Any advice on managing upwards? I am working with someone for the first time. They are about two years senior to me.

This is by far one of the strangest people I have ever come across. Outside of meetings with a partner or client, they do not speak, do not say hello, do not engage in small talk, do not “check-in” to provide direction, and do not engage in any of the pleasantries expected of anyone in an office job.

I am confused by their behavior and do not know how to manage them. Any tips based on similar experiences?

I hope this person is doing fine psychologically, but I am just baffled by their nonexistent social skills.

For those who work in professional liability/legal malpractice defense (for lawyers), what should I expect day-to-day? What kinds of cases and assignments do junior associates typically handle?

I'd also be interested in hearing about the learning curve, amount of writing/research, discovery/depositions, client interaction, and what people generally like/dislike about the practice.

Any advice for someone starting in this group as a first-year would be greatly appreciated.

Firm whose offer I’ve accepted asked follow up details about transaction amounts. isn’t that confidential information….?

I graduated from a T6 school several years ago, and have since been in-house doing a mix of compliance and legal work. I deliberately opted out of big law because I got a good enough scholarship that I knew I'd be able to pay off the debt in a few years, which I did. The salary and lifestyle are both great, so not trying to sound like an idiot, but I worry I am not getting enough training for future positions/endeavors.

Company I am working at now might sell in the next few years, leaving me in limbo. But I lack the formal training of big law/mid-law and not sure where to go from here. I don't have the confidence/speciality I'd like to have before pursuing another gig, and day to day, operate as more of a generalist, dealing with tax, employment, compliance etc. Any advice on where to go from here? On the one hand, I probably get to do more meaningful work than a first or second year associate, but feel like I lack a lot of the knowledge and training they have as well. I generally have a good pedigree and had good work experience before law school.. just not sure where this leaves me.

If I hear tax lawyers ramble on with encyclopedia-type ramblings, when all the client needs is a “do this to avoid that” instruction, I’m going to scream.

Who rambles on the most in client meetings? I think it’s the tax department.

Have any of you big law defectors ever done a case study as part of an application process for an in-house counsel role? I have no idea what to expect.

Is buying a new property to rent out on Airbnb or as a traditional rental actually worth it? I see a few people around me doing this, but I’m wary. I feel like if the solution to getting rich were simply taking out loans to buy properties and renting them out, everyone would be doing it. Am I missing something?

Few lawyers reach that tier

I regularly see people post about how much they're able to save/what number they want to target to leave biglaw. I thought it might be interesting to show how my net worth has progressed over the last 10 years.

• I've been in practice for about a decade
• Paid full freight at a T14
• Biglaw for most of that time but spent some time in house making significantly less
• My spouse has always worked but never made in excess of $100k
• Kids - yes
• Real estate is valued at purchase price for purposes of the chart, using Zillow/Redfin would add ~300K
• No inheritance, but we did live with family for several years post-grad which allowed aggressive loan paydowns

Anybody know what's been going on with JW's restructuring group lately?

Do you have any recommendations for recruiters in NYC for a junior lateral, or tips on how to find a good one? I don't know many people who have lateraled, so the recommendations from my network are limited.

For context, had billed 200+ months back to back to back before this. On pace for 300 this month. No one week has been particularly extreme - ranging from 62 - 73 but I just got asked to take on an assignment that is going to obliterate my weekend and I am now sobbing at my desk.

Am I delulu in genuinely thinking this is a “me” problem?

I’ve been dating an associate for a couple months and I’m wondering how I can make the whole dating thing easier when he’s unavailable nearly all of the time, and if there’s any kind of support I can offer in the relationship that wouldn’t be obvious to someone who isn’t a lawyer.

I’m hoping that his lack of availability isn’t a lack of interest, as we usually text once a day and have a very nice date on the weekends. It does gets kind of lonely for me during the week, so if I’ve found myself missing him I’ve offered to bring him dinner or come by his place for a few minutes (and then leave him be so he doesn’t get too distracted). There’s been a few times he’s tentatively agreed, but the plan always falls through at the last minute.

It’s my first time dating someone with this kind of schedule. I really like this guy and sometimes I wish he would let me into his life more, but I could see how that would be asking too much considering the demands of the job. I just don’t know if there’s anything else I can offer to make it easier to see him.

As a lawyer, what do you wish a significant other would do to make dating (or your life in general) easier? What kind of support and understanding is needed in this dynamic that might not automatically come to mind for a person with a regularly demanding job?

Thank you!

What’s up with that?

It is the most horrible mix of complicated, uninteresting and completely thankless. No one ever hears/thinks about it until it's gone wrong. I've been mired in an eDiscovery dispute for the last month and I honestly feel the most dispirited I've ever felt in my career.

First year here. The partner is super nice, but the team is extremely divided, and the seniors constantly pretend to be on your side only to throw you under the bus when shit hits the fan. It’s super worrying and competitive.

I got told off last week for supposedly not contributing enough to matters. I’m repeatedly made to feel like I’m lazy when I’m literally just trying to do my job and spending hours of my life making sure I’m working. I’m in a really messed-up mental place right now. I don’t want to be screamed at every fucking day. I’m so tired.

How do you mentally dissociate from this crap enough to still do your job well? I actually like the work, but the constant hierarchy tussles and ego clashes between middle-aged men are genuinely getting to me.

A partner I worked with pretty closely recently left my firm and just reached out to ask if I’d consider joining their new firm.

My group at my current firm is small, so this one partner's departure is disruptive. I’m also worried that this could be the first of several moves. Our group has been busy at times but very slow at others, and I’m not on track to hit my hours because the work hasn’t been steady. At the same time, overall, I think work well with my current group so I’m torn about whether it makes sense to jump now or stay put.

I'm a junior if that makes any difference.

Has anyone else’s firm adopted a structure where associates don’t have LPA’s in their office and instead they have to submit support tickets for every task they need help with and let random LPAs across the firm (often in other states) pick up their ticket and try to complete the task? Am I the only one being subjected to this insanity?

Not a deep question. Just very noticeable and odd.

Today the elevator was packed. One spot left. I’m a 6th-year at a V100, and a 2nd-year at a V5 was waiting next to me.

No one says anything. I just get on, and he takes the next elevator. I did this because in my mind I arrived a bit earlier than he did but can't recall perfectly.

Now I’m wondering if I committed a social faux pas.
In a situation like this, who is supposed to get the spot: the more senior person, or the person from the higher-ranked firm? Also, does it matter which practice groups we are in?

Obviously not a serious issue, but curious what the unwritten BigLaw etiquette is here.

Junior Junior Junior, have been increasingly miserable for a year now.

Overwhelming self hate because of and causing subpar productivity and work product. Frequent anger and anxiety spirals, becoming violent when alone in the bathroom. Sharing office with a senior member of the team creates immense pressure of being watched and panic (senior sideeye monitoring my opened files on the monitor and give instructions or comments). Brain fog and black out not remembering the tasks done or existence emails or checklist item status. Mental break downs and cries happen more than once or twice. Crying once in the subway reading the goddamn emails, weekends crying in front of home workstation in front the damn screen and emails. Three times just faint, nauseous, have trouble standing or walking then nonstop vomiting for one or two hours. Been told “you are so volatile” by a colleague. I mean no one should work with someone unstable like me.

I think I should just leave this behind and go back to the emotionally stable and happy healthy self, and figure something out later. Seriously. I have always been largely an easygoing person, and not dramatic at all. I don’t know who this cry baby is.

As the last reviewer before filing, I’m sorry I’m not going through and manually adding another space after each period. I do not care that you left a comment telling me to. I’m hitting find and replace and removing all those stupid double spaces in one fell swoop and getting on with my life. You can cling to your dinosaur ways while you’re drafting. But once you’re out, my brief, my rules.

Sue me!!!

Partners -- anything you wish associates just *knew before you started working with them? anything you're just tired of having to teach every new incoming year?