Law School Discussion Forums
https://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/
https://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=314758
NYC is the absolute worst. I cannot imagine being a lawyer without my own office. That’s what this post is about right, not literally sharing a desk?Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 10:42 amAny NYC firms now doing desk sharing? Sounds terrible. Curious if any places have gone to this? Seems like from Fishbowl it's a thing in a couple places. Maybe for juniors only?
No a couple firms supposedly are like “hoteling” now where you aren’t assigned a permanent desk. Like how Big4 accounting is. I think the “norm” is for very junior lawyers to share an officeAnonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 3:50 pmNYC is the absolute worst. I cannot imagine being a lawyer without my own office. That’s what this post is about right, not literally sharing a desk?Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 10:42 amAny NYC firms now doing desk sharing? Sounds terrible. Curious if any places have gone to this? Seems like from Fishbowl it's a thing in a couple places. Maybe for juniors only?
Wow, y’all need to get out of that dump of a city. Tons of market parking options outside of NYC now. Truly don’t understand why any litigator would want to be in NYC. I guess for corporate it’s tougher to give it up.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 4:00 pmNo a couple firms supposedly are like “hoteling” now where you aren’t assigned a permanent desk. Like how Big4 accounting is. I think the “norm” is for very junior lawyers to share an officeAnonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 3:50 pmNYC is the absolute worst. I cannot imagine being a lawyer without my own office. That’s what this post is about right, not literally sharing a desk?Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 10:42 amAny NYC firms now doing desk sharing? Sounds terrible. Curious if any places have gone to this? Seems like from Fishbowl it's a thing in a couple places. Maybe for juniors only?
Most people like sharing offices. Hoteling, on the other hand, is terrible because it’s mentally unsettling. Every week is uncertainty about where you’ll sit. Cube farms or bull pens can be ok with the right mix of people but it’s too loud.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 9:14 pmWow, y’all need to get out of that dump of a city. Tons of market parking options outside of NYC now. Truly don’t understand why any litigator would want to be in NYC. I guess for corporate it’s tougher to give it up.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 4:00 pmNo a couple firms supposedly are like “hoteling” now where you aren’t assigned a permanent desk. Like how Big4 accounting is. I think the “norm” is for very junior lawyers to share an officeAnonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 3:50 pmNYC is the absolute worst. I cannot imagine being a lawyer without my own office. That’s what this post is about right, not literally sharing a desk?Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 10:42 amAny NYC firms now doing desk sharing? Sounds terrible. Curious if any places have gone to this? Seems like from Fishbowl it's a thing in a couple places. Maybe for juniors only?
In my experience coming out of private sector that did hoteling, most people greatly preferred hoteling than sharing an office. And hoteling makes a lot of sense when you work from home 2-3x a week. Go to most young peoples offices and they dont really have it decorated or with lots of paper around. Most stuff is all on the computer. Working out of starbucks or a hotel room or a home office or whatever is all interchangeable, most young attorneys have a pretty weak mental connection with an actual, physical office space that they need to think of as "their office". I think its more the older attorneys who put in their custom desk and rug that scream about it.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2023 9:51 amMost people like sharing offices. Hoteling, on the other hand, is terrible because it’s mentally unsettling. Every week is uncertainty about where you’ll sit. Cube farms or bull pens can be ok with the right mix of people but it’s too loud.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 9:14 pmWow, y’all need to get out of that dump of a city. Tons of market parking options outside of NYC now. Truly don’t understand why any litigator would want to be in NYC. I guess for corporate it’s tougher to give it up.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 4:00 pmNo a couple firms supposedly are like “hoteling” now where you aren’t assigned a permanent desk. Like how Big4 accounting is. I think the “norm” is for very junior lawyers to share an officeAnonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 3:50 pmNYC is the absolute worst. I cannot imagine being a lawyer without my own office. That’s what this post is about right, not literally sharing a desk?Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 10:42 amAny NYC firms now doing desk sharing? Sounds terrible. Curious if any places have gone to this? Seems like from Fishbowl it's a thing in a couple places. Maybe for juniors only?
I guess hoteling could be good if you take over an area with your friends (assuming they are on the ball with scheduling the desks) and stay away from the dreaded partners. But for me, given the lack of routine in the job and the 4 days a week in the office, I’d probably lateral if my firm switched to hoteling.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2023 10:35 amIn my experience coming out of private sector that did hoteling, most people greatly preferred hoteling than sharing an office. And hoteling makes a lot of sense when you work from home 2-3x a week. Go to most young peoples offices and they dont really have it decorated or with lots of paper around. Most stuff is all on the computer. Working out of starbucks or a hotel room or a home office or whatever is all interchangeable, most young attorneys have a pretty weak mental connection with an actual, physical office space that they need to think of as "their office". I think its more the older attorneys who put in their custom desk and rug that scream about it.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2023 9:51 amMost people like sharing offices. Hoteling, on the other hand, is terrible because it’s mentally unsettling. Every week is uncertainty about where you’ll sit. Cube farms or bull pens can be ok with the right mix of people but it’s too loud.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 9:14 pmWow, y’all need to get out of that dump of a city. Tons of market parking options outside of NYC now. Truly don’t understand why any litigator would want to be in NYC. I guess for corporate it’s tougher to give it up.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 4:00 pmNo a couple firms supposedly are like “hoteling” now where you aren’t assigned a permanent desk. Like how Big4 accounting is. I think the “norm” is for very junior lawyers to share an officeAnonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 3:50 pmNYC is the absolute worst. I cannot imagine being a lawyer without my own office. That’s what this post is about right, not literally sharing a desk?Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 10:42 amAny NYC firms now doing desk sharing? Sounds terrible. Curious if any places have gone to this? Seems like from Fishbowl it's a thing in a couple places. Maybe for juniors only?
sure but the downside with sharing a permanent office is also not very big, and imo is typically smaller than the downside with hoteling. Sure, young folks don't put a ton of decorations, but even the most anti-connection/personal life at firm people will have photos of their family in their office or something.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2023 10:35 amIn my experience coming out of private sector that did hoteling, most people greatly preferred hoteling than sharing an office. And hoteling makes a lot of sense when you work from home 2-3x a week. Go to most young peoples offices and they dont really have it decorated or with lots of paper around. Most stuff is all on the computer. Working out of starbucks or a hotel room or a home office or whatever is all interchangeable, most young attorneys have a pretty weak mental connection with an actual, physical office space that they need to think of as "their office". I think its more the older attorneys who put in their custom desk and rug that scream about it.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2023 9:51 amMost people like sharing offices. Hoteling, on the other hand, is terrible because it’s mentally unsettling. Every week is uncertainty about where you’ll sit. Cube farms or bull pens can be ok with the right mix of people but it’s too loud.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 9:14 pmWow, y’all need to get out of that dump of a city. Tons of market parking options outside of NYC now. Truly don’t understand why any litigator would want to be in NYC. I guess for corporate it’s tougher to give it up.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 4:00 pmNo a couple firms supposedly are like “hoteling” now where you aren’t assigned a permanent desk. Like how Big4 accounting is. I think the “norm” is for very junior lawyers to share an officeAnonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 3:50 pmNYC is the absolute worst. I cannot imagine being a lawyer without my own office. That’s what this post is about right, not literally sharing a desk?Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 10:42 amAny NYC firms now doing desk sharing? Sounds terrible. Curious if any places have gone to this? Seems like from Fishbowl it's a thing in a couple places. Maybe for juniors only?
Sharing an office is a joke. There is no way to justify it. I would way rather hotel and at least get my own office when I’m working.jotarokujo wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 11:51 amsure but the downside with sharing a permanent office is also not very big, and imo is typically smaller than the downside with hoteling. Sure, young folks don't put a ton of decorations, but even the most anti-connection/personal life at firm people will have photos of their family in their office or something.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2023 10:35 amIn my experience coming out of private sector that did hoteling, most people greatly preferred hoteling than sharing an office. And hoteling makes a lot of sense when you work from home 2-3x a week. Go to most young peoples offices and they dont really have it decorated or with lots of paper around. Most stuff is all on the computer. Working out of starbucks or a hotel room or a home office or whatever is all interchangeable, most young attorneys have a pretty weak mental connection with an actual, physical office space that they need to think of as "their office". I think its more the older attorneys who put in their custom desk and rug that scream about it.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2023 9:51 amMost people like sharing offices. Hoteling, on the other hand, is terrible because it’s mentally unsettling. Every week is uncertainty about where you’ll sit. Cube farms or bull pens can be ok with the right mix of people but it’s too loud.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 9:14 pmWow, y’all need to get out of that dump of a city. Tons of market parking options outside of NYC now. Truly don’t understand why any litigator would want to be in NYC. I guess for corporate it’s tougher to give it up.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 4:00 pmNo a couple firms supposedly are like “hoteling” now where you aren’t assigned a permanent desk. Like how Big4 accounting is. I think the “norm” is for very junior lawyers to share an officeAnonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 3:50 pmNYC is the absolute worst. I cannot imagine being a lawyer without my own office. That’s what this post is about right, not literally sharing a desk?Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 10:42 amAny NYC firms now doing desk sharing? Sounds terrible. Curious if any places have gone to this? Seems like from Fishbowl it's a thing in a couple places. Maybe for juniors only?
sharing an office is a joke but hoteling is even more of a joke is what I'm trying to get at. The only humane thing is of course having your own office. I'm saying if firms must choose one of these space saving measures (which if they do, they are incompetent), sharing is better. Hoteling means moving all of your books, documents, tech stuff, etc, not knowing where you sit, not building any community on your floor etc. With sharing you may at least build a connection with your office mate. If your officemate is particularly bad then that is worse than hoteling but on average it's notAnonymous User wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 2:32 pmSharing an office is a joke. There is no way to justify it. I would way rather hotel and at least get my own office when I’m working.jotarokujo wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 11:51 amsure but the downside with sharing a permanent office is also not very big, and imo is typically smaller than the downside with hoteling. Sure, young folks don't put a ton of decorations, but even the most anti-connection/personal life at firm people will have photos of their family in their office or something.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2023 10:35 amIn my experience coming out of private sector that did hoteling, most people greatly preferred hoteling than sharing an office. And hoteling makes a lot of sense when you work from home 2-3x a week. Go to most young peoples offices and they dont really have it decorated or with lots of paper around. Most stuff is all on the computer. Working out of starbucks or a hotel room or a home office or whatever is all interchangeable, most young attorneys have a pretty weak mental connection with an actual, physical office space that they need to think of as "their office". I think its more the older attorneys who put in their custom desk and rug that scream about it.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2023 9:51 amMost people like sharing offices. Hoteling, on the other hand, is terrible because it’s mentally unsettling. Every week is uncertainty about where you’ll sit. Cube farms or bull pens can be ok with the right mix of people but it’s too loud.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 9:14 pmWow, y’all need to get out of that dump of a city. Tons of market parking options outside of NYC now. Truly don’t understand why any litigator would want to be in NYC. I guess for corporate it’s tougher to give it up.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 4:00 pmNo a couple firms supposedly are like “hoteling” now where you aren’t assigned a permanent desk. Like how Big4 accounting is. I think the “norm” is for very junior lawyers to share an officeAnonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 3:50 pm
NYC is the absolute worst. I cannot imagine being a lawyer without my own office. That’s what this post is about right, not literally sharing a desk?
I think everybody works for different reasons. I do it for the paycheck, I am not there to make a connection with my office mate. For me, I'd rather hotel than share an office. I think the only exception would be if it is with a junior, as for them it could be helpful to have someone on speeddial.jotarokujo wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 2:43 pmsharing an office is a joke but hoteling is even more of a joke is what I'm trying to get at. The only humane thing is of course having your own office. I'm saying if firms must choose one of these space saving measures (which if they do, they are incompetent), sharing is better. Hoteling means moving all of your books, documents, tech stuff, etc, not knowing where you sit, not building any community on your floor etc. With sharing you may at least build a connection with your office mate. If your officemate is particularly bad then that is worse than hoteling but on average it's notAnonymous User wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 2:32 pmSharing an office is a joke. There is no way to justify it. I would way rather hotel and at least get my own office when I’m working.jotarokujo wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 11:51 amsure but the downside with sharing a permanent office is also not very big, and imo is typically smaller than the downside with hoteling. Sure, young folks don't put a ton of decorations, but even the most anti-connection/personal life at firm people will have photos of their family in their office or something.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2023 10:35 amIn my experience coming out of private sector that did hoteling, most people greatly preferred hoteling than sharing an office. And hoteling makes a lot of sense when you work from home 2-3x a week. Go to most young peoples offices and they dont really have it decorated or with lots of paper around. Most stuff is all on the computer. Working out of starbucks or a hotel room or a home office or whatever is all interchangeable, most young attorneys have a pretty weak mental connection with an actual, physical office space that they need to think of as "their office". I think its more the older attorneys who put in their custom desk and rug that scream about it.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2023 9:51 amMost people like sharing offices. Hoteling, on the other hand, is terrible because it’s mentally unsettling. Every week is uncertainty about where you’ll sit. Cube farms or bull pens can be ok with the right mix of people but it’s too loud.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 9:14 pmWow, y’all need to get out of that dump of a city. Tons of market parking options outside of NYC now. Truly don’t understand why any litigator would want to be in NYC. I guess for corporate it’s tougher to give it up.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 4:00 pm
No a couple firms supposedly are like “hoteling” now where you aren’t assigned a permanent desk. Like how Big4 accounting is. I think the “norm” is for very junior lawyers to share an office
Maybe I'm just a fucking weirdo but its kinda nice to share an office as a junior? We get to commiserate, build off of eachother's connections to classmates/other associates and ask eachother dumb fucking questions. Way easier to off handedly ask someone how to do something basic than turn it into a whole zoom message/zoom call situation.Sad248 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 01, 2023 5:41 pmI think everybody works for different reasons. I do it for the paycheck, I am not there to make a connection with my office mate. For me, I'd rather hotel than share an office. I think the only exception would be if it is with a junior, as for them it could be helpful to have someone on speeddial.jotarokujo wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 2:43 pmsharing an office is a joke but hoteling is even more of a joke is what I'm trying to get at. The only humane thing is of course having your own office. I'm saying if firms must choose one of these space saving measures (which if they do, they are incompetent), sharing is better. Hoteling means moving all of your books, documents, tech stuff, etc, not knowing where you sit, not building any community on your floor etc. With sharing you may at least build a connection with your office mate. If your officemate is particularly bad then that is worse than hoteling but on average it's notAnonymous User wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 2:32 pmSharing an office is a joke. There is no way to justify it. I would way rather hotel and at least get my own office when I’m working.jotarokujo wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 11:51 amsure but the downside with sharing a permanent office is also not very big, and imo is typically smaller than the downside with hoteling. Sure, young folks don't put a ton of decorations, but even the most anti-connection/personal life at firm people will have photos of their family in their office or something.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2023 10:35 amIn my experience coming out of private sector that did hoteling, most people greatly preferred hoteling than sharing an office. And hoteling makes a lot of sense when you work from home 2-3x a week. Go to most young peoples offices and they dont really have it decorated or with lots of paper around. Most stuff is all on the computer. Working out of starbucks or a hotel room or a home office or whatever is all interchangeable, most young attorneys have a pretty weak mental connection with an actual, physical office space that they need to think of as "their office". I think its more the older attorneys who put in their custom desk and rug that scream about it.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2023 9:51 amMost people like sharing offices. Hoteling, on the other hand, is terrible because it’s mentally unsettling. Every week is uncertainty about where you’ll sit. Cube farms or bull pens can be ok with the right mix of people but it’s too loud.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 9:14 pm
Wow, y’all need to get out of that dump of a city. Tons of market parking options outside of NYC now. Truly don’t understand why any litigator would want to be in NYC. I guess for corporate it’s tougher to give it up.
yeah I'm with you, but who you're responding to is right, it's individual and subjective. That said i feel like it's a pretty objective downside to move your plants and office decorations all the time, though I suppose people who prefer hoteling don't care about decorating their officeAnonymous User wrote: ↑Sun Oct 01, 2023 9:52 pmMaybe I'm just a fucking weirdo but its kinda nice to share an office as a junior? We get to commiserate, build off of eachother's connections to classmates/other associates and ask eachother dumb fucking questions. Way easier to off handedly ask someone how to do something basic than turn it into a whole zoom message/zoom call situation.Sad248 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 01, 2023 5:41 pm
I think everybody works for different reasons. I do it for the paycheck, I am not there to make a connection with my office mate. For me, I'd rather hotel than share an office. I think the only exception would be if it is with a junior, as for them it could be helpful to have someone on speeddial.
I suspect a decent chunk of pro-hoteling people rather like having an excuse not to worry about decorating/customizing their officejotarokujo wrote: ↑Sun Oct 01, 2023 9:57 pmyeah I'm with you, but who you're responding to is right, it's individual and subjective. That said i feel like it's a pretty objective downside to move your plants and office decorations all the time, though I suppose people who prefer hoteling don't care about decorating their officeAnonymous User wrote: ↑Sun Oct 01, 2023 9:52 pmMaybe I'm just a fucking weirdo but its kinda nice to share an office as a junior? We get to commiserate, build off of eachother's connections to classmates/other associates and ask eachother dumb fucking questions. Way easier to off handedly ask someone how to do something basic than turn it into a whole zoom message/zoom call situation.Sad248 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 01, 2023 5:41 pm
I think everybody works for different reasons. I do it for the paycheck, I am not there to make a connection with my office mate. For me, I'd rather hotel than share an office. I think the only exception would be if it is with a junior, as for them it could be helpful to have someone on speeddial.
I would never have worked for a firm that did not give me my own office. I can’t believe so many people on here are ok with that. DPW sounds horrendous. Leading the charge back into the office, but also not acquiring proper office space for its own employees? Give me a break.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Sun Oct 01, 2023 6:10 pmAt DPW it is pretty common for associates—even midlevel ones—to have an office mate for the window offices. Often times those who don't have a current office mate will end up sharing an office with a summer associate when they come. Honestly at first I found it annoying, but I liked my office mate and I could ask her questions about the firm software because I didn't pay attention when they went over everything.