increased drinking in biglaw Forum

[jotarokujo]

did you guys find your alcohol use went up going from law school to biglaw? stress could be one of many reasons for an increase, and there's certainly a stereotype

[feminist.supporter]

It's funny how we self-justify behaviors.

There is a deep sense of satisfaction and mysticism in living a sober life - confronting the harshness of the fabric of life itself without any substance.

[Anonymous User]

I said less, but I also drank an excessive amount in college and slightly less in law school, so I don’t think it is physically possible for me to drink more now.

[Anonymous User]

I said less, but I also drank an excessive amount in college and slightly less in law school, so I don’t think it is physically possible for me to drink more now.

Same boat. I drank a ton in undergrad and law school and now cannot physically drink that much without having death hangovers for days after.

[Anonymous User]

Weird because I’ve actually come across more health freaks at my firm than people looking to socialize a lot (with alcohol).

Of course that doesn’t mean said health freaks aren’t throwing back a few every day and there is clearly a substance abuse problem in big law, but has been interesting to see there are healthy big law attorneys out there, and quite a lot!

[jotarokujo]

Weird because I’ve actually come across more health freaks at my firm than people looking to socialize a lot (with alcohol).

Of course that doesn’t mean said health freaks aren’t throwing back a few every day and there is clearly a substance abuse problem in big law, but has been interesting to see there are healthy big law attorneys out there, and quite a lot!

yeah im kinda pleasantly surprised at the low percentage of "more". maybe biglaw isn't as bad as people make it out to be on average - certainly some negatives are overblown

[Anonymous User]

Weird because I’ve actually come across more health freaks at my firm than people looking to socialize a lot (with alcohol).

Of course that doesn’t mean said health freaks aren’t throwing back a few every day and there is clearly a substance abuse problem in big law, but has been interesting to see there are healthy big law attorneys out there, and quite a lot!

Yeah I’m curious about overall trends by generation too. I drink less now and am generally concerned more with living healthy. I wonder if younger people now are just more conscious of that. I still drink socially, but it’s pretty light and casual. Occasional relaxation beer every now and then while watching a show or reading.

[theswisswereright]

I didn't really drink at all in school. I certainly do now. Sometimes it's the only way I can calm down after I finish work. This is not a good thing.

[nixy]

Weird because I’ve actually come across more health freaks at my firm than people looking to socialize a lot (with alcohol).

Of course that doesn’t mean said health freaks aren’t throwing back a few every day and there is clearly a substance abuse problem in big law, but has been interesting to see there are healthy big law attorneys out there, and quite a lot!

yeah im kinda pleasantly surprised at the low percentage of "more". maybe biglaw isn't as bad as people make it out to be on average - certainly some negatives are overblown

Or maybe people are working too many hours to spend much time drinking.

[jotarokujo]

Weird because I’ve actually come across more health freaks at my firm than people looking to socialize a lot (with alcohol).

Of course that doesn’t mean said health freaks aren’t throwing back a few every day and there is clearly a substance abuse problem in big law, but has been interesting to see there are healthy big law attorneys out there, and quite a lot!

yeah im kinda pleasantly surprised at the low percentage of "more". maybe biglaw isn't as bad as people make it out to be on average - certainly some negatives are overblown

Or maybe people are working too many hours to spend much time drinking.

could be some of that but on balance it probably reflects positively on biglaw that not many people said "more" given how much drinking is pushed in your face in biglaw

also, drinking in law school wasn't so much a function of free time for the most part, it was a function of stress

[Sporty1911]

As a big law junior, I only drink socially now on a weekend here and there, mainly because it’s just not possible to do this job while being hungover. I don’t know how other people are able to do it. But when I’m hungover, my brain just stops working, which is not great for a job where you need your brain all day.

[Anonymous User]

Don't even know how ppl can function if they drink excessively in biglaw.

I'd be curious re OP's question in re hard drugs. Was shocked by how many ppl at my former v10, pre-covid, would do this socially.

[Anonymous User]

Don't even know how ppl can function if they drink excessively in biglaw.

I'd be curious re OP's question in re hard drugs. Was shocked by how many ppl at my former v10, pre-covid, would do this socially.

wtf please say more

[nixy]

Weird because I’ve actually come across more health freaks at my firm than people looking to socialize a lot (with alcohol).

Of course that doesn’t mean said health freaks aren’t throwing back a few every day and there is clearly a substance abuse problem in big law, but has been interesting to see there are healthy big law attorneys out there, and quite a lot!

yeah im kinda pleasantly surprised at the low percentage of "more". maybe biglaw isn't as bad as people make it out to be on average - certainly some negatives are overblown

Or maybe people are working too many hours to spend much time drinking.

could be some of that but on balance it probably reflects positively on biglaw that not many people said "more" given how much drinking is pushed in your face in biglaw

also, drinking in law school wasn't so much a function of free time for the most part, it was a function of stress

What do you mean by drinking being pushed in your face in biglaw? Unless you’re talking about SA social events, I think that’s exaggerated, or at the very least, very firm (and probably practice group) dependent.

And law school definitely has more free time and less stress than biglaw (than most law jobs, in fact). Maybe with the exception of PT students also working full time.

(Also, I think people just generally drink less as they get older.)

But really I’m just not sure that “no, I don’t drink more in biglaw than I did before” means the negatives of biglaw are overblown. I think there are a bunch of dots to connect between those two statements.

[jotarokujo]

Weird because I’ve actually come across more health freaks at my firm than people looking to socialize a lot (with alcohol).

Of course that doesn’t mean said health freaks aren’t throwing back a few every day and there is clearly a substance abuse problem in big law, but has been interesting to see there are healthy big law attorneys out there, and quite a lot!

yeah im kinda pleasantly surprised at the low percentage of "more". maybe biglaw isn't as bad as people make it out to be on average - certainly some negatives are overblown

Or maybe people are working too many hours to spend much time drinking.

could be some of that but on balance it probably reflects positively on biglaw that not many people said "more" given how much drinking is pushed in your face in biglaw

also, drinking in law school wasn't so much a function of free time for the most part, it was a function of stress

What do you mean by drinking being pushed in your face in biglaw? Unless you’re talking about SA social events, I think that’s exaggerated, or at the very least, very firm (and probably practice group) dependent.

And law school definitely has more free time and less stress than biglaw (than most law jobs, in fact). Maybe with the exception of PT students also working full time.

(Also, I think people just generally drink less as they get older.)

But really I’m just not sure that “no, I don’t drink more in biglaw than I did before” means the negatives of biglaw are overblown. I think there are a bunch of dots to connect between those two statements.

at the very least it means alcohol abuse caused by big law is not ridiculously common. i don't think that the people saying "less" WISH they could drink more for the most part

[nixy]

I mean, define "ridiculously common." Over one third of people answering said they're drinking more. Obviously 66 anonymous people on the internet isn't a scientific sample or anything, but I don't think this makes biglaw look better than the other complaints on this site would suggest.

[Anonymous User]

I drink less in biglaw because my hangovers are terrible nowadays and I don’t have time to waste a day hungover.

[Anonymous User]

Don't even know how ppl can function if they drink excessively in biglaw.

I'd be curious re OP's question in re hard drugs. Was shocked by how many ppl at my former v10, pre-covid, would do this socially.

wtf please say more

Not surprised. Honestly drugs are superior to alcohol in many ways (no calories, no hangover, cheaper).

[whats an updog]

Don't even know how ppl can function if they drink excessively in biglaw.

I'd be curious re OP's question in re hard drugs. Was shocked by how many ppl at my former v10, pre-covid, would do this socially.

wtf please say more

Not surprised. Honestly drugs are superior to alcohol in many ways (no calories, no hangover, cheaper).

it's surprising to me. in my time at the firm i have never heard of anyone in my office admit to doing hard drugs let alone do them in a situation where it could be discovered by others. i don't even think ive ever heard of anyone admitting to smoking weed and it's legal in my state. not that people aren't doing both or either, just definitely not "socially"

[Anonymous User]

Don't even know how ppl can function if they drink excessively in biglaw.

I'd be curious re OP's question in re hard drugs. Was shocked by how many ppl at my former v10, pre-covid, would do this socially.

wtf please say more

Not surprised. Honestly drugs are superior to alcohol in many ways (no calories, no hangover, cheaper).

it's surprising to me. in my time at the firm i have never heard of anyone in my office admit to doing hard drugs let alone do them in a situation where it could be discovered by others. i don't even think ive ever heard of anyone admitting to smoking weed and it's legal in my state. not that people aren't doing both or either, just definitely not "socially"

That's a good point, though recently more younger (and mid-level) associates at my V5 are openly talking about smoking weed. I guess I mean "socially" as in socially in your personal life, not with co-workers.

It also depends on practice area. I have heard my firm's real estate practice had some wild parties where the first year literally called his dealer to the bar to deliver coke.

[nealric]

I was never one to pound down liquor by myself in large quantities. With the biglaw timesuck, I found I just didn't have that much time to go out with friends and drink. Even at home, it was hard enough to find enough hours to sleep. A lot of times I just wanted to hit the pillow as soon as walking in the door- drinking would have made my sleep even worse.

It boils down to whether you have a tendency to use alcohol as a solo self-medication thing, or if it's a social thing for you. If the former, you need to watch out, as biglaw can be isolating/depressing. If it's a social thing, your drinking may be limited to mostly firm events and very occasional nights out.

[Anonymous User]

I started drinking at night as a junior associate so I could get my mind off my cases and fall asleep. Super bad habit that's only been trouble since then. Especially since my hangovers have become progressively worse over the years.

[Anonymous User]

I do a little more casual drinking to unwind, but if I drank like I did in law school and undergrad I would die lol. Age + biglaw stress = no more going hard.

[jotarokujo]

I do a little more casual drinking to unwind, but if I drank like I did in law school and undergrad I would die lol. Age + biglaw stress = no more going hard.

true after like 31-32 it starts to get hard to heavily drink

[Anonymous User]

Don't even know how ppl can function if they drink excessively in biglaw.

I'd be curious re OP's question in re hard drugs. Was shocked by how many ppl at my former v10, pre-covid, would do this socially.

wtf please say more

Not surprised. Honestly drugs are superior to alcohol in many ways (no calories, no hangover, cheaper).

it's surprising to me. in my time at the firm i have never heard of anyone in my office admit to doing hard drugs let alone do them in a situation where it could be discovered by others. i don't even think ive ever heard of anyone admitting to smoking weed and it's legal in my state. not that people aren't doing both or either, just definitely not "socially"

Am first quoted anon. I guess it is because you are not *cool* enough

FWIW, I would hear about this occurring at firm events / the afterparties of firm events.