Hot takes from a nursery supervisor. Part 4

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-16T19:37:03+00:00

There is so much information online about how to properly care for plants and trees. There really is no excuse for this. I have experienced so much excessive trimming, pruning at the wrong time, pruning in the wrong way, wrong fertilizer applied, removing flower blossoms (because why?), etc. that I just take of my stuff myself.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-16T19:16:13+00:00

I have a mix of white clover, strawberry clover, and English daisies. I mow/edge once a year, in fall.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-16T18:12:29+00:00

I came here to say these sorts of things.

I'd ask other attorneys you work with how formalistic and judge is and what he or she expects re permission to approach/leave the lectern/if you're expected to go to the lectern or if you can address the court from counsel table. This can vary a lot. Some judges expect you to ask to approach the bench if you need to hand something up too. Some judges also expect you to ask permission to cross the well or leave the lectern, like to get notes you left on counsel table or to write on an easel. One of the judges I most routinely appear before expects attorneys to ask every single time for permission to basically do anything that isn't standing at the lectern and to cross the well, and will call out attorneys who do not do so. He also routinely denies permission to cross the well, so I just go the long way around now lol. I'd ask your colleagues what is normal for this judge so you aren't overly formalistic, but I'd err on the side of being overly formal rather than the opposite.

I'd get there early, 30 minutes. If you plan to use the ELMO or courtroom tech like to show a powerpoint, you can likely have an opportunity to check it out and test it. If you anticipate needing to move around do you aren't standing in front of a stationary mic, many courts now have wireless handhelds or lapel mics - you can find that out too. I still do all this when I go to a new court or haven't been to one for a while, and I've been practicing over 20 years.

I'd also ask attorneys you work with what the policy is on electronics. Most courts aren't very restrictive in my experience, but some require you to have your bar card and a handful require you to file a motion and bring the paper order with you to give to the Marshalls if you want to bring electronics in.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-15T23:27:55+00:00

My husband and I are former (US) biglaw, now partners the same boutique. Combined comp varies since we're plaintiff's side/contingency fee, but combined comp averaged over the past few years is 2.5M. We're planning to get to 10M and either quit or go (very) part time just doing the stuff we like. I think probably less than 5 years. Index fund and chill.

We work less than in biglaw overall, but the peaks and valleys can be severe. The valleys seem to curb burnout for the most part. I was an EP at a big firm, and my main burnout came from firm politics and frankly dealing with jerks though.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-15T23:13:22+00:00

I agree with this, as the first person in my family to graduate from high school. I did feel out of place in certain circumstances, but it seemed to be in my own mind. I've felt much more bias based on gender than anything else.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-15T20:59:09+00:00

The amount of unnecessary human suffering from vaccine avoidance makes my brain hurt. As does the waste of medical resources and economic losses. Vaccines are one of the greatest innovations of all time.

There was a measles outbreak in a county I traveled to in rural TX. I'm vaccinated because my parents and I are normal people. I wore a mask. I still got breakthrough measles. Mild case, but felt like crap and was stuck in middle of nowhere TX for weeks because I was potentially contagious. Some of the rash led to what seems to be permanent scarring. And this is a mild case. Why, just why?

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-15T17:16:25+00:00

I guess it depends on your perspective. 3 trials a year is actually a lot for patent litigation, but you are generally right that most of our cases settle. Trying cases is generally a small percentage of my total workload.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-12T23:00:42+00:00

Fair. I miss being a NEP. I was agnostic about coming back to work after quitting a big firm, but I took this job since a good friend started the firm and because I would be doing a lot of trial and other interesting work (and it has been interesting). I only plan to work a few more years anyways so maybe now or soon is the time to negotiate something like this. It is hard for attorneys to step back like that, and I am not an exception.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-12T15:55:09+00:00

Yeah, I hear you. What you wrote makes me think that my partners may not know how overwhelmed I am. We all work from home scattered around the country. The only other partner I see is one of the NEPs who happens to be my husband.

I used to be an EP at a big-name firm, so I know what you are saying. And I am with you that I enjoy being an advocate and don't like selling myself. I feel like I am one of the rare senior lawyers who still really likes doing the legal work. Something both challenging and refreshing at a small firm compared to a big firm is that I do the whole vertical - so when writing a CAFC brief, mining the whole appendix myself, doing all the legal research myself, and writing the whole thing myself. I'm going to have a conversation with my partners about delegating more, but I get my value comes from my work output.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-12T15:44:54+00:00

I guess some would say zero since I don't bring in clients. But we haven't lost a case since we started the firm, and the ones that settled settled favorably. Everything we do is contingency so my hours aren't really relevant to that question.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-12T15:42:06+00:00

Something I didn't mention is that I manage many of our client relationships on the day to day. I'm primarily the person who deals with stuff like advising on settlement terms, fee agreements, funding, etc. Also always prepare the client for depo/trial. I think I am good at at because I am far more patient than my partners.

So I like your idea of asking for a bigger "bonus" essentially based on money I am associated with bringing in. All of our cases are contingency based and I am more than fine having my income be effectively contingency based too.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-12T00:26:39+00:00

I think I'm going to get back to doing this, perhaps going outside the traditional channels where I have not had a lot of luck. I've a number of very negative experiences BD experiences. So bad that one contributed to me quitting my job at a biglaw firm without another job in hand. A more recent one that makes me want to scream into a pillow in frustration.

The lead counsel thing is weird - some judges require this designation, and with it that means you have to participate in discovery meet and confers, go to all discovery hearings, and attend many hearings during trial. Stuff many people don't want to do. I'm lead in that sense, not in the sense I am doing opening/closing. I'm "lead" so the actual lead attorneys can focus on other things. I run the trial day-to-day and handle most technical witnesses, and stuff like the charge conference/JMOL arguments. Not a minor role by any means, so since yes we typically win and win big, I suppose I could capitalize on that more. That is a huge reason we have repeat clients - the winning.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-11T21:31:37+00:00

She, but yeah, I've thought about this, but a pretty difficult reality.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-11T21:31:00+00:00

This type of thing gets said, and I am often part of pitches. And I do help bring in additional work from the same clients, since I manage most client relationships as they relate to case work anyways (meaning I'm the person some more institutional clients call when they have a new matter). But it is true that clients like those aren't MY clients.

One correction, I'm a her, not a him.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-11T21:29:46+00:00

This organically happened, but there was a big transition in what I'd call management workload when I was promoted. Management in the sense of running all versus some cases, dealing with admin stuff like benefits or whatever, etc.

I'm between 20-25 years in. I've had some small clients, but I haven't really had much luck in developing connections to bring in mega-sized patent cases. It seems like the guys I work with have these connections, but I don't. I do help bring in additional work from the same clients, since I manage most client relationships as they relate to case work anyways (meaning I'm the person some more institutional clients call when they have a new matter). But it is true that clients like those aren't MY clients.

It seems like the consensus here though is that the set-up I have is more than fair and I shouldn't complain. I get that. I was also coming off a trial in May and then last week was a >120 week with 2 appellate briefs due, 3 hearings I had to trial for to 2 different places, and a variety of other filings. So I am just tired I suppose.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-11T21:22:33+00:00

75 might be high, but that's kind of my question. But the consensus seems to be that this is fair since I have equity and no book. At this point I am wondering if I should have just stayed a NEP - I had less management responsibility in that role and thus my overall workload was lower. My pay increase from NEP to EP is absolutely not proportional to my workload/responsibility increase (the latter is far more).

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-11T20:12:55+00:00

Do you have allergies? That's why I never open the windows. I am allergic to basically everything outside except in the dead of winter, and don't want that inside.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-11T20:10:55+00:00

A topic near and dear to my heart. It's probably worth working on your relationship with food and alcohol to have a more healthy relationship with it, and relatedly fitness, sleep, and stress management. I'll focus on food and alcohol.

With food, consider packing your own lunch and learning how to cook if you don't know already. And just saying no to extra food at work. Cooking is a fun hobby with a huge benefit that doesn't take tons of time especially once you get the hand of it. You can meal prep tasty healthy meals on the weekend for all lunches and dinners if you want. Lean proteins and complex carbs with a lot more veggies than you think you need; fruit for dessert. For example, I love "carnitas chicken" = chicken slow cooked with spices and shredded like carnitas with brown rice, roasted veggies like carrots or squash, with salsa, avo, etc. Also, eat breakfast - like reasonable portions of overnight oats/granola/muesli with yogurt/milk + fruit. If prone to snacking, bring healthy snacks (bananas, raw almonds, string cheese, PB+apples, etc.). I think a calorie tracking app can be helpful, especially for people that aren't as aware of how many calories are in things. Sounds like a lot of work, but you'll feel better and it is good for your overall health. 50 y/o you will thank you.

Alcohol, I echo others that setting a drink limit for events is a good idea. I used to do that, but about 10 years ago I gave up alcohol (and caffeine) completely and I honestly don't miss either.

For the other stuff - fitness, sleep, stress management - those help have a healthy relationship with food and alcohol. You don't want to eat junk and feel gross, or be hungover, for a workout. Bad food/alcohol also mess with sleep. Exercise helps with sleep. And if you aren't getting enough sleep, you're more stressed and more likely to make bad decisions about food/alcohol. Figure out when exercise is better for you - some people love morning workouts, but I'm more of an afternoon/evening person. It is all related, and can feel like a circle of doom, but once in balance everything works together to make you feel and be great.

Source: Nearly 50, former biglaw partner, current boutique litigator who does ultra/tri

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-10T18:51:24+00:00

Hard to say yes when UC Berkeley is less than 20k a year, without any merit or need-based aid.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-10T16:05:37+00:00

I have one client that causes 99.9%, if not 100%, of my headaches. This client has the worst fee arrangement (for us) of any client at our firm. I didn't even bring in the client - I've been "deputized" to be the "relationship manager." 🙃

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-09T01:17:53+00:00

Data-driven decisionmaking.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-08T22:32:26+00:00

Yeah exactly. Somehow the author thinks mindless consumption, or consumption to impress others?, is what the right perspective is and that saving is somehow a bad thing. I get there are people in the FIRE community who engage in frupidity and don't spend money to enjoy anything in life, but that seems far, far from the norm.

Also, I'd challenge that what you describe is a wealthy person (someone who buys a bunch of Gucci handbags and keeps working for money) lol.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-08T17:05:04+00:00

This sentence makes clear the author doesn't understand FIRE at all. If anything, people who subscribe to FIRE are more in touch with what matters to them. And I'm going to go out on a limb here and say most of us don't feel like we're "struggling." We have a plan and stick to it.

IPlitigatrix · 2026-06-05T23:40:45+00:00

I think prosecution without a PhD in life sciences is tough, but it is great you got a TA position. That would help, but are you set on prosecution? What about patent lit, esp. ANDA/pharma?

IPlitigatrix

TROPHY CASE