Lawyering Through Life

Material Nondisclosure

The first time I remember hearing about it I was eighteen, and working for a successful solo practicioner in my hometown on breaks from college. He spoke of it with a seriousness in his voice that I had never before witnessed. You would think that I would have received some other kind of warning, what with the six intervening years between that time and my first year of law school. But no one told me. Not the parents of friends (who were attorneys), not a guidance counselor, teacher, professor, another student, or even my pre-law advisor. It wasn't until that horrendous first year rumor mill starting running that it came creeping back to mind. All of you law students, lawyers, and countless brave individuals who choose to closely align yourselves with our self-deprecating sect know what I'm talking about: big firm life.

Big Firm Life (BFL), for those of you with little or no exposure to it, is basically a culture that promotes working ridiculously long hours, at a desk, pushing paper, with little to no human interaction and little to no control over the cases you work on. Some of these places even have rooms with cots, and showers and lockers on site. So that you NEVER have to leave. It is SO SCARY. And the weirdest part to me is how all of these young, bright associates buy into this life. They literally ignore not only their loved ones and past lives, but also their basic physical and emotional needs. All in the pursuit of status. Because the money ain't good. Well, not when you consider what they make PER HOUR. But more about that later...

You might wonder how I, as a Law Clerk, know so much about this life. Unfortunately, Hubby, like many bright young law students, was seduced into BFL. He graduated at the top of his class (like TIP top), clerked for a Federal court of Appeals, and joined a big firm. We'll call it LifeSucker. LifeSucker has dominated everything about our first year of marriage. Hubby has cancelled countless dinners, bedtimes, morning wake-up calls, and even trips with me. Not because he is so dedicated to LifeSucker, or BFL, but because he has no choice.

He generally bills 80-100 hour weeks. He works nights. He works weekends. At least 10-20 times in the past year, he has gone to work in the morning (usually about 6:30), worked through the day, the night and the next day. With NO sleep. Like not even 20 minutes. Now you tell me how LifeSucker's clients would feel if they knew that an important motion in thier case was handled by a first year associate who'd been awake for 36 hours? They're not paying the partners big bucks for that kind of a gamble on conciousness. I digress...

The happy news is that Hubby and I are fed up. So fed up that we are considering drastic measures. One option: government work. This is by far the best life a practicing lawyer can have. The problem is pay. But Hubby and I sat down and figured it out. If we live frugally (which is hard after you've been seduced by BFL pay) we can do it. Next problem: lots of lawyers have figured this out. So there is little turnover and lots of competition for the best of these jobs (ie: AUSA postions). But...Hubby has an interview with a government group today so we'll see.

Option two: move. Yep. We're that fed up. We might make a MAJOR life change and head to the farm. Yes, you read that correctly. Hubby grew up on a farm in rural TN and we might move there. The pay is about the same as a government job here in the big city, and the cost of living is less. And Hubby's real dream is to be a farmer. Yes, I am prissy. Yes, I grew up in a city of 300,000 people. But I'm kind of excited to live a laid back life! Stay tuned for more developments...

So now you know about BFL. Jersey has had some experience there too, as you've learned in previous posts, so we'll probably both have a lot more to say about it soon. But if there's still time for you, (if you're in law school) save yourself! Do not make the mistakes Hubby and I are dealing with now. All big firms are the same, even though they say they're not. (I have actual witnesses to BFL tell me that associates will go so far as to lie and sneak back upstairs to big firms after courting summer associates at happy hours and such. So a few weeks somewhere won't tell you squat.) Just remember, there's a reason they pay you like that...

posted by jersey @ 12:34 PM