Days off in BigLaw

[Anonymous User]

How much pressure is there in BigLaw not to take your allotted days of vacation? I'm assuming this varies by firm, perhaps by how you've been doing in terms of billing targets, etc.?

Specifically, I am talking about early on -- the first few months in. I am thinking of living with family in my market for the first few months of BigLaw so that I can save on rent and pay off loans, but after that I would want to move out on my own. Will I ostracize/hurt myself if I take a day or two off to do this in the first few months of working? Will they wonder I didn't do it before/around the bar or whenever everyone else usually finds a place? It sounds like it'd be trivial/fine, but I don't know what the high pressure environment is like yet, so I wanted to check with people who know.

[imchuckbass58]

Some thoughts:

-Why don't you just move on a weekend? Why is necessary to take days off?

-Generally, there's not much pressure to not take days off, but the one exception would be in the first few months you're on the job. It looks kind of bad to take off time in, say, the first three months or so. I don't think you'd get explicit pushback, but I would shy away from it unless absolutely necessary. I think something like "my brother is getting married" may be a decent excuse, but just having to move isn't really one, since many people manage to move pretty easily over a weekend.

-Even if you get approval for a day off (or vacation in general), you are subject to the schedule of the matters you are working on. So if they say you can take a day off, then all of a sudden the deal you're working on has its closing moved up to the following week and they need all hands on deck, there's no way you're taking that vacation day.

In short, I don't think it's the end of the world, but it certainly can't help you, and I question the necessity of taking a day off just so you can move.

[Anonymous User]

From what I know, people tend to work often on the weekends at my firm. But thanks for the advice. I'll see if I can't do it that way.

-OP

[anon168]

How much pressure is there in BigLaw not to take your allotted days of vacation? I'm assuming this varies by firm, perhaps by how you've been doing in terms of billing targets, etc.?

Specifically, I am talking about early on -- the first few months in. I am thinking of living with family in my market for the first few months of BigLaw so that I can save on rent and pay off loans, but after that I would want to move out on my own. Will I ostracize/hurt myself if I take a day or two off to do this in the first few months of working? Will they wonder I didn't do it before/around the bar or whenever everyone else usually finds a place? It sounds like it'd be trivial/fine, but I don't know what the high pressure environment is like yet, so I wanted to check with people who know.

You're not serious, right?

You're a professional, exempt employee. As long you have nothing that physically requires your presence in the office (a closing, meeting or filing for example) just take the day to move.

If if really stresses you out, call in sick.

[Chartreuse]

Why not hire movers to do it for you? It shouldn't be too much for an in-city move.

[dood]

How much pressure is there in BigLaw not to take your allotted days of vacation? I'm assuming this varies by firm, perhaps by how you've been doing in terms of billing targets, etc.?

Specifically, I am talking about early on -- the first few months in. I am thinking of living with family in my market for the first few months of BigLaw so that I can save on rent and pay off loans, but after that I would want to move out on my own. Will I ostracize/hurt myself if I take a day or two off to do this in the first few months of working? Will they wonder I didn't do it before/around the bar or whenever everyone else usually finds a place? It sounds like it'd be trivial/fine, but I don't know what the high pressure environment is like yet, so I wanted to check with people who know.

You're not serious, right?

You're a professional, exempt employee. As long you have nothing that physically requires your presence in the office (a closing, meeting or filing for example) just take the day to move.

If if really stresses you out, call in sick.

yeah ur complete lack of common sense amazes me.

[Anonymous User]

Seriously? If you hire movers and spend half an hour or so packing up all your stuff for a week before your moving day it will probably take you like half of a Saturday to move. I don't think anyone will expect you to be in the office for 8+ hours every Saturday and Sunday.

If you're really worried about it, just move before you start working. If you're working in BigLaw surely you can afford to spend an extra $3,000 on rent over the course of one year.

[20160810]

OP sounds like a really cheap guy. You're going to be making $160,000 a year, just hire a moving company.

As to the original question, it's impossible to generalize, because it depends so much on which firm, which office, and if you do corporate or lit. And as people have said, there's always the chance, especially in lit, that something comes up and you cancel your day off plans.

[Anonymous User]

Just an FYI to the OP.

When I moved x-country, I hired movers for my 1 bedroom apt, and from door-to-door it was about 3.5k. They did all the packing and unpacking.

[ryanmot]

Just work full days the next two weekends after your day off to move in to save face with any partner that gets the wrong idea.