How to let people know you’re using a chunk of vacation Forum

[Anonymous User]

I’m a first year at a V30ish firm. My firm gives 20 vacation days every year. I don’t plan to use any (save for maybe one) until the summer. I have already let my work coordinator know I will be on a family vacation over July 4 weekend and plan on being back in the office the following Wednesday. Because the fourth and fifth are firm holidays, I will only use two days for that trip.

I go to Burning Man every year and was able to pick up a ticket today. Burning Man is an extremely time consuming ordeal and I would like to take two weeks if I do it. I don’t live on the West Coast, and would like to take time before to do a few days in Tahoe and after to decompress and get my head back on straight. Labor Day is also a firm holiday, so I would use nine days for this trip.

I’m well under my alloted days with both trips, but I’m nervous to take/ask for such a large chunk of time. Any advice or thoughts on how to go about this?

For what it’s worth I’m in Lit.

[2013]

I would tell the firm asap. Two weeks is a long time to take off, but, I think it should be fine if you give enough notice. Not everyone will be happy about it, but that’s their problem.

[almondjoy]

I would tell the firm asap. Two weeks is a long time to take off, but, I think it should be fine if you give enough notice. Not everyone will be happy about it, but that’s their problem.

As a counter example, at my firm two weeks is pretty common and no one would bat an eye at that request. Best thing to do is just ask a 2nd/3rd year what’s customary.

[barkschool]

An email and maybe a calendar invite for the time you’re taking off to the people you work with?

[strawberrieee]

An email and maybe a calendar invite for the time you’re taking off to the people you work with?

Not OP but a calendar invite? So every time they look at their calendar that week they are reminded that you're on vacay? I wouldn't want people to keep thinking about me enjoying vacay while they're working their asses off.

[JHP]

I would tell the firm asap. Two weeks is a long time to take off, but, I think it should be fine if you give enough notice. Not everyone will be happy about it, but that’s their problem.

As a counter example, at my firm two weeks is pretty common and no one would bat an eye at that request. Best thing to do is just ask a 2nd/3rd year what’s customary.

Second this. I'm taking 1.5 weeks off and someone told me I should just do the full 2 weeks.
Definitely don't do the calendar invite--I would find that weird and annoying. Does your firm not generally do vacation memos? Just ask someone who's been around for a bit how to circulate the memo.

[RaceJudicata]

I’m risk adverse, so probably wouldn’t have taken a two week vacation as a first year. But you need to start letting people know ASAP. Let the people you work with know the dates you’ll be out, that you’ll provide another reminder closer to date. Then a month or so out, send another reminder, followed by another reminder a few day’s in advance. Should be fine, but need to communicate.

Are you able to check in to email (not necessarily work, but keep eye out for major emergencies) at burning man? If no, that could be bigger issue.

[ghostoftraynor]

I always do 1.5 weeks because 2 feels too long, but I think that's probably mostly mental. As others have said, I'd really just try to get a feel for what is normal in your group. There are always going to be a subset of people that never take anything more than a long weekend, but as long as you aren't a crazy outlier, you should be fine.

Also, don't know when burning man is, but I'd probably give two months notice for anything longer than a few days.

[justanotherlurker]

The answer depends a great deal not only on the firm, but the matters that you're working on. On a big case with a dozen associates that'll be in the middle of two years of discovery? No one will miss you. On a leanly staffed case that has summary judgment briefs due during the two weeks you're gone? A much bigger problem. Trial or deal closing during those two weeks? Unacceptable.

For a two week trip, I'd work your way up the chain to the partner level and get approval. First, check the dates with the mid/senior associate you work most closely with; be sure he/she doesn't see a problem with those dates as compared to the case schedule. (If you're on multiple cases, do this for each case.) Then, ask that mid/senior associate how you should let the partners know: do you tell versus ask; do you tell everyone at once or one-on-one; etc.

Then, follow RaceJudicata's advice -- a month out, send a reminder. The week before, send a reminder.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks everyone! Checking email may be problematic, there is very poor service out in the desert (but I will likely be able to find a WiFi signal a couple of times a day, and only plan to go out to BM W-M afternoon prior to Labor Day/Labor Day). Does anyone have any anecdotes on how people that went to remote places on vacation dealt with that?

[Anonymous User]

The answer depends a great deal not only on the firm, but the matters that you're working on. On a big case with a dozen associates that'll be in the middle of two years of discovery? No one will miss you. On a leanly staffed case that has summary judgment briefs due during the two weeks you're gone? A much bigger problem. Trial or deal closing during those two weeks? Unacceptable.

For a two week trip, I'd work your way up the chain to the partner level and get approval. First, check the dates with the mid/senior associate you work most closely with; be sure he/she doesn't see a problem with those dates as compared to the case schedule. (If you're on multiple cases, do this for each case.) Then, ask that mid/senior associate how you should let the partners know: do you tell versus ask; do you tell everyone at once or one-on-one; etc.

Then, follow RaceJudicata's advice -- a month out, send a reminder. The week before, send a reminder.

This is also entirely firm dependent. Associates regularly get rotated in/out to close deals at my firm for previously announced vacations. At the junior level, no one would even bat an eye If a junior went on vacation during just prior to a deal closing, and I’ve seen it all the way up to senior associates.

[Npret]

No one has an issue with him telling them he’s going to Burning Man? Just curious.

[pfunkera]

No one has an issue with him telling them he’s going to Burning Man? Just curious.

I would not be telling my employer that I am taking two weeks off to go to Burning Man with limited cell service. Especially in your first year when impressions matter.

[BasilHallward]

No one has an issue with him telling them he’s going to Burning Man? Just curious.

I would not be telling my employer that I am taking two weeks off to go to Burning Man with limited cell service. Especially in your first year when impressions matter.

I definitely would not tell a partner that I'm going to Burning Man. Warranted or not, it evokes to mind a certain type of [insert adjectives] millennial who wants to camp out in a faux cult for a week. Hey, but great networking opportunities, as you'll meet a commensurate amount of middle-aged partner burnouts in some of the turnkey camps. Maybe a good source for referrals...

[LBJ's Hair]

No one has an issue with him telling them he’s going to Burning Man? Just curious.

I would never in a million years tell a BigLaw partner "I'm going on vacation for two weeks to do drugs in the desert, oh by the way I'm not going to be checking email." But hey, maybe OP's firm is insanely cool.

[MaxMcMann]

Not in OP's position but never in my life would I say Burning Man. Law isn't working at Google, people are just not as cool about stuff like this.

Would going vague be good? Along the lines of a two weeks camping trip in a remote area with occasional wifi/cell service. I don't think camping is the most typical BigLaw vacation for NY but it seems to have a rep as a normal, healthy activity that is too boring be fodder for judgment.

[Anonymous User]

It must be regional. I'm a relatively new partner in San Francisco. It is normal (although not the most common destination) for attorneys (both partners and associates) to talk about going camping without Internet access over a long weekend or week away. I wouldn't think twice about it, although if it was happening during Burning Man week, I'd probably also infer that that is where the person probably was.

As for whether it'd be a negative to say you were at Burning Man: speaking as a San Franciscan who has never been myself, honestly, I wouldn't automatically draw any negative inferences if someone said that is where they were going (unless there was something about their work or behavior that suggested some sort of problem with improper drug use, I guess). Then again, this question made me realize that I can't remember a time, in more than a decade of practice, in which a junior attorney volunteered to their professional colleagues that that is where they were going. And, in my town, we're probably more open to hearing "I'm out of pocket due to Burning Man and won't have Internet access" than in most other towns.

So I think the advice regarding not volunteering the destination to more senior lawyers is fine. But I also think there isn't anything wrong with a junior associate who is otherwise busy and will hit hours taking two weeks off and making a Burning Man trip part of it, and I wouldn't look askance if I found out where that person was. YMMV especially in other cities. Burning Man is a big part of SF Bay Area culture.

[Anonymous User]

It must be regional. I'm a relatively new partner in San Francisco. It is normal (although not the most common destination) for attorneys (both partners and associates) to talk about going camping without Internet access over a long weekend or week away. I wouldn't think twice about it, although if it was happening during Burning Man week, I'd probably also infer that that is where the person probably was.

As for whether it'd be a negative to say you were at Burning Man: speaking as a San Franciscan who has never been myself, honestly, I wouldn't automatically draw any negative inferences if someone said that is where they were going (unless there was something about their work or behavior that suggested some sort of problem with improper drug use, I guess). Then again, this question made me realize that I can't remember a time, in more than a decade of practice, in which a junior attorney volunteered to their professional colleagues that that is where they were going. And, in my town, we're probably more open to hearing "I'm out of pocket due to Burning Man and won't have Internet access" than in most other towns.

So I think the advice regarding not volunteering the destination to more senior lawyers is fine. But I also think there isn't anything wrong with a junior associate who is otherwise busy and will hit hours taking two weeks off and making a Burning Man trip part of it, and I wouldn't look askance if I found out where that person was. YMMV especially in other cities. Burning Man is a big part of SF Bay Area culture.

Eh. I've lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over two decades. Coachella wouldn't raise eyebrows from my friends, former co-workers in professional services, myself. Burning Man would. I'd politely disagree about Burning Man being a "big part of SF Bay Area culture." It's a "big part of an SF Bay Area subculture," and that subculture engenders a range of reactions.

OP should still go, but if people ask where s/he's going, s/he'd probably be best sticking with "vacation" or "camping." We're lawyers, the psychedelic drugs used at Burning Man are unquestionably illegal, even in the city of San Francisco itself...keep it discreet.

[boredtodeath]

This question gets asked all the time. It's completely firm and practice group-specific. Nobody at my firm would care. I'm in M&A and I've taken two-week vacations and I usually give two weeks notice to the people on my deal teams so we can get someone to cover for me if necessary. Any more lead time and people forget. Your firm may not operate this way. Just ask people you work with.

ETA: You don't need to say you're going to Burning Man, imo. Just say you won't have great internet access where you're going and if people pry say you're camping.

[Npret]

No one has an issue with him telling them he’s going to Burning Man? Just curious.

I would never in a million years tell a BigLaw partner "I'm going on vacation for two weeks to do drugs in the desert, oh by the way I'm not going to be checking email." But hey, maybe OP's firm is insanely cool.

I see a bigger problem with the destination than the time off. OP should be aware of the negative connotations of Burning Man for OPs reputation at the firm.

[ghostoftraynor]

A lot of these responses seem off point. Why would OP possibly say he/she is going to burning man? Just say you are going camping. It's not even a lie.

[Npret]

A lot of these responses seem off point. Why would OP possibly say he/she is going to burning man? Just say you are going camping. It's not even a lie.

OPs first post gave me that idea.

[impactplayer]

If it is a week or longer, you should ideally give three to four weeks of notice and then a gentle reminder the week before the trip. If it is just a day or two, I think one week is fine. You don't need to tell them where you are going - just say you are going on vacation and if they ask, tell them camping. And definitely do NOT send a calendar invite like one poster suggested. That is a terrible idea.

[Anonymous User]

First notice coming four weeks out (for >1 week off) is the rule of thumb at my office too, and another trick used by associates here is to tell people you'll be gone slightly longer than you actually are - e.g. "I will be traveling with limited Internet and cell service, beginning Thursday 6/1 and returning to the office Tuesday 6/13" when your flight out is on Friday the 2nd and you're getting back on Sunday the 11th. You won't get a fire drill right before you leave, and you get the 12th to just clean up emails and do triage before anything is really expected of you.