Biglaw associates feel pressured after long summer hours
15 posts across 8 communities in the last 90 days; 40% from r/biglaw.
“Fuck off. Like not bc you suck or are a bad person but bc you’re wasting your life. Do you have any idea of how many super high level corporate lawyers hate their life - and want to do something else? THEY ALL KNOW THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IN PAINFUL PERFECT 2500 BILLED UNTIL…”
“I hope so! My problem though is that its Friday and I haven't started my cases yet that are due in a couple hours 😅😭 Why do I do this to myself lol? I can't take a break now though or I won't be done in time to write only CFE offering in 2027.”
“God this reminds me of my junior lawyer days - I even stared wearing period pads to catch accidental wizzes when I’d be stuck in partner offices for days and nights (it seemed!) at a time. My sister is a surgeon actually saving lives so in retrospect it seems insane that we are…”
Several posts express distress and burnout among big law associates, citing excessive work hours, demanding tasks, and a disconnect between expectations and reality. One post mentions a concerning incident of an associate jumping from a roof.
SOURCES (15)
“God this reminds me of my junior lawyer days - I even stared wearing period pads to catch accidental wizzes when I’d be stuck in partner offices for days and nights (it seemed!) at a time. My sister is a surgeon actually saving lives so…”
“Sadly, this is the harsh truth. BigLaw getss do towhatever they want and we keep our mouths shut.”
My stock response: "No, it took me until August to stop twitching."
“Please. Just because you’re all miserable over the weekends doesn’t mean I have to be also. submitted by /u/Throwaway1920214 [link] [comments]”
“I’m a fresh grad new associate thrown right into summer busy season. It’s straight up been the worst experience of my life. Does it actually get better? Eventual exit ops worth it? submitted by /u/djm2467 [link] [comments]”
“If you look at my comments, I clearly stated biglaw. I would never be a lawyer outside of biglaw. They make nothing and work just as hard.”
“Fuck off. Like not bc you suck or are a bad person but bc you’re wasting your life. Do you have any idea of how many super high level corporate lawyers hate their life - and want to do something else? THEY ALL KNOW THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IN PAINFUL PERFECT 2500 BILLED UNTIL DIVORCED DETAIL. You have zero competitive advantage you hack”
“I hope so! My problem though is that its Friday and I haven't started my cases yet that are due in a couple hours 😅😭 Why do I do this to myself lol? I can't take a break now though or I won't be done in time to write only CFE offering in 2027.”
“Yeah I’m actually enjoying this silence as I can catch up on other tasks. But the partners still pissed, he’s not said anything in 2 days 🙃”
“Summering at a smaller regional office of a big firm. The summer started off pretty intense, and only intensified. Went from 9 hour days (and I mean 9 working hours, I think I’ve taken two lunch breaks the whole summer), then started hitting more 10/11 and even 12 hour days, finally creeping into the weekends. I just finished up a 9 hour day in office (working the entire day, no breaks), and still have 5-6 more hours tonight because it’s a hard deadline that has already been pushed once. And the”
“particularly in the… litigation spaces submitted by /u/Some_Inflation6684 [link] [comments]”
“What do you think has more acreage hours big4 or big law? I already know i'm going to get downvoted for this-i think both are still difficult and require lots of hours. submitted by /u/Hot_Gazelle_8888 [link] [comments]”
“It’s been quiet from many of the other firms. Don’t let them allow you to forget! submitted by /u/Cute_Physics_3577 [link] [comments]”