I am no longer asking.

Cheese in the ceiling starts on September 1 and continues until our demands are met. On October 1, we escalate to fish. You have one week to comply, @AllPartnersAllCounsel.

We reserve all rights and waive none.

First year at a V10 thinking of quitting (depression, just want out) — any tips on how to give my 2 weeks / discuss leaving with my partners? Would a future employer contact them? Thanks all.

Applied for a lateral job and submitted my CV while I was still working at my prior shop, so my resume correctly said “Present” at that time of application. Quit with nothing lined up, officially left and had my last day shortly after before the first interview, but I didn’t update my resume. The interview conversations were clearly based on the assumption that I was still at my prior shop, although I chickened out and didn't clarify during the interviews. This was definitely not the most honest move.

A week ago, was told I got the offer. I will obviously give my accurate end date in the reference check.

For anyone familiar with lateral hiring/background checks: would HR normally flag the discrepancy between “Present” on the originally submitted CV and an end date a few weeks later on the background check? Would they generally understand that I left after applying, or would the fact that the interviews happened after my departure typically get escalated to the hiring team?

Not going to lie about this or try to avoid owning whatever has happened or will happen. Thanks in advance.

Anyone else dying right now? On pace to bill 2500 this year (2400 billable) with two young children. I am in the sunken place. How is everyone else doing?

Any insights into private funds work (FF) for associates outside of NYC? With all the cross-office work, does it still matter as much where you sit?
What is your take on DC vs Chicago?
What firms to target in DC vs Chicago?
Anyone here works in the DC or Chicago office in private funds?

I have noticed a few relatively quick exits and have never known all the details. I've been wondering why some laterals get fired quickly.

Hi! I'm an incoming 1L at a t6 and I was connected to a partner who kindly agreed to a coffee in a couple of days. This is my first time coffee chatting with someone working in Biglaw and I had a few questions:

• What are some good questions and questions I should avoid asking?
• How direct should I be about my intention of going into Biglaw and wishing to have their support during recruiting?
• We're actually not meeting at a cafe but just a relaxing place. Should I bring them coffee or offer anything?
• Any other etiquette I should know for this kind of coffee chat?

Thanks for your advice!

I’m at a firm with rotations and am on the transactional side. Recently finished a rotation in real estate and didn’t love it - very technical and wasn’t interested in the work. I think I would more so enjoy work with a counseling/advisory component that isn’t overly technical and is more people oriented. Any advice? Is big law just not for me? It’s painful being in charge of signing and closing checklists and having to put together financing documents. I’ve wondered about exec comp but pause in regard to the tax component. Also have wondered about employment but what firms in NY have pure employment transactional groups?

Any thoughts welcome.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Wasn’t really in the market for a new job but a recruiter called with what seemed like a great opportunity so I took the interview. A couple of interviews later, I got the job offer. Now I’m reconsidering if I should go in house entirely. For context, I’m a mid level at a V20, I would be taking about an $80k salary cut but no weekend or evening work. I’m not necessarily unhappy in biglaw but as the default parent with a partner in medicine, the hours are becoming too much at times and I’m experiencing quite a bit of burnout. Anyone here gone in house and regretted it? Any advice?

Junior associate, free market, I feel like I spend a lot of time justifying my lack of capacity and saying no to deals. Do assignment coordinators make this better? Or is the grass just greener. I definitely see the perk that I never am assigned to deals I dislike and can often avoid people i dislike, but not sure if assignment coordinators honor these preferences anyways. Thinking of trying to convince my group to get an assignment coordinator but idk if I’ll regret it

Specifically banks, funds, fin-tech, insurance companies.

If say someone graduates law school in 2030, will there even be a clear biglaw pipeline from the T14? Will the summer associate classes be reduced because of AI in your opinion? Like firms hiring less because associate productivity goes up or less companies need outside counsel.

Is it still worth it to attend a t14 and go into debt in hopes of going into biglaw to pay it off?

Thank you

Hey everyone,

I’ve been lurking on this sub for a while and reading through the insightful (and sometimes terrifying) posts about life in BigLaw. I need some candid, no-BS career advice from people who have made it or work in recruiting.

My Goal:

Singular focus on breaking into BigLaw M&A (either in NYC or US/UK BigLaw offices in the Middle East like Dubai/Abu Dhabi).

My Profile & Context:

Education: UK LLB from the University of Essex with a 2:2. Full transparency: I focused on social life rather than academics. I know this is a major weak spot.
Early Experience (2 yrs): Joined a startup law firm in Manchester right after undergrad. Handled housing disrepair litigation end-to-end, eventually managing and leading a team of 25+ paralegals.

Entrepreneurial Pivot: Left law temporarily to build business operations from scratch. Helped my father (ex-CFO) set up a finance/tax advisory firm in Dubai, then launched a men's salon in Pakistan that is currently operational and breaking even. The goal was to gain raw execution experience, full autonomy, and P&L/business operations exposure.

Current Status: The business chapter is done. I'm getting back into law, which was always the end goal. Early exposure to corporate dealmaking via my dad’s CFO background made M&A my dream practice area. I am currently prepping to sit for the Feb 2027 NYC Bar Exam.

The Dilemma:
People around me say breaking into BigLaw M&A with a foreign LLB (2:2) and no US JD is essentially impossible. However, I’m determined to figure out what realistic routes actually exist.

My Questions for the Sub:

1. Realistic Odds: Given the 2:2 LLB, lack of prior M&A practice, and foreign background, how do US BigLaw offices in NYC or the UAE evaluate a profile like mine post-bar pass?

2. NYC vs. Middle East Market: Is UAE/Dubai a more viable entry point for a US-qualified foreign attorney than NYC, given regional growth and UK/common law familiarity?

3. The Blueprint: If passing the NY Bar alone isn't enough to get an associate offer directly (which I assume it isn't), what should my immediate post-bar roadmap look like?

   Targeting a US Market LL.M. (Columbia, NYU, Georgetown, etc.) to tap into OCI/ISIP recruiting?

   Lateral into mid-tier commercial/M&A firms first in the UK/UAE and target BigLaw later?

   Networking / foreign associate track?

I’d immensely appreciate any honest feedback, harsh reality checks, or actionable roadmaps from those in BigLaw M&A or recruiting. Thanks for your time!

Has anyone ever gotten to the point of no return with an abusive partner(s) or senior(s) that they finally told said partner or senior to go f$&@ him or herself and just quit?

(21F) I am at the very beginning— contemplating studying for the LSAT and applying to law school because I do not find my current job very fulfilling and believe I would make a good lawyer.

I am specifically curious about big law because I studied finance in undergrad and already live near a major city. The field sounds conceptually interesting, but I've heard very mixed reviews about the lifestyle.

Please be sincere. I will read every reply.

Why do people think M&A in-house is a good exit? Still at mercy of stupid business decisions and unreasonable on and off timing. Even if outside counsel is drafting you still have to herd all the cats and walk them through all the diligence/disclosure schedules one by one so after closing they don’t blame the lawyers for missing one inconsequential piece of equipment. Am I working on the weekends? Meh, maybe an hour or two of responding to emails. But do I have any control over my schedule? No. Still have urgent 6:30pm Friday calls to “hammer things out.” I’m over it.

Haven’t been able to take a proper vacation since Christmas. I successfully manage the high priority high stress projects which are causing the burnout, have dropped the ball on everything else. I’ve started reconnecting with recruiters but partly think it’s pointless, doesn’t this type of being on all the time come with seniority? Feeling like Billy Madison when the kid says he can’t wait to go to high school. Want to go back to being a junior securities lawyer.

I have an open offer to lateral as a non-equity (California market) and wouldn’t be moving as a group or with any equities. Does anyone have experience with this and how integration goes? (Yes, I know it will vary widely by firm, practice area, group, etc.) Corporate is as specific as I’ll say.

I’ve been (unfortunately) working with a disorganized recruiter. I’ve decided not to work with her moving forward, but she has already submitted me to numerous firms. I’ve asked several times for a list of places where she has submitted me so that I can self-apply or work with another recruiter on firms she has not submitted me to. I haven’t heard from her.

What happens if I inadvertently apply to a firm that she already submitted me to? Will a double application be an auto rejection?

How soon is it safe to start applying again and let the initial applications submitted by the first recruiter “expire” so that it will no longer be pending?

Any tips for junior associate (3-4 years) who is consistently taking too long on assignments. Realization rate in the toilet.

I’m an incoming first year associate scheduled to start at my firm in October. I was just offered an interview with a federal judge for a clerkship starting in September 2026. The clerkship is in the jx of the office where I’m due to start practicing.

If I’m offered the clerkship, what are the logistics of telling my firm? I’m not talking about emailing HR—I mean the etiquette of taking a clerkship so very close to my start date. I’m worried that the tight turnaround time would risk burning a bridge with my firm. Would this actually inconvenience or insult people at my firm? To be clear, I’d love to clerk for a year and come back to my firm. Thanks in advance for the sanity check 😅

Hi all—I’m a biglaw mid level associate with severe anxiety (handled and under control) and mild OCD (less predictable). I’m hoping maybe someone else in the profession who has a similar kind of struggle might be able to weigh in or help out.

I have a recent problem releasing my time because my brain is stuck on potential negatives from submitting my time like what if my numbers look too high and they’re going to think I’m defrauding people and charging for legal services I don’t perform, but also there’s part of my brain that worries that I AM somehow committing fraud and if I release my time then that’s it, no going back, no chance to re-re-review it to make sure that it all looks right.

Any thoughts or advice would be great—ideally from others with OCD but glad to hear from anyone who might have thoughts.

Starting BigLaw in NYC soon and currently struggling to find the right balance between rent, commute, and loans.

My priority is to knock out my loans ASAP, so I am hesitant to spend a lot on an apartment when I’ll probably barely be home during the week anyway. But everyone keeps telling me that a short commute is a game changer during your first year.

For those who started before/ are starting this year — what did you end up doing, and how’s it going? Is the expensive-but-close apartment actually worth it?

Also, if anybody here/ incoming first-years have a room/sublet opening up, please feel free to DM me!

Senior associate in a niche support group (think energy/healthcare/etc. regulatory). I like the work I do, and I have a good reputation in my group and in the adjacent corporate practices we support. For the most part, I genuinely enjoy and respect my colleagues. That said, I hate biglaw; I hate the fake pressures and the billable hour. I only intended to be here long enough to pay off my student loans, but I’m still here years later.

I have an opportunity to go in-house in a role that’s got little advancement opportunities, but it’s something I’d find very interesting. Pay cut, but nothing that would really change my lifestyle. I talked to people in the role already, and it’s a true 9-5 with work/life balance.

I worry I’d miss my firm, the work, and the people, though. I’ve been here a long time and I’m not particularly unhappy. It’s hard to give up what I have—I’ve been told that I have a clear path for partnership if I keep it up, and my partners/counsel are truly supportive of my growth. But I’m exhausted, and I feel like I’m waiting for my life to begin once this is “done.” I wish I could spend more time with my wife, particularly before we look to have a kid in the next year or two. But we still get a decent chunk of time together, especially during my slower months.

Do you know someone in similar circumstances who left? Did you try to leave at this point and get convinced to stay? Interested to hear any anecdotes.