tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post8366446436940731716..comments2024-02-23T04:59:26.907-05:00Comments on But I Did Everything Right!: There is No Work/Life Balance for Big Firm Associates: From the Horse's MouthAngelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-2897554856688604322010-06-13T21:50:27.554-04:002010-06-13T21:50:27.554-04:00One country that is pretty darn close to having it...One country that is pretty darn close to having it all is Sweden. If you haven't read the NYTimes article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/10/world/europe/10iht-sweden.html<br />It's not about who makes the dinner and who does the dishes. It's about allowing both men and women to spend time with their family and have a career if they choose to.HardKnockshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08188805912579205968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-92078838415243001412010-06-12T13:46:53.033-04:002010-06-12T13:46:53.033-04:00"I've said this once, and I'll say it..."I've said this once, and I'll say it a hundred times, even the ideal life for an attorney is far from ideal. Instead of making dinner for your husband, you order dinner on your client's tab and bring him the leftovers. That is not the way that most women want to live."<br /><br />making dinner for my husband? After a day at the grueling office, hell he better have something waiting for me! At least for half of the week--and no, I do not dream about this or idealize this option. Neither scenario appeals to me. Zip, zilch, nada. Are his hands broken?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-67799637040892996142010-06-10T14:14:30.192-04:002010-06-10T14:14:30.192-04:00Here's a UM - assume U of Miami - law grad, to...Here's a UM - assume U of Miami - law grad, top 5%, with law review shilling for a job. Props for creativity and I wish him well, but even those who thrive in LS are failing on the job search front. <br /><br />"I'm in the middle of studying for the Florida Bar Exam, and getting this diary on the rec. list has basically made my week.<br />Related: if anyone in South Florida is interested in hiring a recent UM Law Grad (Law Review/Top 5%/Student Loans), I am looking for a job (legal or political)."<br /><br />http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/6/10/874636/-Theres-something-crazy-going-on-in-ChinaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-28711518712646186402010-06-10T13:51:37.388-04:002010-06-10T13:51:37.388-04:00The other areas of law outside of big law are gene...The other areas of law outside of big law are generally just as time intensive. One reader is very lucky to have that mid-sized law firm. But I know at most small law firms most people also are overworked, but now they are also underpaid.<br /><br />The only good positions are really in the government. They generally actually pay well too, there are plenty of $150k attorneys jobs in the fed, usually you'll need the experience and usually you have to get that experience in big law or in another government position like a DA's job.<br /><br />But the competition is so fierce and the hiring is so low.<br /><br />I don't think this is a problem specific to women, but rather it is a US truth: almost every position in the US is overworked. US workers average 12 days off a year, compare that to 50-60 for many European countries and you just have to wonder what is wrong with this country. Why do we have this system designed to make people so unhappy?<br /><br />TPTB simply don't want Americans being in families and having family lives. Instead, for some reason, our government wants immigration and then lower income population growth. I guess the super high class don't have any problems, but everyone in the middle class is out of luck.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-20193921671601459822010-06-10T12:59:36.574-04:002010-06-10T12:59:36.574-04:00I agree Jadz. I've heard from women in Biglaw ...I agree Jadz. I've heard from women in Biglaw that the women who sacrifice having a life to make it to the top use and abuse the women at the bottom who want a more well rounded life. Many of the women at the top are just as bad as the menz and they aren't willing to sacrifice their spot to challenge the system or help other women. I know people who would rather travel, settle down and raise a family, or start at the bottom of another job field rather than go back to making six-figures at a firm. So you know it has to be a shitty lifestyle.HardKnockshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08188805912579205968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-68992348222055320012010-06-10T12:50:24.070-04:002010-06-10T12:50:24.070-04:00Like one of our labels say: Read and travel to bec...Like one of our labels say: Read and travel to become educated! You'll enjoy it much more than spending three years in law school and after that being unemployed, practicing shitlaw, or taking shit from a biglaw partner. Don't go to law school!HardKnockshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08188805912579205968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-11019464585535399182010-06-10T12:48:43.654-04:002010-06-10T12:48:43.654-04:00You know, Biglaw is only the way that it is becaus...You know, Biglaw is only the way that it is because TPTB allow it to remain that way--it's not like God created Biglaw on the 8th day or anything. Which is why I found Wu to be more than a little bit disingenuous. How about saying hey, we've benefited from the system the way that it is, we like the obscene profits that we reap from using associates (usually women) up for five years and then spitting them out, and it's pretty amazing that we can then convince these otherwise intelligent people that their destroyed careers and lives are their own fault for thinking that they can have a spouse and kids just like the menz? At least that would be honest.Jadzhttp://toddlerism.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-79872368926098399292010-06-10T12:41:54.665-04:002010-06-10T12:41:54.665-04:00I chose a medium size practice so that I could hav...I chose a medium size practice so that I could have a life and cases I cared about. My biglaw buddies are now fully enslaved to the firm. I avoided biglaw for the same reason I avoided becoming a surgeon -- the lifestyle sucks and then you die. Has anyone looked at the divorce rates for the legal and medical professions?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-36029440873009224532010-06-10T12:37:29.149-04:002010-06-10T12:37:29.149-04:00Biglaw work is mindnumbingly boring while simultan...Biglaw work is mindnumbingly boring while simultaneously being incredibly difficult and stressful.<br /><br />There is a reason that most biglaw associates are unhappy, fat, and sleep deprived. Oh, and wash out of their firms within a few years. Better to have the money than not though. <br /><br />And of course, the vast majority of "in-shape" women you meet in biglaw are not in-shape. They're anorexic.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com