UNLV has a night program, which I believe is a 4-year program.

I mean yeah... you'd have to really want to do it. I think it would be better to use your connections to learn the specific things you want to know about & to assist with getting the materials you want out there & in the right hands rather than be forced to take a bunch of classes which will be irrelevant to your objectives.

But if it's something you want to accomplish, I'm sure it's doable.

You don’t need a law degree to be a policy wonk or an expert witness.

Thinking more about it, I think what you maybe should be trying is to run for political office, if your goal is really to be improve abortion rights. Going to law school while being a practicing physician seems unlikely to get you to these public policy goals that you are dreaming about. Your friend that is arguing cases in front of the Supreme Court has probably been a lawyer for quite a while; how are you going to have time to do accomplish all of these dreams when you are in your fifties when you start as a lawyer?

Nope! It's Allstate. You might have had a tough time with one particular case with Progressive, but it's 100% always and forever Allstate. I had a case once where it took me 2.5 years for them to finally pay my lady minimum policy limits (30k), and I turned around and sent in a UIM/UM demand to her own insurance company and they paid me $300k.

Then I had to try a case once because they were offering $565 dollars because the medical bills were $500 (yada yada yada the bills should've been 3k but I could only show $500...paid or incurred). I asked for like $1,100 literally to cover my expenses. NOPE. Off to trial we go! (Verdict $5,500).

Oh great. I just sent out a demand package to Allstate. Have a CL in auto accident. About 20 months of treatment for soft tissue injuries and now Dr. recommended surgery to fix the issue. I imagine they're going to have doubts about whether it is casually related.

YMMV by state I think. A little while ago a friend was telling me how terrible USAA was to deal with in NJ. My experience was good (one time) and I’ve had attorneys tell me they are the best if you have a legit case but will fight harder against bad ones. I’ve been told they are trained well so they know a good case that will cost more at trial and it’s better to settle.

You'd be better off with an MBA. I actually know some people that got the hospital to subsidize their MBA and they used it as a 2 year vacation.

You don't need an MBA either though.

Allstate was by far the worst when I did PI in FL.

Anyone know anything about the work environment at Gibbson Dunn, Davis Polk, Baker&McKenzie, and Skadden?

Other than Polk tends to be more "siloed" (whatever that means but that somehow came up a lot) and seems to have more people complaining of long hours, I am having trouble finding out about what work environments are like.

And is PwC's reputation for super long hours (relative to E&Y/Deloitte) deserved?

NYC?

Yeah.

There’s no way it’s not terrible at any of those firms

I kind of assumed that but I am looking at 70+k more a year. Big 4 doing 125+10 it seems this year and some of the biglaw firms are offering second year associate salary so I'm looking at 200 some and bonus at biglaw.

Pretty set on Big 4 int tax still but the salary gap is bigger than I expected (literally bottom of my calling range).

And this could be the biggest call of my life so I want to think it through.

I have a close friend that’s a 6th year at DPW NYC. He works a ton, it’s not easy. Have a couple less close friends at Skadden NYC, it’s exactly what you think it is.

That being said, as a second year biglaw associate well over pace this year, I can tell you that I am learning a ton and become a better lawyer every day. No chance I make it more than another few years (and could be interviewing elsewhere in 9 or so months), but I am happy to be here now. $200k + $25k bonus ain’t bad too.

Thank you. That's pretty consistent with what I have heard and experienced. I guess I just have to sit down and sign the Big 4 offer that I came to NYU Tax to get.

No experience what it means in law firm life but at least in my experience (Government) it means everyone talks to only their group and doesn't talk to anyone else. Works independently. This is fine in some ways, but when you need interaction with groups it can be a problem and you can have gains from cooperation.

So as a contracting officer, the quality control guys don't tell me that every week they spend 3 hours on something dumb, when I could just modify the contract to remove some unnecessary requirement in 15 minutes.

Sometimes it's when different groups don't know others ones exist or what they do and who to talk to. A lot of the time siloing happens because everyone keeps doing what they're doing because they've always done it this way.

Yeah. I get all that. I was just surprised Polk was mentioned specifically mentioned as a firm that's siloed from multiple (biglaw) sources and I was curious if there is something going on there making it "siloed" even by biglaw standards.

I am just waiting for the recruiting lady from a Big 4 to officially acknowledge my acceptance and I am done with the job search. Big 4 Int Tax advisory should suit me well and I think I have much better chances of climbing the ladder there than at BigLaw and/or getting the right recommendation letters for business school (and getting firm to pay) 3 or 4 years down the line. Pay is **** but I got poker/trading money left still and my wife brings home a decent paycheck too so whatever. I'll teach LSAT/GMAT on the weekends if I need extra money.

Yeah it almost sounds like a workplace culture comment. Ie everyone does their own work all day and doesn't talk or socialize and it's not "fun."

Congrats grizy!

Not 100% yet... some kind of paperwork snag. I don't think it's a problem but man, it makes me nervous.

It feels like getting it in with the stone cold nuts on turn and villain has only 1 out... except it's my fragile heart in the pot this time.

Officially done.

For what it's worth, I got the impression that Big 4 is offering less (at least not raising) than last year to Tax LLMs and recruiting more straight JDs from lower ranked (think schools in the 30s to 70s) schools that took tax classes.

Just a matter of supply and demand I guess.

If I didn't have poker/trading money saved up still, there is no way I could choose Big 4 over biglaw. But then if I didn't have poker money, I wouldn't even be in this program so big 4 was almost a foregone conclusion as soon as I turned down antitrust lit and signed up for NYU Tax LLM.

Just feels a little unreal. This is likely the first time I made a decision that would occupy most of my life for more than a 2 or 3 year period. Even college and JD didn't feel like this, mostly because I knew studying wouldn't take much time.

Won a big case I've been fighting for 1 year+ re: preliminary objections on personal jurisdiction today. PO's + two sets of oral arguments + depo's + being wildly overpowered by Opposing Party (massive company with 3 attorneys handling this matter who all probably bill like 5x higher than me). A real David v Goliath dynamic in play.

Company alleged our clients had stolen money from them. We beat them on PJ. By far the most complex thing I've handled/argued in my short career. Being a lawyer can be fun sometimes I guess.

Only reason I post it is nobody really understands how great it is to win. Like, clients are more impressed by settling a slip and fall for 5 grand or something instead of a massive battle on jurisdiction.

Hope everyone else is having a good 2019.


edit: It had to look hilarious at depositions when they have 3 high powered attorneys in designer suits and driving BMW's outside and I roll up in my clearance rack suit + a mid 00's honda junker with 200k miles. They couldn't even fit all 3 attorneys at the deposition table, so they had to bring in extra chairs and you could tell the guy who had to sit in the folding chair was royally pissed lol

Congrats! Few professional things are more satisfying than taking on one of the huge firms (especially when they show up with multiple attorneys and paralegals and all markers of power and connections) and winning.

Bar Exam is done.

I hope the NY BOLE embraces the new Uniform Trust Code as amended (2019) that I drafted on Tuesday.

I also hope they accept the brand new rules that were created for when a partner dissociates from a partnership at will but the rest of the partners want to continue running the business!

Really important stuff they’re testing I see. Congrats man!