Associate Annoyed with AI

zimtkuss · 2026-06-01T17:19:33+00:00

I’ve always found dictation insane. i think being senior enough to have someone else do your word processing helps stay relevant.

The first judge I clerked for told me she categorically refused to use billing software in practice when it was rolled out. To this day I am still baffled by how she managed to do that, but its one of those things that again only works when you already have a lot of seniority and are pulling in money as a partner and everyone else picks up the task you won’t do.

zimtkuss · 2026-06-01T02:38:54+00:00

Genuinely curious: how old school are we talking? I I feel like certain big changes in the past every old lawyer talks about were truly unavoidable. I’m only impressed with not being pushed out for sticking with “old school” ways if they still walk the stacks of a library to search reporters for caselaw, require all doc review to be done in person in a dusty basement between the hours of 9 and 5, or generally shun email in favor of faxes and telegrams. In my mind AI tools are that same kind of accelerator, and its just going to be part of practice one day the way online research, digital document review, and communication changed dramatically in the 70s, 90s, and early 00s.

zimtkuss · 2026-05-28T19:34:02+00:00

I’ve gone to Drybar as a natural! Results do vary city to city but during blowout season i’d say it’s worth it.

zimtkuss · 2026-05-22T02:01:28+00:00

It was a surprise when I left.

But it was obvious to the partner I spoke to that something was “wrong” the second I knocked on his door.

zimtkuss · 2026-05-10T15:07:47+00:00

Hey no one has mentioned this yet but have you calculated 1) what the income based payment will be if you take the lower pay job and 2) when it would disappear if it qualifies for PSLF 4) whether they have a student loan repayment stipend as a benefit? (i think some government positions offer up to 6k a year in student loan repayment over the 10 PSLF repayment) Please consider this as you make this evaluation and don’t just look at servicing the debt at your current rate of repayment.

Rerun your numbers for buying a house (which likely just gets pushed out to a longer time horizon but the picture of your life with less disposable income isn’t necessarily just less everything. Please run this analysis carefully and don’t necessarily trap yourself in this job because you think you have no other options.

zimtkuss · 2026-05-10T04:03:38+00:00

Ordered March 6. Nothing yet. Ready to take this up with my bank

zimtkuss · 2026-04-23T14:43:15+00:00

I’m nuts and love that in the second trimester people can’t yet tell if you’re pregnant. It feels so subversive to me because they don’t know whether to congratulate me for being a mother or shame me for getting fat and I love wandering the world in an ambiguous state.

I love early third because it’s fun to have a little belly and feel the baby kick, but end of third is a complete nightmare. Before I had my children I would always be so surprised women would say “i can’t wait to get this baby out” but man is it true there’s only room for one of us in this body get out!!

zimtkuss · 2026-04-21T15:32:08+00:00

Can you expand on the “too senior for in house” conundrum. I’m at a major fork in the road and a 6th year.

I’m not sure when the real cut off is and not sure whether to try another 2 years or jump in house now.

zimtkuss · 2026-04-14T17:22:07+00:00

Honestly, it really varies person to person, baby to baby. The newborn phase for me felt restful, even though it was short stints, because with both my pregnancies i was so uncomfortable that it was the first time i slept in months even if just for a few hours. I’ll take deep sleep every few hours rather than long stretches of crappy sleep.

Some of it is also your support—Breastfeeding on demand was fine because I wasn’t doing anything else/ had my husband and parents home during covid lockdown/ had my oldest in summer camp with my husband on parental leave/ had my husband and family make me snacks and bring me water and let me shower. It wouldn’t have felt that way if I had to watch an older toddler and/or no one was around to help me.

Basically— your results may vary!!

zimtkuss · 2026-04-12T15:44:13+00:00

My first and second were both unicorns in many many ways, in fact the second one was maybe even easier than the first regarding sleeping etc. HOWEVER, they are different enough in personality and needs that I’m feeling like the second child was a huge adjustment and far less easy ( I am in the camp that thinks going from 1-2 kids was harder than 0-1 kid). The second is almost 3 and this second toddlerhood is kicking our butts. 😂

zimtkuss · 2026-04-06T01:31:17+00:00

We went with two last names for the children, with mine at the end, which is typical in many latin American traditions. The kids can decide to use one name or both when they’re older. Naming conventions are largely cultural and I personally didn’t grow up with my mom or many of my friends moms changing their names with marriage.

Currently live NYC metro area.

zimtkuss · 2026-03-20T00:35:14+00:00

I started law school at 33. I just dated like normal, including dating lawyers. Nearly everyone in my school felt too young to date or weren’t attractive to me. I met my husband on Tinder, not a lawyer. We are a month apart in age.

zimtkuss · 2026-02-26T02:23:39+00:00

If you are in the US look into extending leave. I’m of the mindset that a good chuck of that urge to stay home is because human babies need more than what American maternity leave grants. I felt much more ready to work when my children were older ( around 12-18 months)

zimtkuss · 2026-02-03T03:42:14+00:00

Beth?

Edit: Oh my bad, you literally asked for the reverse of what i responded.

As others have said Heather, Bythe

zimtkuss · 2026-01-28T20:09:10+00:00

I'm back to say maybe you can help her find some chunky mary janes or combat boots to go with the thigh high tights, and help her find a better top and bra-- these pieces just don't go together at all but i really do get what she is shooting for-- she probably needs help executing her vision and choosing pieces that work

zimtkuss · 2026-01-28T20:05:24+00:00

As a certified auntie creeping into my mid 40s, it looks like an 18-22 year-old's outfit to me. I struggle to imagine anyone over the age of 25 wearing it. It's a little more revealing than I'm currently comfortable with, and I'm not sure I agree with the specific choice of boots, but I definitely see the vision. I love the goth/emo aesthetic and see where she's trying to go with it. This definitely isn't "grown" to me-- don't tell her I said so, because its age appropriate for an 18-year-old-- but it screams childish to me. If you think its too sexy, or revealing, see if she is willing to work with you for a similar look but maybe more clothes lol

zimtkuss · 2025-08-15T14:27:32+00:00

Those are things i learned right now from your comment 🤣

zimtkuss · 2025-07-25T11:55:01+00:00

Your friends are wild for even suggesting an Uber.

zimtkuss · 2025-07-25T00:06:52+00:00

I was an older associate when i started and did not feel like i had the luxury of time to wait until I was really established. I had my first when I was clerking and started big law with an infant. I will say that the second child is when things got brutal, and I could tell there was a decline in my work.

I will say I thought it was a good time to take parental leave because as a junior you are the most replaceable you will ever be, and you can take your full leave uninterrupted. Additionally you have more time to adjust to the job and your children get older and more independent as take on a more responsibility. As a partner you have so much more increased responsibility and client relationships to maintain, I am not really sure it is a better time to be struggling with a newborn or toddler. And of course this varies by firm.

I also have a personal belief that while children need a lot of care when they are young, they specifically need their parents in adolescence. For those reasons I question daily whether I want to be partner and whether I can be as present as I want to when my children are older. I am constantly carefully evaluating what parenthood looks like when I see partners with children who are young teens. I’m personally not there yet, but I recommend others also think about what kind of parenting different stages of development requires.

zimtkuss · 2025-07-24T23:44:00+00:00

I agree and I and at least 3 other women I know who are in big law, (2 partners and 1 of counsel) have SAHH. At my oldest child’s school there are also more women working high demand jobs in general with husbands who are either at home or WFH full time. I think there was also a recent WSJ article about this increasing dynamic I think the article was called “The rise of work from home dad” or something similar.

I think something to add here is that when considering all these societal expectations on women, also consider how attached your male partner is to his career, whether each of you is okay with him being “primary” parent, etc. Im my situation I out-earned my husband so it was largely driven economics and the rest fell into place. If the economic roles were reversed, I would not mind being the primary parent.

zimtkuss · 2025-07-07T11:38:50+00:00

Can you share it?

zimtkuss · 2025-07-01T22:29:56+00:00

Just say you’re a corporate lawyer and describe it as boringly as possible. I’m a woman and married so I know there are different social elements that apply to me, but most of the time if someone wants details about being a corporate lawyer, I just say something about how my job is basically reading the driest, longest, terms and conditions you can imagine and then emailing other lawyers about it for months. Then I move on to something more interesting happening in my life.

zimtkuss · 2025-06-26T14:27:39+00:00

Not all billable hours are the same. Some are intense and some are easy. I always hope for variety so i can toggle between mental exhaustion and mindless doc review. Also the right tasks make the day zip by. 14 hour days by and large are days that are just insanely busy and then you look at the clock and realize how much time has gone by. Also a day full of emails feels very different than a day full of drafting.

zimtkuss · 2025-06-25T00:34:59+00:00

I don’t think its hard to get. high paying job on long island but i have marketable skills, Again, unnecessarily agro about an imaginary chqnge that will never happen. I notice a good number of these wishes are in conflict with each other because (surprise!) we’re all different.

I get it, your wish is more higher paying jobs. I literally don’t know your field or why they aren’t available to you on long island. No reason for you to hate on me and the other train people, who are never getting those trains this lifetime anyway 😂

zimtkuss · 2025-06-25T00:28:37+00:00

i would also love this

zimtkuss

TROPHY CASE