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Hi all. Lawyer's wife here. My husband graduated MCL/coif/was EIC of law review from a T50 law school in 2010 and then went on to clerk with a federal appellate judge. He has been working since at a T15 law firm. He now wants to incorporate JAG service with the national guard because he's always wanted to serve. I am willing to support him in that as long as it won't harm the status quo. I just want to hear everyone's opinions and what they think since I want to make the most educated decision possible. Thanks.

LLACRT wrote:as long as it won't harm the status quo.

What do you mean by this?

bk187 wrote:

LLACRT wrote:as long as it won't harm the status quo.

What do you mean by this?

Well, that it won't hurt his positive standing at the firm and that it will be good for his career. Some of his colleagues are confused that he wants to do this and I wonder if he will get a similar reception either at his firm or if he wanted to lateral to a different one in the future.

She wants to make sure her husbands dream won't interfere with the gravy train before she allows him to pursue his dreams.

He wants to leave his firm job and do JAG? Or is this an occasional weekend thing?

Either way, he has done well with his career so far, don't you trust him to continue to keep his career on track? I'm confused as to why you might have a problem with this.

I mean... what do you think his future is if he doesn't leave the firm? He probably wasn't going to make partner, and being a biglaw associate isn't really a lifer thing. I don't think JAG has great non-gov't exit options, but I assume he knows where JAG will land him and is happy with it.

Randomnumbers wrote:She wants to make sure her husbands dream won't interfere with the gravy train before she allows him to pursue his dreams.

haha yeah women who worry about their husband's career trajectory are gold digging hoes

Randomnumbers wrote:She wants to make sure her husbands dream won't interfere with the gravy train before she allows him to pursue his dreams.

cr

IAFG wrote:

Randomnumbers wrote:She wants to make sure her husbands dream won't interfere with the gravy train before she allows him to pursue his dreams.

haha yeah women who worry about their husband's career trajectory are gold digging hoes

just like men who worry about their wives' careers are misogynist pigs

I want to make the most educated decision possible.

I'm confused. What are your options?

He almost joined the Guard before law school and I went to meet the recruiter with him. So I'm very supportive and not worried about the gravy, lol, since I also have a very well-paying job. But thank you for your misogynistic assumption @randomnumbers.

It's the occasional weekend thing, but first he has to go through 9 weeks of training. You're probably right, NY State. He's done a great job. Some of the responses just threw me and I wanted to know if this is a common thing -- if people look down on JAG service or something. I wonder if there are others who have done the same thing that can shed light on it as well.

LLACRT wrote:He almost joined the Guard before law school and I went to meet the recruiter with him. So I'm very supportive and not worried about the gravy, lol, since I also have a very well-paying job. But thank you for your misogynistic assumption @randomnumbers.

It's the occasional weekend thing, but first he has to go through 9 weeks of training. You're probably right, NY State. He's done a great job. Some of the responses just threw me and I wanted to know if this is a common thing -- if people look down on JAG service or something. I wonder if there are others who have done the same thing that can shed light on it as well.

If your question is if normal human beings look down upon military officers, the answer is no.

Also, as mentioned before in this thread, what would the other option be? People do not stay associates forever (typically 5 years or so) then move on to another legal job. That seems to be exactly what your husband is doing.

Br3v wrote:

LLACRT wrote:He almost joined the Guard before law school and I went to meet the recruiter with him. So I'm very supportive and not worried about the gravy, lol, since I also have a very well-paying job. But thank you for your misogynistic assumption @randomnumbers.

It's the occasional weekend thing, but first he has to go through 9 weeks of training. You're probably right, NY State. He's done a great job. Some of the responses just threw me and I wanted to know if this is a common thing -- if people look down on JAG service or something. I wonder if there are others who have done the same thing that can shed light on it as well.

If your question is if normal human beings look down upon military officers, the answer is no.

Also, as mentioned before in this thread, what would the other option be? People do not stay associates forever (typically 5 years or so) then move on to another legal job. That seems to be exactly what your husband is doing.

It's not exactly the same as an associate changing firms/fields, because he's talking about the Reserves (the "one weekend a month, two weeks a year" thing). So unless he's called up for a deployment, the Reserves gig would be strictly a part-time thing in addition to whatever his "regular" job is.

As far as being in the Reserves, there are all sorts of Federal employee protections that say you can't be refused employment, denied a promotion, or fired because of your service in the Guard or Reserves.

In reality, because so many of the administrative decisions in professional fields are based on purely subjective evaluations, it's impossible to prove that an adverse administrative action was the result of the employee's service, unless the company doesn't know the law and is stupid enough to admit something like "we passed you over because your obligations to the Reserves is cutting into your availability".

With that in mind, it *will* affect his availability at his "regular" job. As OP mentioned, there's an initial training period (sounds like 9 weeks for her husband), and also the weekend drill periods and annual two-week obligation. Some employers are great about it and are willing to work with the Reservist, while others might be resentful, whether they let on or not.

Why are people talking about him changing jobs, etc. He wants to go into the JAG reserve. I really don't see this being a problem UNLESS his practice area requires a lot of weekend work (with little warning). He is there for several years now, so he can judge his usual weekend demand. If he never (or close to never) has to work a weekend - or bang out a massive brief at home over the weekend; I really cannot see this being a big problem for him. If his practice area requires him to drop his weekend plans without much warning (and that occurs somewhat regularly - or even more than a few times a year), then the JAG reserve may hurt him a bit because he is unable to meet the demands of his job. They won't say that to him - but we all know how that goes.

So really, only he knows (and you to some extent cause you do live with him), how this will impact his career at the firm. With the single exception stated above, I cannot see why the firm would care at all.

Now this also assumes he never gets activated. That can become a whole other ball of wax.

Good luck to him.

Don't firms often have prohibitions on practicing law outside the firm? I'm just a recent grad so what do I know, but in case it isn't obvious... sounds like he should clear this with the firm through the official channels.

dixiecupdrinking wrote:Don't firms often have prohibitions on practicing law outside the firm? I'm just a recent grad so what do I know, but in case it isn't obvious... sounds like he should clear this with the firm through the official channels.

This is why people scatter when a new lawyer enters the room with a "great idea."

I had no idea there was such a thing as weekends-only JAG

I considered JAG and spoke with a big law attorney who did JAG reserves while at the firm. He said he didn't get a good reception from the firm but that they accepted it. Around 9/11 he was even deployed for several months. He's a partner at that firm now, so it obviously didn't derail his career. But he recommended going regular JAG not reserves if it's what I really wanted.

reasonable_man wrote:

dixiecupdrinking wrote:Don't firms often have prohibitions on practicing law outside the firm? I'm just a recent grad so what do I know, but in case it isn't obvious... sounds like he should clear this with the firm through the official channels.

This is why people scatter when a new lawyer enters the room with a "great idea."

so no?

FWIW: I'm doing JAG after I graduate. Totally looking forward to it and would never want to work in the private sector. I keep in contact with several JAGs from my past summer work, and they are way more awesome and friendly and down to earth than any of the private sector folks I know. Every single JAG that I've spoken with in whatever branch has nothing but good things to say about their experience.

Plus, job security is much better. You could make a career out of it if you want.

Status quo? It won't make you homeless, if that's what you're worried about.