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I've read in the past that biglaw firms have their own cafeterias, which stay open quite late. ...What are these cafeterias like? Are they 24 hour places? What type of food do they serve? Do most associates eat on-site? How long are meal breaks? Do people often go out and eat instead?

Can you bring your own snacks to the firm? Would it be frowned upon to have like a big candy stash in your office? What is the food etiquette generally like (e.g., eating in office while doing work OK?)? Feel free to discuss anything and everything related to biglaw food and meals.

not an associate, but my impression was that people eat at their desks so that they can bill during lunch?

i think this thread, instead of whatever OP said, should discuss the tax implications of these meals. for the convenience of the employer, amirite?

interested in this too

I eat at my desk sometimes, either go downstairs and pick something up or bring something from home. No one cares, I just close my door so everyone walking past doesn't see me stuffing my face.

Sometimes I have to get out of the office, or someone wants to go to lunch.


Basically, you're an adult. Get your work done and no one will care.

kalvano wrote:I eat at my desk sometimes, either go downstairs and pick something up or bring something from home. No one cares, I just close my door so everyone walking past doesn't see me stuffing my face.

Sometimes I have to get out of the office, or someone wants to go to lunch.


Basically, you're an adult. Get your work done and no one will care.

you got your own office bro as a first year? sick. congrats

jbagelboy wrote:

kalvano wrote:I eat at my desk sometimes, either go downstairs and pick something up or bring something from home. No one cares, I just close my door so everyone walking past doesn't see me stuffing my face.

Sometimes I have to get out of the office, or someone wants to go to lunch.


Basically, you're an adult. Get your work done and no one will care.

you got your own office bro as a first year? sick. congrats

I was fully expecting a Mike Ross cubicle. Then I realized the enormous amount of papers I have to spread out on my desk.

jbagelboy wrote:

kalvano wrote:I eat at my desk sometimes, either go downstairs and pick something up or bring something from home. No one cares, I just close my door so everyone walking past doesn't see me stuffing my face.

Sometimes I have to get out of the office, or someone wants to go to lunch.


Basically, you're an adult. Get your work done and no one will care.

you got your own office bro as a first year? sick. congrats

Totally standard outside of NYC. A shared office is one more indignity you heap upon yourself by deciding to work there. Flee while you still can.

scifiguy wrote:I've read in the past that biglaw firms have their own cafeterias, which stay open quite late. ...What are these cafeterias like? Are they 24 hour places? What type of food do they serve? Do most associates eat on-site? How long are meal breaks? Do people often go out and eat instead?

Can you bring your own snacks to the firm? Would it be frowned upon to have like a big candy stash in your office? What is the food etiquette generally like (e.g., eating in office while doing work OK?)? Feel free to discuss anything and everything related to biglaw food and meals.

Large headquarters type offices often have cafeterias, but it's probably more common across the industry not to.

The cafeterias tend to be pretty nice - firms are privately owned businesses run by people with egos and/or sense of entitlement, so it's not quite "spare no expense" but they're not exactly your middle school lunch room either.

At busy firms, I'd say "sad desk salad" is the norm - even if there's seating space in the cafeteria it's unlikely to be regularly used by the associates, if only because of the unpredictability of the work flow.

At big firms seamless web paid for by the firm and/or client is often an option for associates staying late to work, which can be nice.

thesealocust wrote:

scifiguy wrote:I've read in the past that biglaw firms have their own cafeterias, which stay open quite late. ...What are these cafeterias like? Are they 24 hour places? What type of food do they serve? Do most associates eat on-site? How long are meal breaks? Do people often go out and eat instead?

Can you bring your own snacks to the firm? Would it be frowned upon to have like a big candy stash in your office? What is the food etiquette generally like (e.g., eating in office while doing work OK?)? Feel free to discuss anything and everything related to biglaw food and meals.

Large headquarters type offices often have cafeterias, but it's probably more common across the industry not to.

The cafeterias tend to be pretty nice - firms are privately owned businesses run by people with egos and/or sense of entitlement, so it's not quite "spare no expense" but they're not exactly your middle school lunch room either.

At busy firms, I'd say "sad desk salad" is the norm - even if there's seating space in the cafeteria it's unlikely to be regularly used by the associates, if only because of the unpredictability of the work flow.

At big firms seamless web paid for by the firm and/or client is often an option for associates staying late to work, which can be nice.

This. Keep in mind that unlike outside lunch places, the firm is not trying to make a profit off of your buying a lunch (and unless I'm mistaken the firm can deduct 20% of the expense), so the price of the food is generally fairly good compared to what it would be somewhere else. I generally pay $6-7 for a full meal.

thesealocust wrote: At big firms seamless web paid for by the firm and/or client is often an option for associates staying late to work, which can be nice.

What did you mean by the above, thesealocust?

scifiguy wrote:

thesealocust wrote: At big firms seamless web paid for by the firm and/or client is often an option for associates staying late to work, which can be nice.

What did you mean by the above, thesealocust?

you dont know seamless web? google it

scifiguy wrote:

thesealocust wrote: At big firms seamless web paid for by the firm and/or client is often an option for associates staying late to work, which can be nice.

What did you mean by the above, thesealocust?

At many/most large firms in large markets, if you work past X o'clock and/or have billed Y hours or are working on a non-business day, you can order a meal via seamless web (or local alternative) which will pick up and deliver takeout food from a wide array of restaurants in a reasonable time frame. The firm (or client) will pick up the tab.

Example: A crazy new deal comes in at 4:00 on a Friday. TheSeaLocust is very sad so he presses the "render unto TheSeaLocust bacon-wrapped pineapple" button he has bookmarked and lo, 20 minutes later TheSeaLocust is somewhat less sad.

I only had to order dinner a few times as an SA, but it is pretty fun going downstairs at about 8pm. In my building, there was always a small army of delivery guys waiting in the lobby for the attorneys/hedge fund guys/etc to come down and get their Seamless food.

shock259 wrote:I only had to order dinner a few times as an SA, but it is pretty fun going downstairs at about 8pm. In my building, there was always a small army of delivery guys waiting in the lobby for the attorneys/hedge fund guys/etc to come down and get their Seamless food.

We get it delivered to our individual offices. My firm just employs a small army of internal delivery guys who pick it up from downstairs. Everything to keep those billable minutes ticking.

I've read somewhere that biglaw also provides free taxi service home for associates as well (esp. useful for those long and late-night work sessions where driving home may be dangerous). Is this true of most firms?

I know there are gyms and showers in the firms as well. What about laundry, daycare, a television room, bowling alley, library or recreational/relaxation area? What other interesting things do they provide to keep you guys tethered and comfortable at the office?

Sorry for the random and off-topic questions...I figured since we're discussing biglaw amenities and lifestyle that I might as well throw in a few questions of the sort.

scifiguy wrote:I've read somewhere that biglaw also provides free taxi service home for associates as well (esp. useful for those long and late-night work sessions where driving home may be dangerous). Is this true of most firms?

I know there are gyms and showers in the firms as well. What about laundry, daycare, a television room, bowling alley, library or recreational/relaxation area? What other interesting things do they provide to keep you guys tethered and comfortable at the office?

Sorry for the random and off-topic questions...I figured since we're discussing biglaw amenities and lifestyle that I might as well throw in a few questions of the sort.

im not sure under what circumstances driving would be dangerous yet taxis would be the magic solution. Unless, there's a roving mob looking to destroy your car personally, it's usually in instances where the person would otherwise commute home.

stillwater wrote:

scifiguy wrote:I've read somewhere that biglaw also provides free taxi service home for associates as well (esp. useful for those long and late-night work sessions where driving home may be dangerous). Is this true of most firms?

I know there are gyms and showers in the firms as well. What about laundry, daycare, a television room, bowling alley, library or recreational/relaxation area? What other interesting things do they provide to keep you guys tethered and comfortable at the office?

Sorry for the random and off-topic questions...I figured since we're discussing biglaw amenities and lifestyle that I might as well throw in a few questions of the sort.

im not sure under what circumstances driving would be dangerous yet taxis would be the magic solution. Unless, there's a roving mob looking to destroy your car personally, it's usually in instances where the person would otherwise commute home.

The obvious implication is due to exhaustion, though that's a stretch since the service is available well before exhaustion would be a primary concern. I imagine car services are much more common for people working in cities where public transportation is the de facto choice - it probably originated in NYC. A car service home is much less useful if you're leaving your car at work, neh? And there safety is a real concern (rational or otherwise) since taking the subway/metro/whatever home at 2am is an entirely different animal from driving home at 2am.

To be more responsive, yes car services are real especially at major firms in major markets (and yes it's a shiny black car service, not reimbursement for a cab). That's basically it as far as discussion worthy perks go at most firms - coffee, meals, transportation home, and a comical salary for an untrained law grad. Constant streams of work/billables are too important for you to see something like a true rec room or much emphasis put on spending time engaged in activities which aren't the zealous representation of clients

What sort of coffee does your firm provide TSL?

scifiguy wrote:I've read somewhere that biglaw also provides free taxi service home for associates as well (esp. useful for those long and late-night work sessions where driving home may be dangerous). Is this true of most firms?

I know there are gyms and showers in the firms as well. What about laundry, daycare, a television room, bowling alley, library or recreational/relaxation area? What other interesting things do they provide to keep you guys tethered and comfortable at the office?

Free taxis/car service after 8 at my firm (NYC). Basically, if you stay late enough to get dinner, you can catch a cab home on the firm's dime.

I think your image of firms is a bit off. This places are not Google. They're run by old, conservative partners. I cannot imagine a law firm with a bowling alley in NYC.

Gyms vary. Many firms have them, many don't. Mine does not. Yes to shower and library (every firm has a library). No to laundry, daycare, television room (but there are ~1 million dry cleaners per square block in NYC, so a non-issue). Oh, but we had a "Wellness Room." It was basically just an odd assortment of random furniture in an old office. We joked about it frequently with the associates, none of whom were aware that it existed or what purpose it was actually serving.

Firms want to make you comfortable, yes. But more importantly, they want you to bill. A bowling alley, a TV room, etc are not going to help your billables.

2014 wrote:What sort of coffee does your firm provide TSL?

Don't work for a firm; couldn't tell ya.

thesealocust wrote:

2014 wrote:What sort of coffee does your firm provide TSL?

Don't work for a firm; couldn't tell ya.

Aw I was hoping to gauge how prestigious of a coffee big firms chose

I know this thread is about biglaw and I work for the state, so there is no cafeteria or free coffee or anything, but I just wanted to brag that I have my own corner office with a window! I eat in my office. Usually get a sandwich or salad from down the street.

Void wrote:I know this thread is about biglaw and I work for the state, so there is no cafeteria or free coffee or anything, but I just wanted to brag that I have my own corner office with a window! I eat in my office. Usually get a sandwich or salad from down the street.

big office lawl

2014 wrote:

thesealocust wrote:

2014 wrote:What sort of coffee does your firm provide TSL?

Don't work for a firm; couldn't tell ya.

Aw I was hoping to gauge how prestigious of a coffee big firms chose

I don't know what blend mine uses, but it's top-fucking-notch. It should be a floggable offense to sully it with cream or sugar.