What with all of the focus on Jenkens these days, I’ve almost forgotten that some people work at big firms and like it. Then again, some people also vote for Sanjaya on American Idol. There’s no accounting for taste.
That said, after my splintering attack on big firm life,
I had lunch with a friend who has done the opposite of what I’ve done:
she went from a smaller firm to a bigger firm. And she more or less likes it. So, in fairness to lawyers in firms of all sizes, here is my list of top ten things that I miss about working at a bigger firm:
- The money. There’s no getting round it.
- Wine in the desk drawers of the partners. It’s true. At the bigger firm, most of the partners had wine in their offices. And
oftenfrom time to time, they’d pop a bottle or two open. In fact, when my parents stopped in for the very first time, they were greeted by an impromptu wine and cheese in the lobby. There they were: all of the lawyers that I worked with, getting a buzz on. - The “reply all” button. It’s not as funny in a smaller office when someone inadvertently hits “reply all.” It’s just not.
- Having your coffee/beverage of choice brought to you. They do this in an effort to not have you get up and possibly lose a billable minute or two (I swear to God they’d catheterize you if they thought they could get away with it). I could probably convince my secretary to bring me coffee every day now but it just seems so lame in an office that small.
- Office supplies. Bigger firms have inordinate amounts of office supplies and all kinds of toys like laminators and automatic binders. I go nuts for that stuff.
- Office meetings. At the bigger law offices, there are meetings for hours on end to complain about things not getting done. Oh, the poetic justice. I kind of miss that. Our meetings are hardly ever for hours on end. Usually it’s just Chris and I at lunch, which more or less ruins lunch.
- Leftovers. After said office meetings, there were always leftovers. Which meant free lunch.
- Hookups and Office Gossip. Let’s face it. On any given day, I already know what there is to know in our office after five or ten minutes. And ain’t nobody hooking up with anybody in our office. Except for Chris and I. But you really don’t want to hear about that. Nobody does. Even me.
- Memos. If you couldn’t think of something to do at a big firm, you could always draft a memo. Memos are the potato peeling of a big law firm. Drafting a memo to myself seems depressing – and a little crazy.
- Revolving Door. Not counting the temps, for which I was literally Murphy Brown, I think attrition in the year that I left my bigger firm was 13. It kept life interesting. At my firm, our historic attrition rate (i.e. since inception) is two.
Sorry guys, that was the best that I could do. It was all that I had in me. I just couldn’t find that much to love at the bigger firms.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
First of all – many of those items you have listed don’t sound so “great” to me (long office meetings – especially when they aren’t billable; revolving door; and/or memos) – AND regarding wine – there’s wine in the kitchen, you just choose to not bring any cheese – regarding coffee – all you have to do is ask.
And beer too, the good stuff – Warsteiner and Victory Hop Devil
>> And beer too, the good stuff – Warsteiner and Victory Hop Devil.
I hate LawDaddy. Have I mentioned that lately?
MLE
some people also vote for Sanjaya on American Idol.
Hey, I resent that. I was for Chris Sligh, all the way.
Don’t know if they still do, but Drinker used to have major cocktail parties every other Friday afternoon with top-shelf everything and a rotating food theme for the hors d’oevres. My sneaking suspicion was that it was a way for the partners to observe the associates’ behavior when at a social function. I enjoyed watching the associates flock around powerful partners when they showed up.
I disagree that lawyers at large firms always earn more than those at small firms. There are some very elite, “specialty” small firms here in the DC area,where associate salaries are competitive, within 5 percent, of large firms. And I know several lawyers who have started their own firms with perhaps a paralegal and associate in traditionally “big law” practice areas like telecom, energy law, securities, etc…who earn salaries on par with those at large firms. The myth that solo and small firm lawyers earn less than those at biglaw is a misperception that keeps many associates at large firm.