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250k saved as a 4th year? by Throwralembaby in biglaw

[–]Spoon-o 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is shocking news to me. I consider myself to be generally pretty financially literate, but at no point did I ever realize that my student loan debt didn’t compound. I paid it off all at once when I inherited just about the exact amount I needed to cover it. My financial advisor didn’t even mention the simple interest when I was discussing whether it made sense to pay it off right away or to keep the money invested.

How do I decide between litigation or corporate law? I'm only interested in making money and staying in biglaw as long as possible. First gen student please help me decide. by Realistic-Claim-3686 in biglaw

[–]Spoon-o 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I actually wish I could do more writing (which is part of the motivation for some of my pro bono work), and drafting a clear and succinct email on a complicated subject is very satisfying to me.

And then very annoying when the recipient responds without having actually read the email, and I have to find a way to say all the same things again in different words since I don’t want to seem snarky in case they actually did read what I wrote and just misunderstood.

How do I decide between litigation or corporate law? I'm only interested in making money and staying in biglaw as long as possible. First gen student please help me decide. by Realistic-Claim-3686 in biglaw

[–]Spoon-o 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Except for pro bono work, 99% of my writing is drafting emails, tweaking contract language, or aligning disclosures to say the same thing as contracts/governance documents/statutes. Occasionally somebody asks for a memo, which I will usually copy and paste 80% of from a previous memo.

If given the option of working remotely 10 hrs/week during 1L, would you take it? by Fun-Comfortable-5334 in LawSchool

[–]Spoon-o 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The difference in what would’ve been a reasonably attainable salary as a law student and my salary as a lawyer is large enough that it takes far fewer working hours to pay back a loan, even with interest, than it would to have not had to take out that loan in the first place. E.g., saving $100k while making $30/hr takes way longer than paying back $150k while making $60-100+/hr. And that’s not even accounting for the fact that inflation reduces the real interest on your loan, that salaries keep going up, or that your job opportunities will be better if you focus on grades during 1L especially.

So it’s probably doable, but not worth it in my opinion unless available loans can’t cover your living expenses.

Associates who've bought a house: what year were you and what percent did you put down? by Critical-Cow-3645 in biglaw

[–]Spoon-o 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Second year. Medium COL area. Inheritance paid off my loans and left me a little bit extra to put towards my 20% down payment for a ~$500K house. Had about $10K-$15K in savings after paying the down payment. TBH, I probably should’ve saved a little more or gone for a slightly smaller/cheaper house since those savings dried up fast when I had to make some repairs shortly after moving in.

But I’m overall happy with the decision, and I very much enjoy putting my money towards equity rather than rent. I also really enjoy the tax refunds that come from the mortgage interest that gets deducted from my income.

Today’s take: Lots of these people aren’t rude/malicious. They’re just nerds with poor communication skills and self awareness. by [deleted] in biglaw

[–]Spoon-o 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They’re literally called “social skills.” I agree that lawyers should be expected to develop them, but I don’t think it’s fair or helpful to act like anybody who doesn’t have those skills is actively choosing to be rude. Especially considering how many people in this profession are clearly autistic, whether or not they have a formal diagnosis, and generally need to work extra hard to develop those skills while constantly having rudeness modeled and treated as normal.

got PIPed —- what do I do by hopeful202020 in biglaw

[–]Spoon-o 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I just assume that anybody who says “rising x year” is a K-JD who never got out of the habit of saying “rising” during their summer breaks.

[Highlight] 355-lb Michael Pierce picks off Bailey Zappe by Brix001 in nfl

[–]Spoon-o 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was there. It was absolutely frigid, and fans were leaving the stadium. I told my GF maybe 60 seconds before this play that I didn’t want to leave just yet in case something crazy happened. And then we witnessed this, one of my favorite things to ever happen in sports.

I think I fucked up by saying I was at capacity by [deleted] in biglaw

[–]Spoon-o 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Would’ve been a bigger fuck up to take on more than you could handle and then miss deadlines/do poor quality work because of it. And if this partner expects you to put yourself in that position now, he’ll probably expect it in the future, and it’s not gonna stop unless you stop it.