I had to spend about $200 of my first paycheck on clothes. I bought two suits back when I was a 1L; other than that, I hadn't made a substantial clothing purchase in about four years. How could I? Until I had a steady job, I didn't know what kind of clothes I needed.
At my current job, I am expected to wear dress clothes, but not suits. That is a challenge. I spent about a month scouring Goodwill for sport coats and the internet for tailored trousers (no one--but no one--sells my pants size off the rack). In the end, I think I did pretty well. As long as my lawyer lifestyle doesn't make me fat, I should be set for work clothes for a year or more.
Once I've built up my savings a bit, maybe I'll indulge in a few high-end garments. Until then, I'm the attorney in the used jacket and discount pants.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Working (not so) Hard
Based on my experiences so far, the stories you hear about young lawyers working sixty, eighty, or a hundred hours a week are exaggerated. I've had a few late nights at work because of after-hours client meetings, but most of my days are eight to five. I am told that we'll be a lot busier when we have a trial coming up, but that only happens a few times a year.
Maybe that 'midnight oil' lifestyle only happens at the big firms. Or maybe lawyers just perpetuate the myth of the overworked associate so they can justify billing sixteen hours a day. Nah, they wouldn't do that.
Maybe that 'midnight oil' lifestyle only happens at the big firms. Or maybe lawyers just perpetuate the myth of the overworked associate so they can justify billing sixteen hours a day. Nah, they wouldn't do that.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Blog Reborn
I decided I'm not ready to quit blogging, so I rechristened the blog 'LR Law' (get it? get it? I'm old) and will keep posting about my experiences as an attorney.
I want to use this, my first "lawyer post," to lower expectations in two ways. First, I doubt that I will have time to post twice a week as I did through most of law school. Second, I don't intend to get fired over my blog, so my posts will tend to be extremely vague. My identity is no secret to regular readers, but maybe I can stay off my boss' radar. For now, suffice it to say that I work at a small firm in downtown Little Rock.
I want to use this, my first "lawyer post," to lower expectations in two ways. First, I doubt that I will have time to post twice a week as I did through most of law school. Second, I don't intend to get fired over my blog, so my posts will tend to be extremely vague. My identity is no secret to regular readers, but maybe I can stay off my boss' radar. For now, suffice it to say that I work at a small firm in downtown Little Rock.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
One Last Post About School
This blog has been more or less dormant since I passed the bar, and I haven't quite decided whether I should shutter it altogether. This I know for sure: I can't call it a law school blog anymore. But before I pack it in or change the blog's name or whatever I'm going to do, I want to ask myself the one question that sums it all up: If I knew then what I know now, would I have applied to law school at all?
I suppose so, but it's hardly a slam dunk.
Financially, law school was not a good bet.
To make law school pay (at least in the third-tier, small-market law school world I experienced), you have to be either an academic savant, a networking savant, or a lawyer's kid. I would categorize myself as an academic savant and a networking dullard, and that combination almost sank me. Those eight months of unemployment after graduation were a terrible, terrible time for me, and it's going to take a long time to forget them. Now I earn maybe twenty percent more than I did before I went to school. My long-term earning potential is good, sure, but it's going to take me a long time to make up for that lost three years.
In terms of job satisfaction, so far, so good.
I went to law school in the first place because I was burned out on the clerical and accounting jobs I've done my whole life. Practicing law is a lot more fun, but I've only been at it for a month. In five years, will I be more burned out than ever? Statistics say yes--law is just about the drinkingest, drug-abusingest, most depressed profession there is. Maybe I'll be the exception.
So law school turned out to be an okay option for the bored accountant I was four years ago, but if I really had a do-over, I'd go back and warn my eighteen-year-old self to lay off that cushy history major and take some physics or chemistry or computer science classes. I suspect I'd be more employable with most any science undergraduate degree than I am with a law degree. What's more, I'd be more employable as a lawyer if I had some kind of science background; the field is saturated with history and poli-sci majors. Stay in school, kids!
I suppose so, but it's hardly a slam dunk.
Financially, law school was not a good bet.
To make law school pay (at least in the third-tier, small-market law school world I experienced), you have to be either an academic savant, a networking savant, or a lawyer's kid. I would categorize myself as an academic savant and a networking dullard, and that combination almost sank me. Those eight months of unemployment after graduation were a terrible, terrible time for me, and it's going to take a long time to forget them. Now I earn maybe twenty percent more than I did before I went to school. My long-term earning potential is good, sure, but it's going to take me a long time to make up for that lost three years.
In terms of job satisfaction, so far, so good.
I went to law school in the first place because I was burned out on the clerical and accounting jobs I've done my whole life. Practicing law is a lot more fun, but I've only been at it for a month. In five years, will I be more burned out than ever? Statistics say yes--law is just about the drinkingest, drug-abusingest, most depressed profession there is. Maybe I'll be the exception.
So law school turned out to be an okay option for the bored accountant I was four years ago, but if I really had a do-over, I'd go back and warn my eighteen-year-old self to lay off that cushy history major and take some physics or chemistry or computer science classes. I suspect I'd be more employable with most any science undergraduate degree than I am with a law degree. What's more, I'd be more employable as a lawyer if I had some kind of science background; the field is saturated with history and poli-sci majors. Stay in school, kids!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Employed, For Now
Today was my first day as a practicing attorney. A small firm hired me to fill in while one of the associates takes maternity leave. That will last a few months, and then they'll decide if the workload (and my performance) justifies taking me on permanently.
I've been chasing every job in sight for eight months, but I got this one because one of my law school classmates heard about it through the grapevine and gave my name to the hiring attorney. Do not underestimate the value of having a good reputation among your peers.
I've been chasing every job in sight for eight months, but I got this one because one of my law school classmates heard about it through the grapevine and gave my name to the hiring attorney. Do not underestimate the value of having a good reputation among your peers.
Monday, January 2, 2012
I'm Still Here
I haven't abandoned the blog. There is simply nothing to report. There have been eight job applications, two interviews, and no offers since my last post.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Professional Practicum
I passed the MPRE, passed the bar exam, took the oath, paid the license fee, but I still had to take care of one more piece of business last week. Every attorney licensed in Arkansas is required to attend a Professional Practicum put on by the Arkansas Bar Association. The state supreme court evidently takes the requirement seriously, because I know at least one attorney in town who missed the thing and had her license suspended over it.
The practicum is an all-day seminar that aims to promote professionalism and civility among lawyers. That is to say, it consists mostly of a series of speakers admonishing new attorneys to play nice with one another. Apparently the Arkansas bar has a history of cooperation and collegiality, but as the number of lawyers increases there is a fear that we'll get more attorneys of the type exemplified by this famous YouTube video:
The practicum is the Arkansas bar's bid to nip that trend in the bud.
To me, it was mostly an opportunity to mingle with old classmates. I like visiting with these people, but I'm getting tired of having to tell them that I'm unemployed. The pool of jobless attorneys for me to commiserate with is shrinking all the time (though I can't help but wonder how many of the people identifying themselves as "solo practitioners" are de facto unemployed). It's only a matter of time before my friends start avoiding eye contact at social events so they don't have to talk to me about it.
The practicum is an all-day seminar that aims to promote professionalism and civility among lawyers. That is to say, it consists mostly of a series of speakers admonishing new attorneys to play nice with one another. Apparently the Arkansas bar has a history of cooperation and collegiality, but as the number of lawyers increases there is a fear that we'll get more attorneys of the type exemplified by this famous YouTube video:
To me, it was mostly an opportunity to mingle with old classmates. I like visiting with these people, but I'm getting tired of having to tell them that I'm unemployed. The pool of jobless attorneys for me to commiserate with is shrinking all the time (though I can't help but wonder how many of the people identifying themselves as "solo practitioners" are de facto unemployed). It's only a matter of time before my friends start avoiding eye contact at social events so they don't have to talk to me about it.
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