us approximately how big the company is? And how big the in house legal team is?

The company is a publicly traded midcap. The legal department has 10-15 lawyers in us and eu

How'd you make the jump; recruiters, connections, cold applications?

Also — same market as firm?

[Anonymous User]

I applied direct.happened that one of the attorneys in my office went to the same undergrad as me. took me about 6 months to find the right position. Not in the same market as my firm.

[Anonymous User]

10 years at biglaw (top ten in attorney count), no need to list out day as associate as this is covered in the thread, but I spent a few years as a junior partner/income partner, so here goes for a typical day when a deal was not closing:

7-9AM - wake up and get myself and kids ready for school
9-10AM - get to office
10AM-12PM - mostly respond to emails re projects or client development
12-2PM - conference calls (not sure why schedule these during lunch hour but always happened)
2-3PM - lunch and review deal docs to extent possible
3-6PM - provide comments to juniors
6PM-10PM - home with family
10PM-11PM - log on to finish or respond to work

When a deal was closing (probably like 8-10 weeks per year):

wake up time and morning routine same (generally trust juniors to handle anything except if it cant wait two hours)
get to office same time
10AM-whenever - get whatever needs to be done (rarely past 11PM at office but could be weekends, late nights whatever)

Now, I am a senior political aide (chief of staff/legislative director/senior counsel) to a state governor (will not say which one)

5AM - wake up and read all sorts of blogs and online papers about current events and state/national politics
7-9AM - kids wake up and I help get them ready
9AM - in office (have to make it in before the governor who is there at 9:30)
10AM - 11AM - morning staff meeting to map out day as best we can
11AM - noonish - senior counsel meetings with governor
12-2PM - work the press, review releases and talking points, research and draft responses
2-3PM - legislative meeting
3-5PM - mostly reviewing and summarizing legislation and try to eat something
5-6PM - evening staff meeting (most staff leave after) map out next day tasks and discuss any late issues
6-8PM - press, legislation, whatever I can think of that needs to get done (waiting for governor to leave)
8PM - typically get to leave office but who knows
8:30PM get home in hopes of putting kids to sleep but never know
9-midnight - hang out with wife while working and staying up on any issues (this can go late into the night)

I get paid a lot less now and its 100% more stressful. But this guy is probably going to run for president in 4 or 8 years (depending on this election) and he is a friend. Jury is out on if this is going to be worth it.

[xael]

Do you think you'll go back to biglaw after your friend runs? (by this I mean if your friend loses...)

[RaceJudicata]

10 years at biglaw (top ten in attorney count), no need to list out day as associate as this is covered in the thread, but I spent a few years as a junior partner/income partner, so here goes for a typical day when a deal was not closing:

7-9AM - wake up and get myself and kids ready for school
9-10AM - get to office
10AM-12PM - mostly respond to emails re projects or client development
12-2PM - conference calls (not sure why schedule these during lunch hour but always happened)
2-3PM - lunch and review deal docs to extent possible
3-6PM - provide comments to juniors
6PM-10PM - home with family
10PM-11PM - log on to finish or respond to work

When a deal was closing (probably like 8-10 weeks per year):

wake up time and morning routine same (generally trust juniors to handle anything except if it cant wait two hours)
get to office same time
10AM-whenever - get whatever needs to be done (rarely past 11PM at office but could be weekends, late nights whatever)

Now, I am a senior political aide (chief of staff/legislative director/senior counsel) to a state governor (will not say which one)

5AM - wake up and read all sorts of blogs and online papers about current events and state/national politics
7-9AM - kids wake up and I help get them ready
9AM - in office (have to make it in before the governor who is there at 9:30)
10AM - 11AM - morning staff meeting to map out day as best we can
11AM - noonish - senior counsel meetings with governor
12-2PM - work the press, review releases and talking points, research and draft responses
2-3PM - legislative meeting
3-5PM - mostly reviewing and summarizing legislation and try to eat something
5-6PM - evening staff meeting (most staff leave after) map out next day tasks and discuss any late issues
6-8PM - press, legislation, whatever I can think of that needs to get done (waiting for governor to leave)
8PM - typically get to leave office but who knows
8:30PM get home in hopes of putting kids to sleep but never know
9-midnight - hang out with wife while working and staying up on any issues (this can go late into the night)

I get paid a lot less now and its 100% more stressful. But this guy is probably going to run for president in 4 or 8 years (depending on this election) and he is a friend. Jury is out on if this is going to be worth it.

If you dont mind, what area of law did you practice at the firm?

[Anonymous User]

Do you think you'll go back to biglaw after your friend runs? (by this I mean if your friend loses...)

If I am still around in four years and he loses then I will probably take six months off and reassess. Standing open offer with my old firm so it is an option. Probably would not go to a different firm.

[Anonymous User]

If you dont mind, what area of law did you practice at the firm?

M&A and securities.

[kellyfrost]

10 years at biglaw (top ten in attorney count), no need to list out day as associate as this is covered in the thread, but I spent a few years as a junior partner/income partner, so here goes for a typical day when a deal was not closing:

7-9AM - wake up and get myself and kids ready for school
9-10AM - get to office
10AM-12PM - mostly respond to emails re projects or client development
12-2PM - conference calls (not sure why schedule these during lunch hour but always happened)
2-3PM - lunch and review deal docs to extent possible
3-6PM - provide comments to juniors
6PM-10PM - home with family
10PM-11PM - log on to finish or respond to work

When a deal was closing (probably like 8-10 weeks per year):

wake up time and morning routine same (generally trust juniors to handle anything except if it cant wait two hours)
get to office same time
10AM-whenever - get whatever needs to be done (rarely past 11PM at office but could be weekends, late nights whatever)

Now, I am a senior political aide (chief of staff/legislative director/senior counsel) to a state governor (will not say which one)

5AM - wake up and read all sorts of blogs and online papers about current events and state/national politics
7-9AM - kids wake up and I help get them ready
9AM - in office (have to make it in before the governor who is there at 9:30)
10AM - 11AM - morning staff meeting to map out day as best we can
11AM - noonish - senior counsel meetings with governor
12-2PM - work the press, review releases and talking points, research and draft responses
2-3PM - legislative meeting
3-5PM - mostly reviewing and summarizing legislation and try to eat something
5-6PM - evening staff meeting (most staff leave after) map out next day tasks and discuss any late issues
6-8PM - press, legislation, whatever I can think of that needs to get done (waiting for governor to leave)
8PM - typically get to leave office but who knows
8:30PM get home in hopes of putting kids to sleep but never know
9-midnight - hang out with wife while working and staying up on any issues (this can go late into the night


I get paid a lot less now and its 100% more stressful. But this guy is probably going to run for president in 4 or 8 years (depending on this election) and he is a friend. Jury is out on if this is going to be worth it.

I'm going to guess you work for ______. You don't have to confirm that, but if it is correct then you will have an awesome presidentially appointed position one day.

[North]

Why would you guess? It adds nothing and, right or wrong, risks spooking an anon poster who could add a lot of value if he or she stuck around.

[kellyfrost]

Why would you guess? It adds nothing and, right or wrong, risks spooking an anon poster who could add a lot of value if he or she stuck around.

Sorry, I have edited the above post to better conform to your suggestion.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Why would you guess? It adds nothing and, right or wrong, risks spooking an anon poster who could add a lot of value if he or she stuck around.

Sorry, I have edited the above post to better conform to your suggestion. I do hope the anon poster adds a lot of value here as you suggest-- at least more value than anything you add.

North was right, so there's no need to be snotty.

[kellyfrost]

Why would you guess? It adds nothing and, right or wrong, risks spooking an anon poster who could add a lot of value if he or she stuck around.

Sorry, I have edited the above post to better conform to your suggestion. I do hope the anon poster adds a lot of value here as you suggest-- at least more value than anything you add.

North was right, so there's no need to be snotty.

I have edited my post above so it would not be snotty.

[smallfirmassociate]

kelly, I think your above post needs more leprechauns, maybe a rainbow too.

(What, it has worked for everyone else. Can't blame a guy for trying.)

[Anonymous User]

Attorney at the law department of one of the largest US cities, and I have ~0-2 years experience. Pay is in the $50k-$65k range, which sucks, but it's LRAP/PSLF eligible (plus I'll get a pension). Don't want to out my practice area, but it's an area with high volume, lots of hard deadlines, and (usually) lots of individual responsibility. Oh, and probably the greatest part is that we don't have to bill any hours since we just do a weekly timesheet; I average about 40 hours a week, which doesn't include lunch.

7am: Wake up, get ready for the day. Might check my email once before I leave just to see if anything big happened overnight/early in the morning but it's not necessary at all.
830am-930am: Arrive at work, respond to any urgent emails from the night before (not super common, but it happens), and do some necessary daily work that's more administrative than legal in nature.
930am-12pm: If I have anything urgent (which happens a lot since we have a lot of hard deadlines) I'll get it done during the morning. Otherwise, I usually just break into whatever is due over the next week or so to try to get out ahead of things. Since we have a lot of individual responsibility, I like that I can effectively prioritize things myself and go back and forth between tasks as necessary without my supervisor breathing down my neck. For whatever reason, I find that I send/receive a LOT more emails in the morning than in the afternoon. I'd say the work I do is mostly drafting documents, performing legal research and writing memos, and advising my "clients" (the different city agencies) about various things in the area of law I practice.
12pm-1pm: Grab lunch with coworkers or just eat at my desk. My coworkers and I try to find excuses to go out and eat whenever we can...
1pm-530pm: Finish up anything urgent or work on some longer term projects. Depending on how busy I am I'll find excuses to go talk with coworkers about what they're working on, or try to help them out with stuff if needed. I'm typically out around 530pm but during a busy period we might stay until 6pm or a little later.
530pm-bedtime: I'll check my work email once or twice just out of curiosity but like in the morning, it's not necessary at all and I won't respond to anything unless it's absolutely urgent.

Generally the work is pretty substantive, but sometimes it just feels so... same-y, just because we're only doing one specific thing. I'd say the biggest surprise I've had is how much I get to interact with important people throughout the city (no, I don't ever get to email the mayor haha, but I regularly call/email the heads of various departments, etc.).

[deepseapartners]

Generally the work is pretty substantive, but sometimes it just feels so... same-y, just because we're only doing one specific thing. I'd say the biggest surprise I've had is how much I get to interact with important people throughout the city (no, I don't ever get to email the mayor haha, but I regularly call/email the heads of various departments, etc.).

Is this a step towards something more for you, or do you see yourself staying here for the foreseeable future?

[Anonymous User]

Could any family lawyers out there jump in? Very curious about the plausibility of getting a decently-paying job in this field.

[you_were_driving]

Theres plenty of money in divorce work if youve got the right clients and are good at what you do. Also has the added benefit of being basically recession proof.

Of course, it takes a special kind of person to work in that field amd maintain sanity.

[kellyfrost]

Theres plenty of money in divorce work if youve got the right clients and are good at what you do. Also has the added benefit of being basically recession proof.

Of course, it takes a special kind of person to work in that field amd maintain sanity.

I agree with what the above poster said about divorce clients. I haven't don't any family law
cases, but I have had the opportunity to see other family law cases develop with different attorneys. One was a pro bono client who was in prison who was looking to divorce someone he had not seen in 3 years. The other represented a spouse in a divorce case in which he marital property consisted of millions of dollars of real estate, farm equipment, rental homes, and small business ventures. The divorce itself drug on for years and attorney's fees exceeded $750,000 when it was all said and done.