| Topic Name: |
No Whip-Cracking Task Masters |
| Message Name: |
Hours and Reality? biglaw v. boutique v. PIL |
| Date Posted: |
10/13/2001 |
| In Reply To: |
The thought of working 80 or 90 hours/week in the bowels of some firm's dungeon under the a whip-wielding, jackbooted oppressor doesn't exactly strike me as a pleasant career path (as you can probably tell by my slanted rhetoric). I think I'd rather put a bullet -- or even a rusty pitchfork -- through my head before subjecting myself to that as a career.
Perhaps someone can help me by answering a few questions.
(1) It seems that lawyers on the internet complain quite frequently about the long hours they work and how much they hate it. What is working at a big firm really like? Let's imagine that I hop on the el near my college and take a ride downtown to Kirkland & Ellis, Jenner & Block, or some other similar law firm to view the average associate's day. It it really as horrid as the impression I get from reading these posts? Do lawyers on Vault have the same predilection to exaggerate as the I-bankers seem to have (e.g you should expect to work about 130 hours/week -- just under 19 hours/day, 7 days per week)?
(2) Unlike our friend on the Medical School or Law School? thread, I'm not about to get a job based solely on the amount of money it offers. Life's too short and money too unimportant to make it one's only consideration. What types of legal work offer the best quality of life, which I will interpret as a balance of interesting work, hours worked, pay, office atmosphere, and general satisfaction. I couldn't care less about prestige. Are there general categories can be drawn? For example, is it something like this:
- BIGLAW people are treated like pack animals but given a salary to compensate for the fact that they work 169 hours/week (oh, wait, that's what I'd see on the banking boards).
- In-house lawyers get smaller checks but a better quality of life (no whip lesions, etc.)
- Govt. lawyers get terrible pay, terrible quality of life, and only God knows why they do it (that's just my impression from Vault).
- Public interest lawyers don't get paid, live off welfare and bread crumbs meant for the pigeons, but are truly content knowing that they are performing acts of good for the betterment of our society.
As you can see, I have a pretty distorted, hyperbolic view of the profession. I'd appreciate any help in straightening that out.
Thanks. |
| Message: |
I can only speak from the public interest, boutique (15) and now little biglaw (250+ but with market salary) perspectives.
I think a key concept is the billed hours to worked hours ratio. I calculate this for me from .67 to .75. I.e. 12 hour workday = 8-9 real billable hours. Different firms have different policies. Sometimes I eat more becuase of distractions and firm demands, presentation, research that is not billable and pride on projects that take longer than I thought.
I see most of fellow colleagues in litigation succeed on 12-13 hour days, but at trial time it could go higher.
I work (IP transactional, patent, lit support), on average work 11-12 hours (8-8) a day and a couple of saturdays. However, the transactional lawyer workday depends a lot on productivity, and litigtion is more continuous. The more efficient your time as a transaction the higher billing hours to hours worked ratio. Special projects that are die may require me to cancel non-essential vacations or non-crucial events. I work for very non demanding partners, but I know what they are thinking when I am slow getting work done. If I am involved I get treated quite well, but not 100% of the time.
The 60-65 work week is a bit light for biglaw assocaites, but becuase of my speciality, the 1900 requirement is also a bit low.
I do not overwork for my salary and generally don't compain. However, long hours requires:
(1) good time management
(2) prioritizing relationships
(3) minimizing non-essential activities at work
(4) stress management: exercise, yoga, art, etc.
Boutique was the best lifestyle and pay was not bad (65% of biglaw), but was the most financially unstable. A shift in clients or associates made things uneasy. If you are going to a boutique check out the business plan and the finances if you can.
Public Interest was depressing, albeit rewarding. I could do it in NYC becuase I had no loans.
I got sick of my clients not caring when I did, colleagues committing malpractice, and trying to practice law with NO resources (I served papers myself for example). I was in a courtroom right away, but when I was done with PIL no biglaw would talk to me, only boutiques (disability, small civil, etc). I left work at 5-5:30 every day and that was AFTER my coworkers.
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