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Hey everybody, I went to the third-best law school in my state, drank the whole way through, did moot court because it came with a free trip to Europe for the competition, and walked into a biglaw gig at 3L OCI through a friend who's firm was looking to grow their class. I just got a raise because Milbank partners were worried about their summer recruiting prospects. You should all go to law school because my story is infinitely repeatable. Edit: If you want to add my bio the above is true enough, or "midlevel biglaw associate, largely works in funds." Jean-Paul Shartre fucked around with this message at 00:02 on Aug 8, 2018 |
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Aug 7, 2018 22:56
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EwokEntourage posted:Have you considered become a dissident and then seeking asylum Ah, yes, with Russia's well known respect for dissident asylees in the west!
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Aug 15, 2018 22:54
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Hey folks, look like I have a second round interview for an interesting in-house position coming up (not a typical corporate client but I'd not say more yet). For reference I'm a midlevel transactional associate at an NYC biglaw shop. Any tips on preparing for/what to expect in an interview for an in-house position, particularly one that's related to, but not directly in, my current practice area?
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Aug 27, 2018 18:20
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Massive thank you Sab, super helpful! Now just to hope that what they're looking for is congruent with what I'm offering. Vox Nihili posted:Ugh, gin. I don't think I'd cut it at a clear liquor outfit. Negronis, brother.
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Aug 28, 2018 22:48
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BigHead posted:Definitely include information about the backdoor IRA even if you don't find it useful for your own situation. Others (myself included) find it extremely useful and could have definitely used the information much earlier than when we got it. Seconded. There will be people for whom it makes sense and people for whom it doesn't. You don't have to be able to walk them through step-by-step to point out that the option exists and give a general overview. Regarding more general advice, remind them that if they're looking to retire in 30-50 years, they should focus on loads and fees as much as performance these days if they're handling their own money, and discuss financial adviser registration and the fiduciary rule for people who want to outsource that to an adviser (or even for them to remember when they want to do that in ten years). Maybe also talk about the absolute basics - creating an "emergency fund"/backstop, savings vs. spending ratios, carrying credit card balances (and why you really shouldn't), etc - remember there's going to be a depressingly large portion of first years that have gone straight through school, have never lived in the real world and have never been taught this stuff. EDIT (as I realize I didn't answer your initial question): I have a financial adviser that I'm quite happy with - I know I pay some money in advisory fees that I wouldn't otherwise, but I find it worth the money to 1) avoid the stress and time spent managing my own portfolio, 2) rely on his experience on the margins (e.g. choosing between various low-load/fee funds, portfolio balancing) and 3) take advantage of opportunities he has access to that I don't, or don't easily alone (e.g. low-risk PE exposure, non-US exposures). Due to particular circumstances I'm unlikely to be able to take advantage of the tax benefits of an IRA when I'm older, so I don't currently have one. I have a savings account that I automatically kick a portion of each paycheck into and once that account gets chunky enough I send a tranche over to the brokerage account my adviser has access to, which I think of as my "retirement" though it's not tax-treated as such - this is above and beyond an "emergency fund" of a year's rent/living expenses (which I'd advise your first years to get at least get 3-6 months of expenses set aside before doing any of the rest of this but debt service). Jean-Paul Shartre fucked around with this message at 19:43 on Sep 4, 2018 |
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Sep 4, 2018 19:31
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Ani posted:Can't you not contribute to a trad IRA if you max out your 401k? Clearly I need to read the long-term investing thread... Unless you really need the free coffee. For those who are curious: they're often selling a life insurance derivative product which has one major advantage: the commission. It's not an advantage for the investor, mind. Best of those cold calls I ever got was for a 5k bespoke suit. Still hung up on him, but at least it was a moment of levity. Jean-Paul Shartre fucked around with this message at 20:38 on Sep 4, 2018 |
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Sep 4, 2018 20:36
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Mr. Nice! posted:Maybe I should set up a kangaroo BDSM court for all of these people to sue each other. Can treat it as a form of binding arbitration ala Judge Judy. Emphasize the "binding" and you're halfway there.
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Sep 11, 2018 17:51
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And to really clarify it there's some firms that have both "counsel," senior attorneys that are one of 1) in internal service positions (environmental, energy regulation, etc.) such that they don't have many external clients and won't make partner, 2) promoted associates who are being judged for entry into the partnership, or, less commonly, 3) partner-age and level attorneys that aren't interested in being a partner but still do good work, and then "of counsel," who are retired partners who no longer hold equity but still show up because they 1) have some clients still, 2) are the source of institutional knowledge (whether or not that goes beyond which filing cabinet from 1983 the document you need is in) or 3) don't know what to do besides show up to the office each day.
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Sep 14, 2018 18:50
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yronic heroism posted:I like that the denial on the 25th am is tailored as “I haven’t witnessed Trump poo poo his pants in the middle of a meeting personally...” That's the part you hone in on, not the "he said it, but said it sarcastically"? Though it's awful reporting nonetheless.
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Sep 21, 2018 21:59
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mastershakeman posted:
Well it's the Fifth Circuit. Just shoot your own client beforehand, it's far more merciful than what they're going to do to him/her.
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Sep 24, 2018 16:24
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sullat posted:Furthermore, the whole "hire a prosecutor to grill the witness and then get rid of her because the nominee is melting under the slightest pressure" made it look like the whole thing was rigged in favor of the nominee. Made it look like it was rigged? Did you see the speeches at the "values voter" summit? Oh, and unrelatedly:  Got offered a clerkship this afternoon. After three years on the transactional side I'm both incredibly excited and scared shitless to get back into disputin'.
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Sep 28, 2018 03:26
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Nice piece of fish posted:Did have to write the court and ask to be relieved though, there's no way I'm staying impartial through a trial for instance, I'm not a robot. So not only are you acting morally, you're remaining cognizant of your ethical obligations and diligently seeking to conform. Not only are you a good person, you're gonna be fine, bruh.
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Oct 3, 2018 15:31
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Welp, just handed in notice. Feels good man. Two more weeks here, then a few days to clear my head, then the clerkship starts.
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Oct 15, 2018 21:07
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NYC was a mass ceremony, surprise surprise. But it was at the AD courthouse and all, so got to show my parents around the very pretty building and such. We all signed this book individually though, and after we were admitted en masse on motion, we did get harangued by one of the old crotchety appeals judges to act ethically and not be dicks, with the unspoken subtext of "... unlike most of the present NY bar."
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Jun 7, 2019 13:24
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Condolences. My stepdad's funeral is this weekend, so I sympathize. Also, it's your dad, you can say what you want and anyone whom, y'know, wasn't his child can just take it.
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Jul 5, 2019 16:48
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Makes sense. Back in the day after I was a SLIP intern at DoJ, I got an offer to come back at OIL (immigration litigation) through AG Honors - didn't take it of course - and the office was diverse, young, all the proper buzzwords. And then once you're in that line of work in the gov't, it's real hard on a personal level to get out - like 60-80k pay drop if you move to immigrant defense and the worry about never being accepted back if you do leave.
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Aug 9, 2019 02:34
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Yoda posted:After multiple internships and a year of licensed practice on the job, I now finally feel like a true public defender! V nice! Got the spot on the wall ready for that frame?
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Oct 19, 2019 14:28
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Ani posted:Separately, for folks at firms: I'm on a transaction now where the paralegal has done way more than expected and really saved our asses. Would it be weird to get him a Christmas gift, and if so, is there a "market" standard for it (similar to how in biglaw you typically give your admin assistance $100 x class year)? Honestly, I'd take her/him out for a nice lunch or fancy drinks after work and with, if they're down, someone else on the deal team too, and specify it's a thank you for the work. I totally get wanting to give money, and I've been there, but I'd worry about blowback if word gets to the other paras that this one just got [X]00 cash or expectation-setting where that becomes the new norm, since, if yours are anything like ours were they don't know when not to talk about everything happening to them to everyone.
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Dec 15, 2019 14:40
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Pook Good Mook posted:The days I spent with my friends studying for finals, just the group of us, shared experience, having all day to talk and bitch, are some of my favorite memories from law school. Hell, I still describe some law school friends "foxhole buddies" in a very similar way. That, and beating CivPro (to pick an example) into the heads of some of the thicker ones helped me get better at it, which probably didn't hurt my own job prospects.
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Apr 20, 2020 21:58
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Discendo Vox posted:Buddy if your blowjobs are like your posts, you’re never making T14. Dunno, I got some pretty bad blowjobs back in the day...
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May 1, 2020 21:34
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Clerking and a similar story - much of the work hasn't changed, we're still passing drafts, researching, working on memos and the like, just from home. We've moved our docket to conference calls for motion practice and, while not perfect, it's gone about as smooth as can be expected. Just feel lucky I'm drawing a federal salary these days, many of my friends at firms are getting cuts, no matter where the firm is on the spectrum - even NYC biglaw.
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May 9, 2020 12:42
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BigHead posted:Edit: Oh, yeah, join the federalist society. With the war things are going, that's a ticket to a judgeship if you want it. One of the federal courts in NY has a thirty-seven year old's nomination pending.
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May 13, 2020 00:11
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Chuka Umana posted:I thought why not give law school a shot and hopefully do something meaningful with my life and have a positive impact on the criminal justice system somehow. Echoing what literally everyone else has said. There's a reason almost every lawyer in this thread tells almost anyone asking to not be a lawyer. Also, if you specifically want to effect change on the criminal justice system, you don't want to be a lawyer in it. That's not the right place to hold a lever that can actually move poo poo. Look into public policy, or social work to keep people out of the system, or public health if you specifically want to work on addiction. Lawyers work within systems more than we change them; to strain a metaphor, we're the lubricant in an engine, not the engineer that designed it.
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May 22, 2020 13:21
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mastershakeman posted:the only closed book exam i even remember is one in 3L year where the teachers over and over told us we wouldn't need to know specific case names and just concepts. the closed book exam had one of the half dozen essays just ask ' what is the holding of casename' that was completely obscure. we all had a laugh outside about how it was just how they set the curve - only the turbonerds would knew the answer and no one else did, so it was clear they didnt even have to grade the rest of the exams to hand out a handful of As and a ton of Bs The "short essay" part of my closed-book civpro exam was one fact pattern and three essays: (1) how would this case come out under McGee; (2) how would this case come out under World-Wide Volkswagen ; (3) how would this case come out under Burger King. Don't remember if those were the three cases but you take the horrible, horrible point. Eight-hour take-home open book exams with word limits or death! No, seriously, they're the best, and most realistic, so long as the word limits are short enough that the goal is to construct the right answers rather than vomit out all the rules you know.
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Jun 4, 2020 21:46
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Michael Phelps here...
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Jun 5, 2020 00:41
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So because this is the darkest timeline, who wants to bet that if Minneapolis does actually abolish the current police department Scalia's DoL will try to enforce the NLRA for the first time?
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Jun 5, 2020 17:11
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It wouldn't have even been that hard to actually ground the logic though. Considering the Civil War was won by a conscripted army, legislative intent as to what was meant by "involuntary servitude" gives you a drat easy out.
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Jun 6, 2020 00:47
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Oh yeah, that's the poo poo I need after a rough day. Right into my veins, ugh...
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Jun 9, 2020 23:54
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Sorry to hear Toona. Echoing everyone else here that you two were both lucky to have each other.
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Jun 20, 2020 14:41
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Cravath would be conflicted, "gently caress you and die" is their motto after all. My money's on Davis Polk, one dead gay institution saving another.
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Jun 26, 2020 18:16
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Moneyball posted:Okay it was blarzgh Shame the title's already changed so recently.
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Jul 10, 2020 00:18
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Mr. Nice! posted:I so far have not ventured onto twitter to pitch my story. I don’t know if i want to dive into that mess. Good. I'm infinitely glad you're ok, and thank you, thank you, thank you, for being out and being heard (stinking judicial code of conduct applying to clerks), but you've already told us enough. As much as I want to follow this vicariously, remember everything you say here/anywhere will be read by opposing counsel in the worst possible tone of voice.
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Aug 31, 2020 04:12
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To be fair, the only positive right biglaw cares about is the right to contract... (he says incredulous that he's looking at going back to a firm)
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Sep 21, 2020 18:17
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Mr. Nice! posted:It warns you if you've filed a non-pdf/a document, as well. When courts actually use them, the proposed order submission is pretty nifty as well. A fuckton of judges still just have you email .docx files to their JA instead. I mean my boss's JA is a better lawyer than average, and she's not even a lawyer, so checks out.
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Dec 5, 2020 20:21
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disjoe posted:I would take the mid sized firm offer 99% of the time. The problem with being a staff attorney is you’re going to be the first one on the chopping block if the work dries up, and also yeah you won’t ever be an associate even if you lateral. As a former funds associate, wholly agree with that. A partner-track associate position is simply viewed differently than a staff attorney gig - it'll be assumed you got better training, got more drafting/negotiating work and saw more interesting things, while a staff attorney handles SEC forms and subscriptions all day. Also, even if the firm is only midsize, if the individual lawyers or clients have a good reputation (i.e. if a partner or two used to be at a big shop and you can say "I was trained by [x]" or "I worked for [y client] on an issue worth $texas") you can use that to sell yourself should you move. Jean-Paul Shartre fucked around with this message at 19:03 on Apr 8, 2021 |
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Apr 8, 2021 18:42
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FWIW I had a second round interview with a DC big law shop today and what I was told is that they're expecting folks, once vaccinated, to "start" coming back to the office in July, and even then it'd be a few days a week and not daily for a while yet.
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Apr 14, 2021 21:46
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Well glad the decision just got really easy for you. Go make enough to become a client who's money we move!
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Apr 15, 2021 11:20
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:If you're in the South, despite the stereotype, it's worthwhile to buy a seersucker suit also. Get tan stripes not blue and don't wear a bow tie with it, you don't want to look like a cartoon character. Only costs around $100 and it's the most comfortable thing you can wear in the summer, cheaper and easier to maintain than linen. Every few seasons J Crew has a navy on navy seersucker suit and so it doesn't even register as seersucker rather than just a cotton navy suit. Love mine.
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May 4, 2021 18:37
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My last year of undergrad in Chicago one of my roommates was from Hawaii, and then my stepsister's wife, who also lived in Chicago, was native Hawaiian. Chicago was bad enough for me being Texan, just knowing when it snowed in October that was it for the next six months, I have no idea how they handled it...
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May 29, 2021 03:46
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blarzgh posted:practicing law without a license is a crime, so Well not in the provisional state of Sequoyah, duh
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Jun 8, 2021 17:47
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