Quote:
Originally Posted by Karak567
fds i have a few questions if you don't mind re: biglaw and law in general
what do you say to people who claim they just want to work biglaw for a few years to pay off debt then get out? do they build up any good experience in those few years that will make them more marketable to a smaller firm?
what do you think of "midlaw?" ie pays a good salary (while not as good as biglaw) but doesn't demand the slave-like lifestyle and ridiculous hours. are these jobs available to grads or do you have to work a few years? does it even exist?
what do you do now after having worked at biglaw? if you don't mind me asking...
I completely understand the desire to work at biglaw for a few years to pay off the debt. The problem is that most people can eventually pay off that debt doing jobs that they enjoy and find interesting. Most of those same jobs, be it at a small shop or the DA's office, are the jobs that lead to the jobs that most lawyers find most enjoyable and that pay a good amount, namely partnerships at small or medium firms. I know the mountain of debt looks bad, but thinking long-term is more important imo.
I will say that other students desire BigLaw b/c of their ego. They want to work at the "best" and most prestigious firm. I fell into this category. I went to Rutgers on a full tuition scholarship, so I had little debt, but I wanted to prove that I could work at the top white shoe firms. This probably stems from my very blue collar upbring and the fact that I was at a tier 2 school and wanted to prove that I could do it. But I'd advise anybody who thought like I did to reconsider.
Now, BigLaw is a decent start if you can land a job and have no clue what you think you went to do. The nice thing about BigLaw is that you often can work your way down to something else. But be careful in that real small shops might pass on you because the skills used as BigLaw associate are completely different than those you would use at a small shop. You can often move to a mid-size firm with greater ease (or obv in house, to a bank, etc.)
I had meant to discuss mid-law earlier, and I think this is viable alternative to BigLaw. The key here imo is to research the quality of life of whatever firm you're looking at. There are many midlaw firms that require billables (or "encourage" billables) at or near those of biglaw but just payless because they're in a different market. Other firms really do offer less hours, a more collegial work environment, etc etc. So do your homework. I actually worked at a decent midlaw firm after my 1L year and thought it would be useless to work there as an associate since the billables were nearly the same and the pay difference w2as quite substantial.
I actually pay poker for a living now, am much happier, and have thuse far made more money. I occassionally take a case or two on the side.