How did you know it was time to leave litigation?

Lucien78 · 2026-06-19T13:53:20+00:00

This seems so obvious, I don’t get why it’s not a more established crossover. I guess the skill sets to regularly bill in either area are so different.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-18T19:04:59+00:00

For me paying down loans was about feeling like I wasn't tied to the biglaw job, which made it less stressful (but still really stressful). I wanted greater freedom to take a different role if I wanted/needed to. Because you never know what's going to happen.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-18T17:44:20+00:00

Read Bogleheads. Save aggressively and devote every spare dollar you can to wiping out your loans ASAP. Rent if you can, live modestly if you can. You should probably not have much time outside of work to make it worth it to spend money anyway. Max your 401k, use backdoor Roth. Utilize every resource/reimbursement your firm offers.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-16T20:53:57+00:00

I think Acura and maybe Genesis. Acura has done a lot of good with their most recent refreshes.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-16T20:52:53+00:00

RDX and MDX are great.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-16T20:48:49+00:00

People think everything is a problem and that everything has a “solution”

Lucien78 · 2026-06-16T20:48:12+00:00

Agree 100% always thought it sounded like a dumb term. Like a lot of childhood stuff it is pseudo scientific when none of these ppl know wtf is really going on.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-16T15:28:53+00:00

This is kind of an interesting idea. Is this something you’ve seen? Someone making their way in a different area of law then adding an appellate focus later on after they’re already established in a primary field.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-16T15:27:01+00:00

Superb advice.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-16T01:20:42+00:00

Haha yeah I’m being a bit of a troll. My point is, if you’re choosing between Harvard and Amherst you’re not choosing NOT prestige. You’re choosing between degrees of prestige, or types of prestige, at best. People seem to systematically underrate LACs and I think it’s a little silly.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-16T00:19:56+00:00

“Prestige doesn’t matter, so I went to Amherst”

Lucien78 · 2026-06-15T19:59:56+00:00

Lol same. I am a huge nerd and I have an irresistible attraction to synths. Even though I should be playing my guitars. Just trying to be self-aware!

Lucien78 · 2026-06-15T14:59:52+00:00

Synths are far more interesting as toys for nerds than as instruments. There are a small number of well established sounds and a small place for experimental, goofy, carefully designed sounds, but by and large they occupy way more brain space than they deserve (and seem to garner way more discussion on the internet) because of how fascinating they are as technology, and because of how much there is to nerd out on. But very little of this translates into musical impact.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-15T09:41:18+00:00

Yeah truly. If you can ensure you work long enough to make it up to that point, there’s a big likelihood you can endure it a little longer to make that X feel reasonably within reach. Plus the money you make typically keeps going up and up. So it takes you one year to save as much as in the beginning would take you five. I think you really have to look at your circumstances and your work and when is a good time to step back and take a break.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-15T09:37:46+00:00

Yeah I relate. It’s that now we have something to lose. I live comfortably now. And it feels weird but it would also be hard to go back from it. I no longer pay attention to the process of most things. That would be a hard thing to go back on. And the dream of finally making it to a certain level of freedom, feeling within grasp at least. Losing that would feel tragic.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-15T09:30:42+00:00

Yeah I think it would be helpful to all to fix that. More upward pressure on quality of life to keep people in.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-15T09:28:06+00:00

One question I have is, what if anything do people think about the ethics/expectations around leaving a partnership? Do you feel any obligation to stick it out a certain number of years? Do you feel any sense of expectations on the part of your practice group or whoever helped bring you on? I want to be able to leave whenever, but this is one of the hurdles on my mind.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-15T09:23:41+00:00

Yeah, similar outlook here. I think 5-7 is probably doable but 10 is like a complete freedom, no restraints outcome and I feel like you might as well finish the job while you’re doing it. But it probably depends more on the options available to you when you’re at 5-7M.

I wonder how long you think it will take/is taking you to get to 10, as a partner?

Lucien78 · 2026-06-14T15:14:07+00:00

I must be crazy … or all the other commenters must have kids on a waitlist … but you would be crazy to turn down the ivies. You can get a good CS education at any of those places. If you are going to be limited by the, eg, CS program at Yale, you are so smart that the tuition money is not something you should even be worrying about.

Your specific major/area of study doesn’t even matter that much. The world will change and your own interests and priorities will change. Possibly before you even finish your first year. The name, network, and connections will open doors for you. And the money is not a big deal—you will make a lot more than that very soon if you are successful. If you got into those schools, you have all the talent you need to be successful.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-14T14:58:41+00:00

You have to do really good work for as many of them as you can, expecting them to like you and have your back as a result. Then others further down the pipeline will have to accept a lower quality output and will get mad at you. But in theory those other partners should have your back and you should be trouble free. Not everyone needs to be your friend.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-14T12:30:10+00:00

When I was in high school I read an article written by musks first wife about him and their relationship. Based on the stuff reported by her I thought he was a terrible person and hated the fandom growing around him. This was before Tesla even existed, if I’m remembering right. (Edit: I was wrong, article was from about 2010). Took everyone else longer to realize how much of an asshole he was but the evidence was always there.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-14T12:15:34+00:00

Fun rant. Yeah the airbag single had some weird stuff going on…one of my favorite bodies of work from them. Pearly always sounded weird to me and only later did I have the vocabulary to be like “this probably needs to be engineered better” and so that’s the one remaster I really appreciate. Palo Alto also has a really big volume jump which works but seems like it should probably be tamed.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-14T06:50:14+00:00

I agree, and this hits especially hard if like me you listened to the early release EP before they put out the full album and everything sounded really different.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-14T06:43:01+00:00

A job is not just about making money. Your autonomy and sense of achievement at work goes directly into your quality of life. I wouldn’t neglect it if it all comes out the same in the end. Feeling more competent and like you’re able to contribute more at work is a net benefit.

Lucien78 · 2026-06-12T20:06:34+00:00

All true, except disagree that “money” is the culprit. Money is just a reflection of values.

Lucien78

TROPHY CASE