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Relatively junior associate at a V100, well liked by the partners (if positive feedback is any indicator) and not worried about my job. However, having a hard time swallowing that I spent three years in law school and work 16 hour days just to be treated rudely (and usually unfairly) by certain clients/opposing counsel and can’t open my mouth to respond. Looking to hear if others feel this way and if anyone has helpful advice.

Is it obvious? You make a shit load of money. You signed up for a job where the cons are getting treated like shit and having no life and the pros are making more money than like, 99% of people on earth. Keep that in mind and that should give you perspective and get you through the hard times.

It gets a little bit better as you get more senior. You can draw (some) boundaries and stand up for (certain) things with a bit more confidence. At the end of the day part of the job always entails getting jerked around by clients, pushed around, treated poorly sometimes. Sometimes it helps to remind myself that we all get paid really well to take it sometimes, and our jobs are pretty safe (especially if you are good). Really hard to remember all this at the end of a 16 hour day, so you are definitely not alone. One other tip is to make sure you have one or two fellow associates that you can confide in regarding crappy clients, partners, or opposing counsel — nice little vent session is pretty helpful sometimes.

Like most things in life, confrontation is rarely the best option, particularly if you don't want to escalate a situation.

Re: clients, it's a service profession, so unless their comments are truly egregious, you just let it go. If you have a great relationship with the partner and the comments are awful, you could mention to them

Re: opposing counsel, that's why civil lit largely sucks. Don't take the bait and just maintain composure and move on -- it's their miserable lives making them miserable - doesn't need to be your burden.

You have to take it from clients (tho I'm surprised they aren't dealing with the partners). That's life in a service industry.

But you don't have to take it from opposing counsel.

I’m now on the plaintiffs side and deal with a large array of biglaw partners, mostly equity. I tend to just let the comments roll off. For me, it’s almost never worth it.

Your reputation means a lot and you never know what someone else is going through. That usually gets me through.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 01, 2022 8:58 pm

Relatively junior associate at a V100, well liked by the partners (if positive feedback is any indicator) and not worried about my job. However, having a hard time swallowing that I spent three years in law school and work 16 hour days just to be treated rudely (and usually unfairly) by certain clients/opposing counsel and can’t open my mouth to respond. Looking to hear if others feel this way and if anyone has helpful advice.

I know some areas essentially require the 16 hour days, but not every practice area in big law comes with 16 hour day requirements. And being treated rudely by clients and opposing counsel is NOT standard either (although maybe it is for opposing counsel if you're in litigation). It may be worth exploring a change to a different practice area or firm. You can be doing great in your group but if you're working 16 hour days and being yelled at by clients and the other side, something has to give, and I think there are plenty of practice areas where you can avoid at least one of those things (maybe you'll still get 16 hour days but get treated with respect).