Biglaw Burnout

HappyAlumnus
Sat, 31 Jan 2015 22:18:22 +0000

“Other fields” for me has included in-house and non-Biglaw private practice.

Corporate can be 9-5 if you have a low-level job. If you have a job that pays six figures and is a job that someone with a good J.D. or MBA would have, though, the total number of hours can be similar to what you do in Biglaw; the hours are just more regular. When I was in-house (in a Fortune 50 company), I worked probably 60 hours a week, and the travel, post-work events, etc. took up a lot of time. Plus the stress, office politics, general meanness, etc. were brutal. After that, I realized that firms are the place for me.

One of my family members is not a lawyer. He works “corporate”, and he spends about 100 nights a year in hotels and racks up about 100,000 flight miles per year due to travel, away from his wife and kids. Is that better than at least coming home to your wife most days?

I don’t see how you could have only 500k in savings after years of law practice. I was a millionaire by my late 30s due to a Biglaw career path.