Did anyone hated law school but like/ok with being biglaw corporate transaction work? Forum

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Did anyone hated law school but like/ok with being biglaw corporate transaction work?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 09, 2021 10:12 am

I absolutely hate law school -- I'm at a T14 and will be a big law associate after graduation.

I never really understood why law students are so enthusiastic about making arguments about hypos and other BS in law school.

But I understand I'd be working with those same people at the firm and wonder how it would be like.

Anyone hated law school but find biglaw work tolerable than being in law school?

Excellent117

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Re: Did anyone hated law school but like/ok with being biglaw corporate transaction work?

Post by Excellent117 » Tue Mar 09, 2021 1:30 pm

Corporate biglaw work is significantly less interesting than even the blandest law school material, particularly at the junior level (though it doesn't really ever get much better after that).

Anonymous User
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Re: Did anyone hated law school but like/ok with being biglaw corporate transaction work?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 22, 2021 8:54 pm

I hated law school, but love IP litigation. It feels totally different when there are actual stakes on the line and you're up against an adversary (as opposed to fellow law students, who no one really wants to compete with). As you said, it's much less academic in practice. No idea about transactional practice, though.

LegalComedian

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Re: Did anyone hated law school but like/ok with being biglaw corporate transaction work?

Post by LegalComedian » Sun Mar 28, 2021 10:32 am

I have asked several people this exact question and the answer I've gotten almost every time is that MidLaw (50-100ish?) and regional BigLaw (up to 500 concentrated in one regionish?) corporate lawyers love it, true BigLaw lawyers hate it. This is due to a more generalist approach at smaller firms and more responsibility handled early on. Enough folks said this that I changed my aim to this style firm over traditional BigLaw.

LawMaster97

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Re: Did anyone hated law school but like/ok with being biglaw corporate transaction work?

Post by LawMaster97 » Sun Mar 28, 2021 11:03 am

I did not care for law school, but I do like my corporate transactional practice a lot more than law school. I’ve heard that’s a pretty common sentiment.

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Anonymous User
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Re: Did anyone hated law school but like/ok with being biglaw corporate transaction work?

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Mar 28, 2021 2:13 pm

LawMaster97 wrote:
Sun Mar 28, 2021 11:03 am
I did not care for law school, but I do like my corporate transactional practice a lot more than law school. I’ve heard that’s a pretty common sentiment.
Law school is great, because it's a vacation from real life. Other than that, actually doing real work and dealing with real problems is much better than listening to a bunch of clueless people talk about stuff all day.

I went to T14, was okay with law school because it was fairly low-stress. I got to spend lots of time on hobbies and family. Class, with few exceptions, was not that interesting and not that helpful either. I'm now a second-year associate at a West Coast tech firm. The work is very interesting, and has consequences, so that makes it exciting and engaging. The hours and pace are brutal though. In my dreams, there is a world where I continue to do interesting work, but only bill 2200-2400 hours a year. That seems like pure fantasy at this point. Working 200+ billable hours a month, each and every month, for years, takes the fun and joy out of basically anything. But, I'm not sure you get the interesting work without being at a firm that bills hardcore.

I worked before law school, so, looking back, law school was 8 months of being serious and two+ years of chilling. A nice vacation from the real world, which I took full advantage of. Real work though, is real so it is satisfying to do it well.

jake768

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Re: Did anyone hated law school but like/ok with being biglaw corporate transaction work?

Post by jake768 » Sun Mar 28, 2021 2:35 pm

I think is a fairly common sentiment for us transactional folk. I hated law school but love my tax / funds practice. Made it through 6 years as an associate with no doc review or depo prep. Huzzah. In house now.

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