Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Laughable

This article was pathetic to me, in light of my previous post. When there is a need to create a group to address the woes of a profession, that is a very very sad thing -- an eye-opening thing.

Starting salaries for first-year associates are now at $160,000. There's a reason for that. You work your fucking ass off, dummies. It's not rocket science, and your push for "work-life balance" is going to fall on deaf ears, little law students. No law firm gives a shit about your well-being. They only care about one thing.

Money.

When I read this article this morning, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I love that I'm not a part of that anymore. Even though I now make the same money that I did when I was a second-year associate, I am content. The money is decent. I have time to live. And, should I ever develop the urge to have children, that is actually a viable option.

Among the article's gems:

Associates at many major firms are expected to bill 2,200 to 2,500 hours a year, she said, compared with an average of 1,700 hours in 1980. Add in work time lawyers can't bill and many are toiling 60 to 70 hours every week, she noted.

That crushing schedule requires sacrificing everything for the chance to become partner even as the odds of achieving that goal become longer. Absent flexible schedules and hands-on guidance from firm elders, minority lawyers and young mothers increasingly drop out after a few years.

"The female hamsters are leaving the cage or getting flung from the wheel," Dauber said.

Well, duh.

12 comments:

  1. Is this supposed to be new information?! Poor blind little unknowing lawyers? Sorry but those jobs are a choice. They are not the only jobs out there and for that kind of money, they need to quit whining.

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  2. Yes, I agree. No new news. This is an ongoing talk with no actions in sight.

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  3. Word. The bottom line in life is this: if you want to make a lot of money, and you don't come from money, you're going to have to either (a) work your ass off, or (b) win the lottery.

    Since the odds of winning the lottery are astronomical, your best bet for achieving success lies with option (a). It really is that simple.

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  4. My husband is a lawyer, and it breaks my heart when he has to work until 2am, or all weekend long. But he does it now, in the hopes that in the future he will be able to go in house, like you did :) (lucky!) But I can't say that I totally understand it... it seems to me that these firms make so much money, they could afford to hire a few more associates to spread the work load out a bit better... They are only burning out talented attorneys, it seems like a flawed business model to me...

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  5. Oh em gee! Just saw your comment on the JQ Lounge. You are officially disowned :(

    Well...okay maybe not, but that is shocking!

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  6. Wah wah wah. I don't wanna hear it.

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  7. Have you read Tucker Max's book? Aside from the sex and debauchery, he seems to echo some of your same sentiments regarding being a lawyer.

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  8. I can't feel bad for lawyers who have the same billable hours as me and get paid 3 times as much.......

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  9. {yawn} Is it just me or does the younger "generation" of lawyers/law students seem especially whiny? Even in my office (local DA) where pretty much everyone works 8 to 5 from day one and has a ton of leave time available, the newbies whine and complain about not being to leave early like the senior attorneys and, god forbid, having to go to court.

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  10. I actually went to law school with Tucker (Duke '01). Needless to say, he was an interesting fellow. Very fun to party with.

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  11. Wait, when did being a lawyer become easy? I was always told that you would work long hours, be treated poorly, and most likely either quit when you decided you wanted a life or get fired when you weren't good enough. I'm not even in the field and I knew most of that stuff in the article. Seems to me that what cheeks said is right re: wanting to make a lot of money.

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  12. Guess I'll cross law school off my bucket list...

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