The BigLaw hate buffet Forum

[brotherdarkness]

.

[deebanger]

Aren'y you like a two day old SA?

fuck off dick

[Mal Reynolds]

Aren'y you like a two day old SA?

And this means I can't read a firm's policy and provide a simple answer?

You're more than welcome to. It's just funny is all.

[rad lulz]

Aren'y you like a two day old SA?

fuck off dick

Who the hell are you

[Danger Zone]

Aren'y you like a two day old SA?

You aren't excited to start receiving valuable advice from SAs?

[papercut]

Aren'y you like a two day old SA?

You aren't excited to start receiving valuable advice from SAs?

You guys really are being dicks.

[Danger Zone]

[img]welcometotls.gif

[rad lulz]

.

[rayiner]

okay real talk

what's the point of good grades at a top school if all big law winds up at the nadir of human happiness? All the grumbling and growing and shit-throwing accepted a priori, we're left with: if given the chance to do something else, what's the best way to go? clerkship is just a temporary fix and gov work doesn't pay enough to live and start a family when you have six figure debt. Do we just yearn for the halcyon days, our breaths before the plunge? - or should you just go to an above market firm and get marginally higher net return for your shitty life?

Or is TCR to threaten transfer to whatever school is higher ranked on USNWR that year to get an even bigger scholly and reduce debt? It doesn't seem like this is all that reliable. Or do you just accept that even if you've done well, the best you can do is pretty fucking horrible?

What's the solution for current students (0L's still have a chance to walk away), once we've appropriated the flaw in the paradigm and fully comprehend it's just shit at the large firms? Or is this not about creating solutions but just casting the absurdist production?

For current students, there is no solution. Do your best in law school and commit yourself to the grind. Definitely threaten to transfer if you can. I used to think that was unseemly, only appropriate for TTT's, but I realize in retrospect its not. Every school is just trying to take your money. When you start practicing, be open minded about jobs. Don't chase the Vault rankings just because, especially if you don't want transactional. Don't look down on state gov jobs.

For 0L's, figure out how to take out less debt. I think law school works out okay for most people at a T14. But big law is, statistically, worse than 0L's think, and repaying debt is harder. If you're likely in the group that will regret it for those reasons, don't go. Push schools hard on costs. Don't be little assholes and ask about what courses schools have in animal law. People like that just help perpetuate the bullshit. Choose schools based on money, especially within the T14 and let administrators know.

[rayiner]

okay real talk

what's the point of good grades at a top school if all big law winds up at the nadir of human happiness? All the grumbling and growing and shit-throwing accepted a priori, we're left with: if given the chance to do something else, what's the best way to go? clerkship is just a temporary fix and gov work doesn't pay enough to live and start a family when you have six figure debt. Do we just yearn for the halcyon days, our breaths before the plunge? - or should you just go to an above market firm and get marginally higher net return for your shitty life?

Or is TCR to threaten transfer to whatever school is higher ranked on USNWR that year to get an even bigger scholly and reduce debt? It doesn't seem like this is all that reliable. Or do you just accept that even if you've done well, the best you can do is pretty fucking horrible?

What's the solution for current students (0L's still have a chance to walk away), once we've appropriated the flaw in the paradigm and fully comprehend it's just shit at the large firms? Or is this not about creating solutions but just casting the absurdist production?

Schools with good LRAPs make government possible, and you shouldn't have six figure debt at a school without one.

so you think get a fed clerkship -> apply for government agencies is TCR?

Fedgov is the best possible outcome, and has a six figure salary eventually. When you were talking about gov, I was assuming you were talking about state for 50-60k a year.

State gov pays more than you think.

[spleenworship]

State gov pays more than you think.

This. It usually starts at 50-60, but the experienced people and the supervisors all make about 70-80k, and it keeps going up after that. And after 10 years of paying 10-15% of your "disposable" income you cop dat discharge. Usually there's a private firm afterwards willing to pay you six figures because of your experience and contacts who will get shit done for you/give you work. Or you can just retire after 25-30 of making 100k a year for the last five years and take half that home for doing nothing for the rest of your life.

[jingosaur]

People severely underestimate the value of a pension. I'm sure they'll get taken away by the time our generation gets to retirement age.

I've heard that in many cases, federal government work can be even more hours than working at a private firm, especially if you're on the litigation side for a very high profile case. Is this true?

[spleenworship]

People severely underestimate the value of a pension. I'm sure they'll get taken away by the time our generation gets to retirement age.

I've heard that in many cases, federal government work can be even more hours than working at a private firm, especially if you're on the litigation side for a very high profile case. Is this true?

I think, thanks to firefighters and police (and military on federal side as well) that government pensions are likely to stick around. Voters might decrease bennies and amounts, but they won't disappear. Certainly more likely to be available than social security will be to our generation.

Can't answer your second question. My only federal gov work was crim, not civil.

[thesealocust]

I've heard that in many cases, federal government work can be even more hours than working at a private firm, especially if you're on the litigation side for a very high profile case. Is this true?

There's a big distinction between civil servants hired for bureaucratic rolls (think: employee at a regulatory agency) and political/policy positions (think: congressional staffer, AUSA, etc.). Almost all of the former will be religiously 9 to 5 type jobs, while many (but hardly all) of the latter will ramp up to have very intense work and long hours.

AS AN ASIDE, if there is something that consistently is "even more hours" than working at a private firm of the biglaw variety, it's probably, like, being a submariner. Some stuff in the finance industry.

[A. Nony Mouse]

People severely underestimate the value of a pension. I'm sure they'll get taken away by the time our generation gets to retirement age.

I've heard that in many cases, federal government work can be even more hours than working at a private firm, especially if you're on the litigation side for a very high profile case. Is this true?

Any time you're on a big case that's actually going to trial, you're going to work a lot of hours, whether in private firms or in government.

[jbagelboy]

TSL: thanks, I agree irl just trying to contextualize the dialogue on here. I'm very excited to practice, both this summer, next, and after graduation. I really always did want to become an attorney, and objectively speaking I made good choices to achieve those goals. It's just tough to accept (and not just get all defensive) that those decisions may still not be rewarding careerwise, or that I will become an unhappy person when I start at a firm due to the inevitable demands of the lifestyle. It's good to hear there's still a value, even for the cynical folks, that I'll definitely derive from all the shit we put ourselves through to get here.

[09042014]

okay real talk

what's the point of good grades at a top school if all big law winds up at the nadir of human happiness? All the grumbling and growing and shit-throwing accepted a priori, we're left with: if given the chance to do something else, what's the best way to go? clerkship is just a temporary fix and gov work doesn't pay enough to live and start a family when you have six figure debt. Do we just yearn for the halcyon days, our breaths before the plunge? - or should you just go to an above market firm and get marginally higher net return for your shitty life?

Or is TCR to threaten transfer to whatever school is higher ranked on USNWR that year to get an even bigger scholly and reduce debt? It doesn't seem like this is all that reliable. Or do you just accept that even if you've done well, the best you can do is pretty fucking horrible?

What's the solution for current students (0L's still have a chance to walk away), once we've appropriated the flaw in the paradigm and fully comprehend it's just shit at the large firms? Or is this not about creating solutions but just casting the absurdist production?

[youtube]swPcFyhDMpk[/youtube]

[unc0mm0n1]

People severely underestimate the value of a pension. I'm sure they'll get taken away by the time our generation gets to retirement age.

I've heard that in many cases, federal government work can be even more hours than working at a private firm, especially if you're on the litigation side for a very high profile case. Is this true?

Any time you're on a big case that's actually going to trial, you're going to work a lot of hours, whether in private firms or in government.

This. When I was in JAG a normal work week was between 40-50hrs. But if we had a big case (esp. a murder case) nearing trial we'd work double that.