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Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:52 pm
by nycparalegal
What is it about biglaw that you find attractive? Is it the money? Working for corporations?

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:57 pm
by gdane
Nothing makes me want to go to BigLaw. I'd rather put my legal education to helping people and organizations. I'd love to work for the Humane Society of the United States. That or the Justice Department.

Although, if I had to pick one thing about BigLaw that I'd go for it would be the late night office sex!! Hahahaa. I've been watching too many raunchy movies. ha!

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 5:02 pm
by gdane
Hahahaha!!! Besides the fact that your name is incredibly funny, that picture is even funnier!!

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 5:03 pm
by jayn3
I want to wear a suit every day for the rest of my life.

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 5:24 pm
by AmicusCuriae
Depending on the firm and the department, you can end up working on fairly interesting, high-stakes, high-profile stuff. The people you work with are (generally) very intelligent and very driven. On top of that, the money is good.

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 5:36 pm
by Thirteen
Money & post-biglaw career options.

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 6:14 pm
by nealric
I want to wear a suit every day for the rest of my life.
Well, you should avoid biglaw then. Pretty much every firm has gone business casual.


I'm doing biglaw because the type of work I want to do just isn't done by small firms. To the very limited extent that it is, it's done by firms that don't hire new grads.

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:21 pm
by traehekat
A better question may be is there any reason one would want to do BigLaw OTHER than the money?

I believe the general, but perhaps still ignorant, consensus is that you work a ridiculous amount of hours, are put under an enormous amount of stress, and the work itself is mind numbingly boring as an associate.

That said, it is A LOT of money...

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:55 pm
by sckon
Image

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:57 pm
by jwrit07
+1 to scrooge mcduck

I choose BIGLAW because when I graduate I'm going to be close to a quarter-mill in debt

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:58 pm
by 20121109
I want the mula.

Is there a lot of travel opportunities in Big Law? Flying in business class would be rather nice...

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:14 pm
by icehotel
I don't.

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:48 pm
by nycparalegal
nealric wrote:
I want to wear a suit every day for the rest of my life.
Well, you should avoid biglaw then. Pretty much every firm has gone business casual.


I'm doing biglaw because the type of work I want to do just isn't done by small firms. To the very limited extent that it is, it's done by firms that don't hire new grads.
Oh, really. What type of work do you want to do, and how did you decide that you wanted to do this for a career?

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:52 pm
by eberl032
Greed, vain, vanity and wanting to wear $10,000 suits in my office on the 50th floor. (I'm serious)

FIXED

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:53 pm
by wadeny
To pay off loans.

If I could get into a school w/o much debt, then I wouldn't have much incentive for biglaw. While there are a few prestige whores on TLS, I feel most posters either don't understand what biglaw entails or just look to do it to pay off loans, if they're lucky in this economy.

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:53 pm
by valley splitter
Money, Power, and Bitches.

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:53 pm
by avacado111
I love the law. I love litigation. I love the money. I love the lifestyle. It's the best environment for me.

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:56 pm
by valley splitter
eberl032 wrote:Greed, vein, and wanting to wear $10,000 suits in my office on the 50th floor. (I'm serious)
First, it's spelled vain. In that sentence, you want to use the word vanity. But, I agree. Pretty much the same thing here. Plus I want to be doing lines of coke off my hot secretary's ass while I'm doing her doggy style a la Christian Troy (Nip/Tuck).

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:56 pm
by Solerpower
Money, Prestige, Money, Cars, Big Houses, Money.....


Why work long hours in potentially stressful and boring work?

This is a dumb question but i thrive in situations where i look like an ass


So the answer is money, what you can buy with money, and prestige (during or after)

END OF THREAD

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:57 pm
by agentzer0
so that I can live this lifestyle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnoI7Be4VZk

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:57 pm
by ChrisC
eberl032 wrote:Greed, vein, and wanting to wear $10,000 suits in my office on the 50th floor. (I'm serious)
Strong correlation between your avatar and lifestyle ambitions.



I'd only want to work in biglaw for two years tops. Go to great school -> Work in big law for 2 years or so to pay off all debt and save some money -> Use savings + client connections I've hopefully built to start my own solo law practice and hopefully grow it in to a small firm.

At least that's the plan. I'm willing to put up with indentured servitude if I know it's temporary and the end result is the ability to build my own firm the right way.

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:58 pm
by legallybound
The work.

I have a business background and BigLaw works on the largest transactions.

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:58 pm
by TTH
Image


--ImageRemoved--

But alas, it's to provide a stable, secure livelihood for myself and my loving girlfriend so that we can start a family. Booooooring.

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:59 pm
by RVP11
traehekat wrote:A better question may be is there any reason one would want to do BigLaw OTHER than the money?

I believe the general, but perhaps still ignorant, consensus is that you work a ridiculous amount of hours, are put under an enormous amount of stress, and the work itself is mind numbingly boring as an associate.

That said, it is A LOT of money...
The hours aren't THAT much worse than you'll pull at most other law jobs. It's not 80 hours a week for 160k/year vs. 40 hours a week for 80k/year. Generally, it's more like 80 hours a week for 160k/year vs. 60-70 hours a week for 40-60k/year. I don't know for sure about stress levels, but I assure they exist to some extent at smaller firms and in government. Not having to worry as much about billables, of course, would be a plus.

Also, if you want to get quality M&A experience, for example, that work simply isn't available outside of big firms.

Also, for those who don't want to stay in BigLaw: exit opportunities.

In short, BigLaw is desirable for a great many reasons, and undesirable for a few.

And I'm not at all astounded at the relation between people who can't get BigLaw jobs and people who aren't interested in BigLaw jobs. It must be convenient to decide you don't want something for X, Y, and Z reasons when you realize it's not available to you. It's like me telling everyone how I've never really wanted to go to Yale, or walking around after first semester grades telling everyone I didn't want to clerk for SCOTUS anyhow.

Re: Why do you want to work biglaw?

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 11:01 pm
by RVP11
ChrisC wrote:I'd only want to work in biglaw for two years tops. Go to great school -> Work in big law for 2 years or so to pay off all debt and save some money -> Use savings + client connections I've hopefully built to start my own solo law practice and hopefully grow it in to a small firm.
Client connections 2 years out of law school after being at a big firm? You're dreaming.