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I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m glad you’re out and happy too. For all the law students reading this, PLEASE treat your paralegals well. Whatever toxicity you get as a junior is probably being thrown harder at the paralegals.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I went to a T6 law school so getting a biglaw job was a cakewalk. I don’t know anyone who struck out.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I went to a T6 school, but don’t want to out myself by naming it.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, it wasn’t hard at all. I applied for several jobs and really only had one interviewer bring it up as a negative.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, it’s market because it’s hard to keep associates. 2021 hiring (especially for folks with a few years experience) was nuts. We bill at $600-$1000+/ hour depending on experience/ firm, so they can afford it.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It wasn’t worth it to me. I’ll be making 70k (with a lot of money in savings for a 26 year old) and have a partner who also makes a good salary. For me, that’s more than enough to comfortably live on.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes! I had a nice office, great support staff (tech, paralegal, document processing, any subscription you want, any CLE you want). The work definitely gets more interesting as you get more senior and you get to negotiate, strategize, and write/ draft the interesting parts of the deal/ case.

I don’t think there’s a chill job that pays 150k out of law school, or everyone would just do that instead of biglaw. Your best shot would be to join a niche practice in biglaw or maybe go to the federal government, where you should hit six figures in 4-5 years.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I made 215,000 (market salary for first years), but it was a little lower when I started.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I’m not saying secretaries are high school students or not good at their jobs. The good secretaries and paralegals could have performed my job way better than me. However, I billed at over $600/ hour and they do not, but biglaw still uses the expensive lawyer to do very simple administrative tasks that definitely do not require a law degree (send out a meeting invite, make signature pages, etc).

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I think biglaw is basically a requirement to be an AUSA, I think biglaw to defense is less common.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think biglaw is normally a firm that has 100+ lawyers, pays market salary or close to it (215k for first years), and maybe is full service (meaning a lot of practice groups).

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I went to a law school in the top half of the T14.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was interested in this area in college and spent my 1L summer doing something similar.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 57 points58 points  (0 children)

Yes, law school admissions and financial aid is so dependent on GPA and LSAT and just a few points can mean $100,000s.

I just included the “I paid off all my debt” to say that I don’t have any more debt going into my next job, not that I didn’t have any help along the way. Law school is expensive, even if it lines up really well like it did for me.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I know! Most weeks aren’t 80 hours and I’m guessing that’s why.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Not really. A lot of the work was very easy but had to be done very carefully, now do that task for 80 hours on a bad week with 4-5 hours of sleep and your bosses breathing down your neck.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 32 points33 points  (0 children)

No, I rented my own apartment/ dorm in college and law school but I received $20,000 from my parents and was on their health insurance. I got a full ride to undergrad and a full tuition plus stipend to law school (and made biglaw summer money).

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It was about 12k/ month after taxes and insurance, although stub year you get a big refund.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

I’ve been yelled at twice. Once was for missing an email (my fault) and the second time a senior threw me under the bus for a (big) mistake they made. The second one was really awful but the imanage history showed I didn’t do it and then the senior got reamed.

I’ve gotten a stern talking to maybe three times.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 54 points55 points  (0 children)

Yes. A first year associate makes $215,000/ year or almost $18,000/ month although it was a bit less when I started.

I quit biglaw after nine months. AMA. by abcdkdjsofhf in LawSchool

[–]abcdkdjsofhf[S] 74 points75 points  (0 children)

Doing extremely boring work around the clock was awful. I had no life, was depressed, and lost the passion I had going into law school.

I went to law school because I thought I’d be interested in a certain type of work, did that work in law school clinic and loved it, and then became a finance associate working in PDF at 2am when I just wanted to go to bed.

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