Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day? Forum

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Lacepiece23

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Lacepiece23 » Mon Aug 09, 2021 6:07 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Aug 09, 2021 5:45 pm
Lacepiece23 wrote:
Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:24 am
Started my own firm, plaintiffs employment/civil rights.

8 am wake up. Walk dog, etc.

8:30 a.m. start reviewing to do list. Take a look at intakes from yesterday. Start sending out texts to schedule consultations.

9:30 a.m. usually have a consultation that lasts 20 minutes by phone. I have two to three of these sprinkled in per day at random. Usually takes up an hour to an hour and a half of my day.

11:30 a.m. phone call with opposing counsel on some case. Emails on cases. Moving things along.

12:30 p.m. lunch.

1:15 p.m. usually do some stuff with my website/SEO. My SEO has been pretty good so this effort went from 1-2 hours per day to less than 1.

2:00-4:30 p.m. usually try to draft some demand letters/other court documents. Doesn’t always happen if Im doing other stuff.

4:30 -5:45 - do whatever to push my firm forward whether it’s legal work or marketing work.

Chill the rest of the night/day dream about plans for the future with my firm. Sometimes I’ll jot down ideas for marketing and upcoming trials.

12:00 a.m. - bed.

Typically work 8-10 hours a day. Been at this around 6 months. I don’t work weekends. I have someone helping me part time. Not much money in yet but I have a ton in my portfolio that will all settle.

It’s a decent life. The stress is there from having to make all the e decisions. But it’s gotten better and better over time.
this is my dream!!
You should go for it! Happy to answer more questions via pm.

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by patent_guy » Thu Aug 12, 2021 11:51 pm

Patent prosecution, small to mid size boutique (10-20 attorneys). 100% remote. Started off at a large regional firm and my current gig is a much better fit.

6:00 am wake up, make coffee, grab breakfast

6:15 check emails, news, etc.

6:30 start work. Drafting applications, responses to office actions, etc. Usually have one or two apps I’m working on in addition to a full docket of prosecution, so I’ll try to go through an office action in the morning and get some work done on an app in the afternoon or vice versa.

9:00 need a break, go shower

9:20 refill coffee, pick back up on work

12:00 lunch. I try to listen to a webinar or something to get some CLE hours or meet colleagues for lunch, otherwise I’ll watch an episode of something on Netflix.

4 or 4:30 shut it down. Play with my kid, walk the dogs, run errands, whatever.

7:30 or 8 kid down to bed, eaten dinner, work an hour or 2 on the couch watching tv with my wife

Sprinkle in calls with examiners, in house counsel, inventors, etc. a few times a week. It’s a good spot. Way less stress than my previous firm. I’ll get an early tee time two or three times a month and no one misses me since I'm remote so obviously no expectation of facetime.

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Nov 17, 2021 1:25 am

5th/6th year in corporate at a regional TX firm (Houston/Dallas).

5:30-6:00 am: wake up, make coffee
6:00-7:00 am: watch news and have coffee, catch up on overnight emails, walk dog
7:00-8:00 am: run or lift weights
8:00-9:00 am: make breakfast, pack lunch, shower/get dressed
9:15-9:30 am: arrive at office, eat breakfast at my desk and catch up on emails that came in over the last couple of hours
9:30-12:30 pm: calls or meetings, draft/review various documents for ongoing deals
12:30-1:00 pm: eat lunch at desk, respond to emails or review documents. Maybe read espn or wsj if things aren't blowing up
1:00 - 8:00 pm: bouncing around between calls, meetings, responding to emails and any drafting/reviewing of documents that are in my court. By 5-6 pm the office starts to empty out and I can focus on drafting with fewer interruptions.
8:00-9:00ish - either order dinner to the office or head home for dinner with SO. If I am home for dinner, I'll log back on after.
10-11ish - head home if I haven't already, if I stayed in the office until now I likely need to log back on when I get home
Anytime from midnight to 2ish - log off for the evening, head to bed

There are times when things are quieter and my schedule is a little more relaxed, but I rarely leave the office before 8pm. If I leave by then and don't log back on other than checking emails on my phone then things are going pretty well.

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Nov 18, 2021 10:26 am

5th Year at white collar boutique:

5:30-6:30: wake up. If I'm up early, I go to the gym.
6:30-8:15: help get older kid ready for school, play with the little kids while spouse takes him to school
8:15: spouse gets back and I walk to work
8:40-9: have coffee, check emails, browse the internet
9-12: I am most productive in the morning, so if I have a big writing project that requires focus, I like to do it in the morning
12-12:30: lunch at desk looking at emails
12:30-6: really depends on what's happening with my matters, but always some combination of calls, writing, research, working with documents
6-6:15: wrap up for the day, aim to walk out of the office by 6:30 at the latest
6:45-8:15: home, play with older kid, help with homework, bath and bedtime, etc.
8:15-9:30: relax/do house chores
9:30/10: bed

I rarely work from home after I leave the office, though I will respond to quick email requests just so I don't have to do it in the morning, and put in maybe an hour or two of weekend work in small bits on a normal weekend, but there are many weekends where I don't work at all (and a few where I work a lot). It feels like a relatively humane existence, though when I am at work, I am generally pretty efficient and focused because I know I want to leave and so I don't do as much of the drop-by and chat that others do.

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Nov 18, 2021 3:30 pm

Specialty counsel at a big tech company.

8:30 - Wake up. I’m on the east coast, but most people I work with are on the west coast, so nothing important ever really happens before noon.
8:30-10 - Make coffee, chill with family, etc. Work from home, so no commute.
10ish - 12:30. Respond to any emails, slacks or pings in Google docs from yesterday I haven’t gotten to. Run through quick items on my to do list (eg, send a question to outside counsel, comment on a small piece of a contract relevant to my specialty).
12:30 - 1:15 Make lunch, maybe watch a little TV with my wife.
1:15-6:00 Usually 2-3 meetings, either with my boss, product counsel, or product teams who need guidance for compliance with my specialty. Work on more substantive projects, like memos analyzing risks/alternatives for new product launches the business wants to move forward with, guidance docs on legal compliance for specific teams etc.
6:00 Sign off for the day. Make dinner, run errands, etc. I’ll respond to emails or Slacks from my boss or others that seem to have some urgency, but most I leave until the morning.

Almost never work on the weekend unless something very unusual happens.

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Nov 25, 2021 1:16 pm

Big law firm. V50. Capital Markets.
7:30: wake up, coffee and a shake.
7:45: study foreign language (due to meet my partner's parents around Christmas)
8:45: gym, in my building
9:30: clock in, check my e-mails while getting ready for the day. Have breakfast.
10:00: get head around assignments, try to delegate downwards what I can (paralegals, junior associates, document services, etc.)
Noon: finished my work, play some videogames or read a book. Keep this up and attend some meetings. Generally don't pay attention and do something else during, but just so I can bill them.
2pm: Delegated assignments start coming back. Review and sit on them until deadline.
3pm: New assignment might come in. Review how long it would take or if I can delegate it down.
5:30: finished assignment and sit on it until deadline. Proceed to spend time with partner and make dinner.
7:00pm: review e-mails and finish anything that was not completed during the day. Rest of the night is spent on hobby's/spending time with partner.

Rarely work weekends, although sometimes I do it by design, as I slack off too much during the week.

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Nov 25, 2021 1:20 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Nov 17, 2021 1:25 am
5th/6th year in corporate at a regional TX firm (Houston/Dallas).

5:30-6:00 am: wake up, make coffee
6:00-7:00 am: watch news and have coffee, catch up on overnight emails, walk dog
7:00-8:00 am: run or lift weights
8:00-9:00 am: make breakfast, pack lunch, shower/get dressed
9:15-9:30 am: arrive at office, eat breakfast at my desk and catch up on emails that came in over the last couple of hours
9:30-12:30 pm: calls or meetings, draft/review various documents for ongoing deals
12:30-1:00 pm: eat lunch at desk, respond to emails or review documents. Maybe read espn or wsj if things aren't blowing up
1:00 - 8:00 pm: bouncing around between calls, meetings, responding to emails and any drafting/reviewing of documents that are in my court. By 5-6 pm the office starts to empty out and I can focus on drafting with fewer interruptions.
8:00-9:00ish - either order dinner to the office or head home for dinner with SO. If I am home for dinner, I'll log back on after.
10-11ish - head home if I haven't already, if I stayed in the office until now I likely need to log back on when I get home
Anytime from midnight to 2ish - log off for the evening, head to bed

There are times when things are quieter and my schedule is a little more relaxed, but I rarely leave the office before 8pm. If I leave by then and don't log back on other than checking emails on my phone then things are going pretty well.
This sounds absolutely dreadful. What keeps you going? I'm a 1L and it just seems horrible to work 12-14 hours a day and basically only see your SO for an hour or two a day, an hour for workouts, and don't have time for anything else. Is the money that good?

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Dec 04, 2021 10:07 pm

Federal district court clerk. Moderately busy district.

Non-Trial Days
7:45-8:15: wake up, get ready, drink coffee
8:15-8:30: drive to work
8:30-9:15: read the email waiting for me from my judge, docket the approved orders related to yesterday's filings, respond to any questions, chat with coworkers as they arrive
9:15-12:00: work on a substantive order (motions to dismiss, motions for summary judgment, motions in limine, etc.)
12:00-12:30: eat lunch, either a quick trip to get fast food or eat a packed lunch in my office
12:30-1:00: check my emails for anything urgent, make a rough estimate about what my night will be like based on how many filings have come in
1:00-1:15: make another coffee, check in with my coworkers
1:15-3:30: continue working on the substantive order (most take 2-4 days)
3:30-4:15: somewhere around this time, I receive a call from my judge. he asks me about some of my cases and about my progress on the substantive order
4:15-4:45: resolve any issues that came up during the phone call
4:45-6:00: continue working on the substantive order
6:00-6:45: check my emails again, get a much better sense of what my night will be like. chat with coworkers about their day
6:45-7:15: drive home, pick up dinner
7:15-8:00: eat dinner, watch tv
8:00-10:00: draft easy orders in response to today's filings (pro hac vice motions, motions for extension, proposed scheduling orders, etc.) and send them to judge for approval.
10:00-12:00: watch tv or read while I do laundry, prepare breakfast for tomorrow, and then go to bed

Trial Days (~1 trial every month, last 2-4 days)
6:30-7:00: wake up, get ready, drink coffee
7:00-7:15: drive to work
7:15-8:30: handle any pressing issues related to the trial, docket approved orders related to yesterday's filings
8:30-12:00: sit in on trial, take notes, keep track of exhibits and witnesses, perform on the spot research as needed
12:00-1:00: handle a pressing issue that arose in the morning related to the trial while the parties and jury take lunch
1:00-5:30: sit in on trial again
5:30-8:00: help judge prepare for evidentiary rulings that may arise tomorrow, make changes to jury instructions based on today's trial events, research related issues
8:00-8:30 drive home, pick up dinner
8:30-9:30: eat dinner, watch tv
9:30-11:30: draft easy orders in response to today's filings
11:30-12:00: wrap up some other work related to the trial

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Dec 15, 2021 6:53 pm

AUSA in Midwestern midsized city. There's really no typical day, but here is an example of a recent day on the job:

7:00-8:30am: Wake up, eat breakfast, shower, short commute
8:30-10:00am: Arrive at work, review reports and draft prosecution memo/indictment for next Grand Jury
10:00-11:00am: Attend proffer
11:00-12:00pm: Draft plea approval memo and plea agreement
12:00-1:00pm: Head home to eat lunch with spouse
1:00-2:00pm: Return to work, meet with agents who want to pitch a case
2:00-3:00pm: Attend court to handle initial appearance/detention hearing
3:00-5:00pm: Work on response to suppression motion

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:34 pm

Federal district court clerk. Flyover district.

7:45- Get up.
8:30-Arrive at work.
8:31- gossip with co-clerk over coffee.
9:00- check Reddit.
9:45 to 11:30- work on a substantive order.
11:30 to 12:30- lunch and check what I've missed on Reddit.
12:30 to 5- continue working on substantive order.

At 5:00:00, every single day without fail- leave, and do not think about work until the next day.

Orders can take a few days or a month, depending on how complex it is. We rarely have trials, but when we do, the implication is that our order-writing will slow to nearly a stop.

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by a male human » Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:38 pm

I take a 1-hour break every 10 minutes and end up working until 10 PM

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Dec 24, 2021 7:41 pm

Staff attorney at nonprofit.

Sometime between 2:30am–4:30am: Wake up to crying baby. Wife feeds him and I try to cradle him back to sleep. If I'm unsuccessful, I don't sleep anymore. If successful, I sleep to 6:30am.

6:30am–6:45am: Sit on the couch and question my life choices.

6:45am–7:15am: Make and eat breakfast.

7:15am–7:30am: Dilly dally.

7:30am–8:00am: Pack up to leave for work, aiming to leave at 7:45, but inevitably leave later than desired due to my failure to move quickly in the morning.

8:00am–8:45am: Commute into the city.

8:45am–9:45am: Lift.

9:45am-10:00am: Walk to the office and small talk with my bagel guy.

10:00am–12:00pm: Either I'm on a few team meetings or doing nothing, depending on the day.

12:00pm-1:30pm: Eat lunch while watching my preferred news shows on YouTube.

1:30pm-3:30pm: Either work on projects assigned to me or on a law review article I'm trying to publish if I have nothing on my plate (I never ask for work).

3:30pm-4:00pm: Walk to the deli to get a snack.

4:00pm-6:00pm: Same at 1:30 to 3:30 (projects or law review article).

6:00pm-6:45pm: Commute back home.

6:45pm-8:00pm: My wife and I get frustrated that our baby has acid reflux and scream cries for an hour before falling asleep. Somehow eat dinner during this time.

8:00pm-10:00pm: Sit and watch TV with my wife, and hope the baby stays asleep. Might apply to a clerkship or two if there are any listed in which I'm interested.

10:00pm-2:30am or 4:30am: Try to sleep, though inevitably woken up throughout the night by the baby.

I swear I was actually productive before becoming a father. I'm also extremely grateful I didn't go into big law. I don't know how I'd have survived this if I were working somewhere that actually expected me to work.

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by omar1 » Wed Dec 29, 2021 12:48 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Dec 24, 2021 7:41 pm
Staff attorney at nonprofit.

Sometime between 2:30am–4:30am: Wake up to crying baby. Wife feeds him and I try to cradle him back to sleep. If I'm unsuccessful, I don't sleep anymore. If successful, I sleep to 6:30am.

6:30am–6:45am: Sit on the couch and question my life choices.

6:45am–7:15am: Make and eat breakfast.

7:15am–7:30am: Dilly dally.

7:30am–8:00am: Pack up to leave for work, aiming to leave at 7:45, but inevitably leave later than desired due to my failure to move quickly in the morning.

8:00am–8:45am: Commute into the city.

8:45am–9:45am: Lift.

9:45am-10:00am: Walk to the office and small talk with my bagel guy.

10:00am–12:00pm: Either I'm on a few team meetings or doing nothing, depending on the day.

12:00pm-1:30pm: Eat lunch while watching my preferred news shows on YouTube.

1:30pm-3:30pm: Either work on projects assigned to me or on a law review article I'm trying to publish if I have nothing on my plate (I never ask for work).

3:30pm-4:00pm: Walk to the deli to get a snack.

4:00pm-6:00pm: Same at 1:30 to 3:30 (projects or law review article).

6:00pm-6:45pm: Commute back home.

6:45pm-8:00pm: My wife and I get frustrated that our baby has acid reflux and scream cries for an hour before falling asleep. Somehow eat dinner during this time.

8:00pm-10:00pm: Sit and watch TV with my wife, and hope the baby stays asleep. Might apply to a clerkship or two if there are any listed in which I'm interested.

10:00pm-2:30am or 4:30am: Try to sleep, though inevitably woken up throughout the night by the baby.

I swear I was actually productive before becoming a father. I'm also extremely grateful I didn't go into big law. I don't know how I'd have survived this if I were working somewhere that actually expected me to work.
How long have you been working there? How much do you get paid?

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:28 pm

@ anon dad: ask your pediatrician about anti acid meds for baby. Lifechanger and it's better for the baby too.

Signed,
Father of 4

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Dec 29, 2021 7:22 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:28 pm
@ anon dad: ask your pediatrician about anti acid meds for baby. Lifechanger and it's better for the baby too.

Signed,
Father of 4
Agree with this 110%. Daughter is 9 months old now and you would never know she had reflux but there was like 6-8 weeks in there that were so so brutal. I was also working during this time because my wife and I did staggered leaves. I was reluctant to put my little one on meds at such a young age but it really helped (and she's been off them for 2 months now).

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jan 02, 2022 10:11 pm

omar1 wrote:
Wed Dec 29, 2021 12:48 pm
How long have you been working there? How much do you get paid?
One year. $77k.
Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:28 pm
@ anon dad: ask your pediatrician about anti acid meds for baby. Lifechanger and it's better for the baby too.

Signed,
Father of 4
We did this and he reflux has improved greatly. :) Unfortunately, now he's simply regressing when it comes to sleep. Save me.

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jan 30, 2022 2:05 pm

First full-time lawyer at a rapidly-growing tech startup.

7AM: Wake up, have coffee, read emails that came in after I stopped checking my phone last night (I'm east coast, many of our employees are west coast), respond if urgent.

8AM: Gym, back home, breakfast, shower, get dressed.

9:30AM: Either commute 20-25 minutes to work or head to my home office depending on my mood.

10AM: Respond to emails from last night if they weren't urgent, review redlines that came in late afternoon/early evening yesterday and respond.

12PM: Spend a little time working on longer term projects (developing policies, processes, etc that don't exist at a startup).

1PM: Lunch

1:30PM: Review redlines from this morning and respond, get on calls with our customers/vendors/etc to discuss redlines.

3PM: Nap if working from home, coffee break if working in the office.

3:30PM: Internal calls/more calls with vendors/customers etc re redlines.

5PM: Work on long term projects.

6PM: Wrap up unless a huge volume of new redlines came in between 4-6, in which case I'll triage them in order of importance.

Dinner with my partner around 7PM, then watch TV or go out to see a show, etc. Check phone throughout the evening until 9PM or so and respond if anything is urgent. Bed between 10PM-11PM.

This doesn't include responding to one-off questions/calls on Slack throughout the day, which can be a significant time suck (this is my first time using Slack and I hate it). I probably do 2-3 hours of weekend work per month.

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Thu May 19, 2022 3:49 am

Requesting more of these from transactional attorneys that are juniors or nearing midlevel. Would be especially interested in a KE Chicago person chiming in! (using anon because I don't want to out the firm I'll be joining)

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Aug 14, 2022 12:57 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Thu May 19, 2022 3:49 am
Requesting more of these from transactional attorneys that are juniors or nearing midlevel. Would be especially interested in a KE Chicago person chiming in! (using anon because I don't want to out the firm I'll be joining)
Sure - I'm a second year (almost 3rd when the new class starts in September) transactional associate at a V30 firm office in Dallas. Primarily working on M&A work, but also still doing some general corporate financing/securities/governance matters.

Good Day (i.e. Not Closing a Deal)

8 am - 9 am Wake up, get ready for work, read any early morning emails and folder or respond with "Will do" as appropriate
9 - 9:15 am - Arrive to office (or walk downstairs if working from home), have coffee and get started
9:30 am - 1 pm - Read/respond to emails (75% of the job is emailing), draft ancillary deal docs, run comments on major deal docs, attend calls and take notes, edit closing checklist to keep deal organized
1 pm - 1:30 pm - Lunch at desk, probably scroll WSJ or Reddit
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm - Same as 9:30 am - 1 pm above
3:30 pm - If at office, head home and log back on from home
3:30 pm - 6 pm - Same as 9:30 am - 1 pm above (on really slow days, skip this step)
6 - 8:30 pm - Gym, dinner with SO
8:30 pm - 12 am - Watch TV with SO, play video games or read; monitor phone for emails and folder or respond with "Will do" as appropriate; if watching TV, probably work on light assignments like diligence
12 am-ish - Bed

Bad Day

6 am - 8 am Wake up, triage emails immediately as there are probably 30-60 at least from my few hours of sleep (emails can blow up much more if on an international deal)
8 am - Very quick shower and breakfast; probably not going to the office on these days
8:15 am - 1 pm - Same as 9:30 am - 1 pm above, with the addition of compiling final versions of documents, marking things off in the closing checklist, checking and rechecking signature pages and having even more calls. Everything is marked as urgent or on a time crunch. This can be very hard to get used to, but the adrenaline of a closing week can be almost fun with a good team. With a bad team, not so much.
1 pm - 1:15 pm - Scarf down food while answering emails
1:15 pm - 8 pm - Same as above
8 pm - 8:20 pm - Dinner at desk; SO reminds me what this job is paying for so I don't say screw it and quit
8:20 pm - 3 or 4 am - Same as above. These are the hours that make or break an associate. If you can deal with these times, seems like you might be able to stay in BigLaw. With a good team, you'll feel accomplished at the end of the night even if there is still a lot to do. With a bad team, these hours are the single worst part about working in BigLaw.

Most days fall somewhere between the spectrum above - the tough thing about transactional work is that unless you are on a deal with a targeted closing that week (you know you will be slammed), it's hard to predict as a junior what will be a good day or what will be a bad day. Sometimes, even when not near a closing you will have a bad day because multiple partners email you with urgent one-offs, but the next day is chill. Everyone copes with this differently, but I've found the best practice is to try not to make social plans during the week and then do everything within my power to not miss stuff on the weekends (usually easier to shift things around on weekends if I do have to work). The impending sense of doom feelings in off hours also go away over time as you learn to recognize what is truly urgent and what can wait until you are done with dinner or until the next day.

On the topic of weekend work - when near a deal closing, it's pretty common to work at least a good day over the weekend if not a full blown bad day (screw Monday closings). Otherwise though, I'd say I generally work 2-3 weekends each month with about 3-4 hours of actual work spread over both days (as discussed above, it's way easier on weekends to move things around to fit your schedule even as a junior). Most people I work with do not want to work on weekends, so there is a pretty strong vibe of not doing things on weekends unless absolutely necessary.

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Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Oct 22, 2022 11:32 pm

Assistant US Attorney. Civil. 10+ years of experience. Not Chicago/LA/NYC/DC/Boston.

9:00 - Reach work.
9-12 - Talk to an FBI agent who won't tell me a damn thing even though I need to know to defend him against a constitutional lawsuit. Bug friends in criminal because law enforcement got sued and I need to understand nuances of criminal procedure. Schedule a deposition in a car accident case. Talk to a forest ranger for an hour while he tries to explain forestry science to me, and pretend I understand.
Lunch - Work through it if I feel like it. Other times, lunch with buddies.
1-530 - Same as morning but the point of this: literally not a dull day. Not ever. Ever.
530ish - Head home.

If I've got a trial in a few weeks or an appeals deadline breathing down my neck, I might work at home an evening here or there or on a weekend (but from home). Other times, relax with the wife and friends or family. Having said all this, I burned long hours to win many trials over the years to get to this point.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428102
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Nov 26, 2022 9:46 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Sat Oct 22, 2022 11:32 pm
Assistant US Attorney. Civil. 10+ years of experience. Not Chicago/LA/NYC/DC/Boston.

9:00 - Reach work.
9-12 - Talk to an FBI agent who won't tell me a damn thing even though I need to know to defend him against a constitutional lawsuit. Bug friends in criminal because law enforcement got sued and I need to understand nuances of criminal procedure. Schedule a deposition in a car accident case. Talk to a forest ranger for an hour while he tries to explain forestry science to me, and pretend I understand.
Lunch - Work through it if I feel like it. Other times, lunch with buddies.
1-530 - Same as morning but the point of this: literally not a dull day. Not ever. Ever.
530ish - Head home.

If I've got a trial in a few weeks or an appeals deadline breathing down my neck, I might work at home an evening here or there or on a weekend (but from home). Other times, relax with the wife and friends or family. Having said all this, I burned long hours to win many trials over the years to get to this point.
Thanks for the interesting write up. What was your background before you became an AUSA?

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Anonymous User
Posts: 428102
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Nov 26, 2022 10:37 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Sat Nov 26, 2022 9:46 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Sat Oct 22, 2022 11:32 pm
Assistant US Attorney. Civil. 10+ years of experience. Not Chicago/LA/NYC/DC/Boston.

9:00 - Reach work.
9-12 - Talk to an FBI agent who won't tell me a damn thing even though I need to know to defend him against a constitutional lawsuit. Bug friends in criminal because law enforcement got sued and I need to understand nuances of criminal procedure. Schedule a deposition in a car accident case. Talk to a forest ranger for an hour while he tries to explain forestry science to me, and pretend I understand.
Lunch - Work through it if I feel like it. Other times, lunch with buddies.
1-530 - Same as morning but the point of this: literally not a dull day. Not ever. Ever.
530ish - Head home.

If I've got a trial in a few weeks or an appeals deadline breathing down my neck, I might work at home an evening here or there or on a weekend (but from home). Other times, relax with the wife and friends or family. Having said all this, I burned long hours to win many trials over the years to get to this point.
Thanks for the interesting write up. What was your background before you became an AUSA?
Private firm, midlaw. Before going fed, I did a lot of local/county/state litigation and really crafted my trial skills there.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428102
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Lawyers: What's Your Typical Day?

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Dec 31, 2022 4:45 pm

AFPD in flyover, usual day:

7:00 wake up- walk dog, get ready for work, prep partner's breakfast.
7:45ish- leave to work
8:20ish- arrive at work; check social media/read newsl have coffee
9:00ish- start going through emails and responding; see if any detention hearing or anything coming up; review case law on something; write motion to suppress or w/e substantive work I'm working on.
12- lunch.
1:00ish- prep further for detention hearing or review case file to see if I need to go to jail.
2:30ish- go to prison and meet with clients or go over to Court for initials or detention hearing. (This part varies a ton- hearing could go on an hour or more; could be way less).
5:00ish- go home.
5:45ish- arrive at home and do things with partner/dog and prep to start again.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
Just kidding ... it's still FREE!


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