Becoming a Lawyer - Page 2

SBR · #11 08-01-2006, 10:14 PM

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I'm going to guess those that really hate working for Big Law work for firms that require their associates to work 2200-2400+ billable per year in exchange for $140K. It is possible to find Big Law firms in smaller cities that require 1900 billable for $100K. You'll find the lawyers there are by and large pretty happy, but even at that billable level, there is burnout. Still, big difference between 1900 and 2400.

It all depends on how high you want to go and what life/work balance you want. In no case is it 9 to 5 however.

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Isn't 2400 a year only 50 hours a week? I was under the impression most lawyers worked more than that. Or are billable hours a lot less than actual hours?

miajag · #12 08-01-2006, 10:15 PM

Billable is a lot less than actual.

burningyen · #13 08-01-2006, 10:36 PM

I suggest you go post here. And for anyone to give you advice, you're going to have to give more info on what sort of person you are and what you want to get out of life.

MrMon · #14 08-02-2006, 01:27 AM

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Billable is a lot less than actual.

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On a good day, 80% of your time in the office is billable. On a bad day 30%. Have a bad month, and it's tough to get back on track without a lot of late nights and weekends.

ElliotR · #15 08-02-2006, 08:44 AM

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read this forum. link

Unless you are going to an Ivy League law school and/or have close connections to the legal community, going to law school is a - EV proposition IMO.

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Um, no. But going to law school if you don't really know that you want to practice is definitely a bad idea.

chadplusplus · #16 08-02-2006, 10:13 AM

Um, as mentioned before, the hours/demands of a big firm corporate lawyer suck.

To chime in from a different angle... I went to law school with the intention of working for a big firm. During my second year, I picked up a job with a small plaintiff's firm and I am still there today. The "firm" consists of 3 full time lawyers and 3 full time secretaries (and a fourth lawyer from Pittsburgh who meets with clients down here once in a while as an excuse to go kayaking).

My typical schedule, if I don't have court, consists of getting to work sometime between 9:30 and 11:00, returning all my messages, shooting the bull with the other 2 lawyers when they come in, answer the phone some more, meet with a client or two, tell the secretary how to draft a pleading, read 2+2 or maybe play some poker, review the pleading and make any necessary changes, make some more phone calls, then go play golf. However, I do have days where I have 3-5 pleadings due in the next several days which are substantively complicated, so I actually have to draft them myself. These days are more like: get to work at 8, draft pleadings all day while yelling at my secretary, ignore my phone, yell at my secretary some more, draft more pleadings, and leave around 8 that evening. Get up next day and repeat.

Of course, I make less than what my peers do at a "big firm", but I still make very good money. I graduated 16th in my class and probably could have went to a big firm, but the more I heard about them, and the longer I clerked here, the better the small office looked and, contrary to the setiments of most of the big firm guys, I actually like it. There was that phase just after being admitted where I felt like I was drowning, but I got over it and now thoroughly enjoy my day.

buriedbeds · #17 08-02-2006, 10:26 AM

I'm in the thinking of going to law school boat and I'm wondering what people with experience think of my current plan. Basically, I'm currently working at a job I don't loathe, so I'm planing to keep working here (knock on wood... [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] ) while studying for the September lsat. Then I'm thinking that starting this september I'll take 2 law-related classes at a local community college for some exposure to the field (not because I can't go to a "real" school, but because I need something I could do easily at night while continuing to work; I had pretty good numbers in college and I have so far on my lsat practice tests so I think I'll get in somewhere decent). The classes I'm thinking I'll take are a civil litigation intro course and a legal research course. Then after the semester I'll try to find a job as a paralegal and do that until I would go back to school, or until I realize that it's something I hate and don't want to do at all.

Thoughts?

Thanks-

-bb.

edit: me write good.

robber baron · #18 08-02-2006, 10:38 AM

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[ QUOTE ]
read this forum. link

Unless you are going to an Ivy League law school and/or have close connections to the legal community, going to law school is a - EV proposition IMO.

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Um, no. But going to law school if you don't really know that you want to practice is definitely a bad idea.

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Okay . . . How do you have perspective on any field until you actually practice in it? I went to law school thinking I wanted to be a litigator. After graduation I went to a plaintiff's PI law firm. Guess what - the pay sucked, the worked sucked. I could barely pay my bills. I live in NYC however, so your results may vary.

In NYC its basically 1000 lawyers chasing the same nickel. Unless you're the cream of the crop or mommy or daddy land you a plum position after law school, you are basically leading a miserable existence after LS.

AAAA · #19 08-02-2006, 10:39 AM

how old are you? you might find it takes a while to get through law school if you don't go pretty full time, but working as a paralegal sounds like it will give you a great idea of what you like or don't like in a law office.

one warning, if law school is similar to real estate school, what you learn in school will be very different from the day to day normal business after school. They seem to use school to exclude people who don't fit the mold rather than actually teach things that matter in most common situations. quite a few hoops to jump through.

robber baron · #20 08-02-2006, 10:44 AM

BB,

You will love law school. It is intellectually stimulating and if you have a philosophical, political bent you will enjoy a good percentage of your classes. However, law school and law practice are completely different animals. I don't know where you live but if its in a major east coast city or So Cal, the market is very bad for JDs.

DO NOT go into a law career thinking that its going to be your ticket to instant riches.

Feel free to PM me if you want any practical advice.