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Biglaw to litigation boutique -- any reason I shouldn't take the leap?
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Date: March 19th, 2017 12:44 PM Author: Sepia address The move I'm considering is from biglaw to a litigation boutique. Both are in the same major metropolitan legal market. I'm not going to give further details, but basically it's a pretty significant pay/prestige reduction in exchange for a sane life. I don't need the money. Anyone have any thoughts on this decision? If you tried to do the same thing, have any advice or stories to tell? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32865737) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 12:47 PM Author: Territorial set most lit boutiques are midlaw shitholes. the "lit boutique" name is largely flame.
are you SURE your hours will be better? lots of "lit boutiques" make it much harder to bill than in biglaw. you cant pad as much, partners force you to write down your time, more unbillable shitwork, etc.
find out from reliable sources whether the hours are really better. |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 12:50 PM Author: pale kink-friendly twinkling uncleanness stead Plus, they may have work today and in a year they may have nothing and you're out the door. Every firm is shit. Expecting better hours is expecting too much. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32865781) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 12:51 PM Author: Territorial set if the firm has been around for a while, i'd be more worried about the opposite problem -- people leave and they dont hire enough and you get swamped w work. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32865801) |
Date: March 19th, 2017 12:49 PM Author: Vivacious cruise ship sneaky criminal i thought "lit boutique" referred to fairly elite shops.
prestige reduction/pay reduction sounds like you're just headed to some shithole. |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 12:51 PM Author: Territorial set (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32865792) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 1:09 PM Author: Sepia address Ok, fine, drop the "lit boutique" label and just call it a small law shop that does commercial litigation in the $10-30 mil range mainly for a mix of Fortune 500 clients and professional firms. This is based on my research of their cases. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32865961) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 1:11 PM Author: Territorial set that could very well be higher-stakes shitlaw, breh.
do you know anyone at the firm? |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 1:18 PM Author: Sepia address I know an assistant GC who worked with them and likes them, saying they're basically nice, smart, and honest. He didn't have the impression they were burning the midnight oil often, though obviously he doesn't have direct knowledge. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32866038) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 1:20 PM Author: Territorial set he doesnt know what it's like to work there and if the partners are assholes. plenty of partners are nice to the outside world but treat their assocs like shit.
do more homework. can you find former associates and ask them? |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 2:13 PM Author: Sepia address That's the one problem... I've found very few former associates, and I'm having trouble getting the ones I found to respond. One is now in an Of Counsel position in biglaw, and two appear to have left the law (one started a sort of reg consulting business, the other is doing a non-profit thing). It might be that they don't hire a lot, and the people they hire tend to stay there. Either that, or the former associates don't bother having a LinkedIn. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32866546) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 3:40 PM Author: Territorial set do whatever you can to talk to them -- call them up on monday. former associates are the only reliable source of info if you dont know someone at the firm. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32867202) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 3:56 PM Author: Marvelous Home (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32867348) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 1:14 PM Author: Insecure Flushed Institution Skinny Woman It is common for these to be sweatshops, whether prestigious or not, so be very careful. And shit can do downhill fast since there is no real fat compared to biglaw. Collections start suffering a bit and the firm (partners) feel it immediately and start wondering whether you're worth it. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32865999) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 1:22 PM Author: Sepia address I'm just thinking it'd be weird for each person I interviewed with to talk about their kids and tell me how the firm is great if you have kids. I told them I was planning on having kids within the next five years, and they didn't bat an eye and gave me an offer anyway. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32866083) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 3:52 PM Author: Territorial set you're in biglaw. you already know lawyers are delusional and sociopathic.
"how the firm is great if you have kids" could = "you can come home for dinner, and then work at home until 3am after your kids are in bed" |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 7:39 PM Author: red federal cuck sanctuary DAT | BALANCE (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32869053) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 9:20 PM Author: Territorial set (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32869773) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 8:05 PM Author: spectacular gaming laptop So true. What the fuck is wrong with these people. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32869235) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 1:19 PM Author: chest-beating whorehouse friendly grandma How many hours are you billing now? How much are you on call? These are the only relevant questions. Nothing else matters. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32866047) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 1:27 PM Author: Sepia address I'm on call all the time, and I billed ~2400 hours last year, plus I had a ton a non-billable firm stuff. I just have a feeling the main reason my current firm likes me is because I'm their workhorse ... sooner or later I'll keel over and die, and then my carcass will be sent to the glue factory. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32866122) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 2:00 PM Author: chest-beating whorehouse friendly grandma Run (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32866438) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 2:20 PM Author: Magical Onyx Piazza I went from biglaw to a boutique shop. Built solid relationships with them and enjoyed my time there. There were times when the hours were lean, but it worked out in the end. We catered to smaller clients that couldn't afford biglaw fees or were not getting the svc they wanted. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32866595) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 3:58 PM Author: henna state I did this and it turned out terribly (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32867365) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 4:17 PM Author: Sepia address How so? What went wrong? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32867528) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 8:02 PM Author: henna state I made less, worked more, and worked with some severely psychotic partners. One time I stayed there til 6 am working on some BS brief, went home and showered, came back at 8 am, and was told by the psycho on THAT DAY that he didn't think I was working enough. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32869209) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 8:02 PM Author: fishy menage God damn. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32869216) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 3:59 PM Author: Curious market Working the same or more for less compensation usually works out great. I bet your new firm bio will include some fun and quirky information about how you like to make time to get away to Spain whenever you can. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32867368) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 7:40 PM Author: Lascivious den pistol (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32869057) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 7:52 PM Author: Violent adventurous rehab pisswyrm Any reason? Yeah, it's litigation. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32869135) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 7:56 PM Author: fishy menage This is anecdotal. A guy I used to work with left for a boutique. Called me a year later to get me to move over and he told me the training is better. The client contact is better and the teams are leaner so the early experience is better. 3 or 4 years after that he came back to our firm. Turns out the flip side of all that lean teams and early experience was 3000 hour years. He also told me that, other than one year when the firm rang the bell with a big plaintiff side win and everyone got a huge bonus, the pay was always less than he had made before he left biglaw. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32869161) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 8:04 PM Author: fishy menage One more thing - these guys don't have to go to OCI every year and worry about what Above the law and other blogs said about working there. It's a totally different business model. As a result, their only motive is to work you to death so they can pocket more. People shit talk about biglaw. My biglaw gig is a walk in the fucking park compared to my previous midlaw gig. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32869231) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 9:20 PM Author: fishy menage (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32869771) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 9:50 PM Author: fishy menage (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32869995) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 10:20 PM Author: concupiscible kitchen double fault I'm sure your biglaw is terrible but if you are going to some firm that has 10-15 partners and you are going to be one of their only associates you might be in for a world of pain. There's nowhere to hide when you have to be everyone's go-to guy and there are no other associates or paralegals to dump work on. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32870187) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 10:33 PM Author: odious adulterous striped hyena Lit is a soul crushing waste of time. Doing it for less money is a mistake. The grass is dark brown everywhere. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32870277) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 10:36 PM Author: bat-shit-crazy appetizing point Not to pile on but I also went from biglaw to midlaw and had a terrible experience that caused me to return to biglaw. I ended up dealing with douchebag partners who made me basically do 90% of their practices for them and who in return treated me like shit. The lack of professionalism was also galling. For example I did nearly all of the work on one matter - with a couple very late nights when the partner over-promised and then dumped stuff on me at the last minute - and then when I saw the invoice I caught him writing off ~50% of my time and crediting a ton of hours to him while he was barely involved. Crazy shit. I made it a year and ran back to biglaw and I fucking hate biglaw. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32870307) |
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Date: March 19th, 2017 11:09 PM Author: twinkling vibrant messiness i was a a summer associate at a lit boutique, and I was shocked when i saw that a partner had billed a flat 15 hours every single weekday. he wasn't on trial and i had eaten a long lunch with him one of those days. i seriously thought he was committing fraud. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#32870579) |
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Date: February 15th, 2019 8:26 PM Author: Alcoholic Fuchsia Stag Film (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3557755&forum_id=2#37789701) |