r/biglaw

Whelp, after 12 years I found out last week that I’ll be a partner on Jan 1. I graduated in the bottom 10 people from a law school regularly ranked in the 50-100 range. I didn’t have a job after graduation and had to basically take a temp job in compliance at a bank. I busted my ass and learned a ton on the business side and was able to leverage that into a top 50 firm and managed to really excel in my group. From where I started, I never thought this was a possibility.

I’ve been chasing this for so long and now that it’s here, my second thought (after happiness/relief) was literally “so that’s it? What’s next?” I was listless and totally unmotivated since finding out but today I got excited by the possibility of having a life again, learning new things and spending more time with my family.

So, did anyone else feel unmotivated/listless after making partner?

What are the chances that I’ll actually be able to have a life again?

Might be a stupid question that shows I've never worked a full time job before but here it goes.

I used to take short naps (usually 15-20 minutes, 30-45 minutes max) early afternoon to recharge myself and then I don't mind working till 1 AM. I know some law firms have like break rooms or entertainment rooms, but also it sounds like the firms want you to work and be on call for as long as possible.

Would it be frowned upon if I close my eyes and take a quick nap (not lying down like on a bed but just sitting in my seat) after lunch, especially as a summer/junior associate? What's the best way to take a break without being seen as unserious or lazy? Thank y'all!

For me personally, it was just general love of the game and the constant need to be the partner’s #1 best boy…

Outside of that, what did we spend our 20s hating our lives for? Anyone else wake up in the middle of the night thinking about this (and whatever else I’m gonna bill .2 to for waking me up in the middle of the night)?

A first year messaged me yesterday with a question about a closing set. It was a very basic question. My immediate internal reaction was basically, how do you not know this?

Then about five seconds later I remembered asking almost the exact same question as a first year.

I even remembered who I asked. I remember staring at the Teams message for ten minutes before sending it because I was convinced the senior would think I was an idiot. She answered in about two sentences, explained why we did it that way, and I never had to ask again.

Yesterday I almost responded to this junior with just "yes" because I was busy and slightly annoyed. Instead I gave him the two-sentence explanation. The entire exchange probably cost me an additional 45 seconds.

Kind of embarrassed by how close I was to forgetting all of that.

I'm a senior now, so a lot of things that used to require actual thought have become completely automatic. I know which precedent to pull, who needs to be copied, what the partner actually means when she says "take a look," which things can go directly to the client, which things absolutely cannot, etc. It becomes very easy to mistake "I've done this 80 times" for "this is obvious."

And then we complain that juniors don't ask questions.

Obviously there are bad questions. If I sent you the answer three emails ago and you didn't read it, that's different. But I think I've started mentally putting way too many normal beginner questions into the "you should know this" bucket.

The weird part of getting more senior is realizing that being good at the job can make you worse at remembering what learning the job actually felt like.

Curious if anyone else has caught themselves doing this.

cap-ass at deez nuts

I am working with an awful partner and one of the things that annoys the whole team is that he is always late in reviewing and approving emails or agreements that he asked to check before they are released. This is recurring and has been happening for months.

We, the associates, then need to come up with BS reasons for our counterparties as to why we are late with our deliverables.

Look, I am fucking up my reputation in the market because YOU CAN'T F DO YOUR JOB!!!

Surely he will not survive long, but until then, any tips? Anyone with similar experiences?

V20 biglaw, for context.

Title says it all. I find it wild that people go into this field, join biglaw, nearly kill themselves working and then fight tooth and nail to get a job in house that literally pays them less money. It seems like the most backwards thing and I’m starting to think we might all just be, collectively, insane people.

To be clear I’m not saying I don’t get why people want to be paid less, I completely get it and I’m one of those people. I would love to be in house but have had no such luck yet. I just find it mesmerizing how willing we all are to take pay cuts and I can’t think of any other field that operates that way.

Would appreciate anyone’s insight into which NYC commercial lit boutiques (other than Susman) are equivalent to or better than your GDC/DPW/K&E’s of the world? Beginning to recruit for a post-clerkship job and having a tough time figuring it out for places MoloLamken, HSG, Selendy, Elsberg, BSF, etc.

As I’m becoming more senior, I’m realizing how much I struggle with taking corrections or criticism personally.

Whenever I get corrected on something, I tend to overthink it and become hesitant to take initiative or respond to emails without explicit instructions because I’m afraid of making another mistake. I know this is counterproductive, especially as I’m expected to take more ownership of matters, but it’s hard to shake.

Has anyone else struggled with this? How did you get over the fear of making mistakes and learn to take feedback less personally? Any tips appreciated!

Seven years out of law school. Joined DoJ through Honors program at an obscure office with limited exit opportunity. Stayed there for five years (way longer than I would have liked) and then moved to my current component that offers good exit opportunities.

When I joined DOJ I thought I would be here for life (already 30s after a career before law school & wanted to have kids etc.) enjoying stability and WLB. I love my work and my colleagues are great and neither office I have worked is political. With my current salary I am on track to retire at 60 with maybe $2mm -$3mm (one person no dependents no kids) plus full pension.

But I feel I am leaving $$ on the table and the FOMO and the thought of grass is greener are creeping up everyday.

I really want to go to BL to just stack some cash for a few years and then come back to government. But I feel I am too old and been in government for too long (missed the 3-5 yr sweet spot) and the years in my first office is basically a waste.

Any suggestions or advice?

Based in DC and New York.

Current 3L, just received an offer for a federal clerkship in 2 years.

But my current firm (V20) does not offer clerkship bonuses for transactional associates. Moreover, I already signed my return offer for transactional practice. Should I disclose my 2028 federal clerkship?

Bonus Q: If I receive a 2027 federal clerkship, will the firm be entitled to clawback bonuses/benefits that were given to me contingent on my returning as a first year?

Lol, love to see this.

I've forged a connection with a partner, which I appreciate, but the partner uses me for mundane tasks that don't require much actual thought---quick research on which statute might apply, proof-reading, and fill-in-the-blank type writing (e.g., writing "Ex. A" next to a section in a brief that flags the materials in Exhibit A). Consequently, I don't feel like my skills are growing, and I fear that, if I were to lateral elsewhere (as a senior associate), I wouldn't perform up to expectations.

I am currently a federal judicial law clerk and could use some advice on how to handle a networking situation.

About four months ago, I connected with a partner via Zoom. We had a good conversation, but we didn't really keep in touch afterward. I sent a holiday greeting email later on, but never received a reply.

I recently noticed that this partner switched to a new firm. Interestingly, they are the only partner in their practice group at this new office. Because of this, I suspect they might be looking to build out their team and hire junior associates.

My question is: Should I reach out to congratulate them on the move? And if I do, should I be direct and ask if they are hiring, or is it better to take a more subtle approach given that they didn't reply to my last email?

Any advice on how to navigate this would be greatly appreciated!


Im a rising second year associate working in a niche litigation field (think private wealth, tax, etc.). I just finished my first year and realized that I am not cut out for big law hours, stress, and expectations.

Wondering if anyone has advice on exit opportunities for someone so early on in their career.

Im a 1st generation immigrant who feels like she has no idea what opportunities are out there.

What matters to me:

-prestige doesn't matter

-work life balance matters a lot. A remote job would be amazing

-willing to take 50% or more pay cut, particularly for govt or nonprofit so I can get my 100-200k student debt forgiven

-dont like waking up early as im a night owl and willing to work late (but maybe with better work life balance, waking up early would be fine)

-prefer to live in CA but am willing to relocate anywhere in US for the right job

I've been looking into smaller firms with lower hour requirements (i.e. 1500), CA county/city counsel positions, remote govt (federal or local) positions, in house, and undergraduate professor. So far, from my research, it seems like the city/counsel route would be best for me in terms of work life balance, but i would like more information. My long term goal is to be an undergrad or law professor (probably undergrad bc law prof is too hard).

Any other opportunities out there? Should I just try to stick it out in biglaw as long as possible? My mental and physical health are taking a serious hit.

Also, if anyone works in a remote govt or city/county counsel job, would you mind dm'ing me?

If it matters, I went to a t14 on the lower end.

Thanks in advance.

I was asked by a higher up to put medical records into Claude and create a medical records summary. Even though our firm pays for Claude and supposedly the models are not trained on our data, I didn't feel this was ethical.

I was able to evade this task, but I fear I'll be asked again. Am I overthinking this, or does this violate some ethical standards?

A few threads here lately mention big time savings on large-record review, and also worry about what that does to hourly billing. I'm curious how people think the economics shake out.

Under hourly billing, the efficiency gain is awkward. If a review that took 100 hours now takes a fraction of that, the firm bills less for the same output unless rates rise or volume grows. The client sees a faster result and wonders why the invoice didn't shrink more.

There seem to be three options. The firm keeps the savings through fixed fees. The client gets them through lower bills. Or the cost of the tools eats most of it, which some of you have argued.

I work on the commercial side at an AI-native firm, so I see the pricing side of this more than the legal work. On the matters we've scoped as fixed fee, review effort has dropped by 80%, but I'm not sure that tells us much about how a traditional firm should handle it.

For those of you who've seen this up close: do clients actually push for the savings, or do they still just compare hourly rates? And does the answer change for the junior work that used to absorb that review time?