It’s tough to be a criminal defense lawyer. It’s a hard practice, banging your head against the wall in courtroom after courtroom, judge after judge. The clients can be difficult. Judges treat you like you’re the legal equivalent of Pee Wee Herman. And your former law school classmates think you’ve chosen a life of loud desperation.
But times change, at least as far as the way your former classmates think of your choice. From Temporary Attorneys, a blog dedicated to the life of the Biglaw second stringers, These used to be the lawyers from lesser schools, or with the ones who made up the bottom of the class, allowing the winners to make up the top. Remember, there’s no top third without a bottom and middle.
These days, however, as Biglaw layoffs have devastated the ranks of young lawyers with loan coming due, even former law review editors have more time than PS3 games can fill. What are their options?
But times change, at least as far as the way your former classmates think of your choice. From Temporary Attorneys, a blog dedicated to the life of the Biglaw second stringers, These used to be the lawyers from lesser schools, or with the ones who made up the bottom of the class, allowing the winners to make up the top. Remember, there’s no top third without a bottom and middle.
These days, however, as Biglaw layoffs have devastated the ranks of young lawyers with loan coming due, even former law review editors have more time than PS3 games can fill. What are their options?
In Chicago, only top tier, top 1/3rd of the class, former biglaw associates with 2+ years of litigation experience need apply (products liability associates preferred!). Unreal. Game over.
“Counsel On Call is currently interviewing attorneys with at least one year of solid electronic document review experience for a contract assignment in downtown Chicago. Must have worked as a litigation associate in a large law firm 2+ years. Experience with products liability litigation strongly preferred. Full time, requires a three month commitment. Top tier school and top 1/3 of class required. Please e-mail resume to [email protected].”
And that’s to get a temporary job doing document review. For CDLs unfamiliar with that phrase, documents are pieces of paper with writing on them. You take them and look at them. Sometimes you have them on computers and don’t have to take them in hand. This avoids nasty paper cuts.
Document review is the bottom ladder of the Biglaw rung. It’s the dregs. It has to be done, but not by anybody who has any dream of a successful career in Biglaw, and certainly no one who ever expects to make partner. Once you do document review, you can never go back. It’s like the scarlet letter of Biglaw.
So what’s it like to do document review? I mean, there’s no shame in doing hard work, and anything worth doing is worth doing right. Here’s a peek inside the life of the document reviewing attorney at Labaton Sucharow.
Document review is the bottom ladder of the Biglaw rung. It’s the dregs. It has to be done, but not by anybody who has any dream of a successful career in Biglaw, and certainly no one who ever expects to make partner. Once you do document review, you can never go back. It’s like the scarlet letter of Biglaw.
So what’s it like to do document review? I mean, there’s no shame in doing hard work, and anything worth doing is worth doing right. Here’s a peek inside the life of the document reviewing attorney at Labaton Sucharow.
Labaton which hired a bunch of attorneys for its Countrywide project some months ago and paid them $32 flat per hour with absolutely no benefits announced that the firm will be closed for Yom Kippur and there will be no pay. How wonderful! I am all for respecting each others’ religion, but I draw the line when it takes money out of my pocket. If you wish to take the day off, enjoy, but why should a company consider it okay to close down on a religious holiday, not a federal one, and screw their Countrywide “employees” out of a day’s pay. Labaton, you suck. You are cheap.
One of the named plaintiffs in Countrywide is the NYS Comptroller, so you Labaton think it is fine to get business from a government entity, operate in New York City and then hire attorneys for a long term project while giving them no benefits whatsoever, and then to boot, impose a religious holiday on them. What the hell is wrong with this country? No wonder that it is so fucked up. It is one thing to get screwed by an agency, but you Labaton made us your employees. You want to pay us the minimum by cutting out the agency’s take, and then you bill the client God knows what for our services, all the while providing no benefits in return. We can’t even get paid overtime because of the bullshit professional exemption in NY. The cleaning people have more benefits and rights than we do.
I get the sense that the writer isn’t happy. When the lawyer is jealous of the cleaning people, that’s a fair call. As described, document review is the lawyer equivalent of a sweat shop, where they are treated like, like, contract workers. They are paid an hourly wage to perform a specific task. The job comes without benefits, and when they don’t work, they don’t get paid. And from what I read, $32 an hour isn’t bad, considering that wages go as low a $18 per hour.
Not all the contract attorneys are so unappreciative of their paycheck. Some are actually thankful to work at all.
Not all the contract attorneys are so unappreciative of their paycheck. Some are actually thankful to work at all.
Just wanted you to know that I started a large scale project today. It’s the De Novo project in NYC. It’s packed to the gills with over one hundred coders. Everyone seems to be in good spirits and thankful to be back at work. In fact, I think many of us are suffering from post-traumatic stress. Whether it was spending months unemployed wondering how we were going to feed our families, or having the fortitude to put up with the “gansta gang” at Sullivan & Cromwell which was oftentimes the only show in town, we have been through a lot. Let’s hope this recovery is sustainable.”
Kinda restores your faith in lawyers, doesn’t it? Such good will in the face of adversity.
Now aren’t you happy that you decided to dedicate your professional career to defending the oppressed and gave up the glamour of a job at Biglaw? Maybe the top third wasn’t really as “best and brightest” as they thought they were. If nothing else, it makes indigent defense rates seem downright attractive.
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From everything I’ve seen, working for a big law firm sucks. I would never do it. I’d either work for a small firm or where I am now. I really like where I am now.
My cousin, however, is in the boat described above. He went to Northwestern and then got a Biglaw job afterwards in IP – he’s been there about two years and he just got laid off for having the audacity of having a life. Apparently it is a horrible sin to, when your parents are out of town and your wife is sick and you need to stay home to watch your three kids ON A SUNDAY, you can’t drop everything and come into work with five minutes notice to get something done that Sunday, not because it is actually due soon, but because the partner felt like getting it done that day.
Another great blog is Big Debt, Small Law. This isn’t my blog, but I would consider it mandatory reading for anyone thinking about law school.
I’ve been reading various blogs covering the life and times of biglaw and temporary attorneys. It makes me feel fortunate I have the job I have. Whenever I start thinking that I need to move to a big city, I think that document review could be my future, and maybe I should stay in the small town.
[Ed. Note: While I normally don’t let people put links to blogs in comments, this one is really great for the sheer angst of it all.]
It seams just another example of how people are being abused by American business. I find it hard to believe $32 an hour for an attorneys pay. I make almost that as a commercial truck driver granted its a hard job but I did not have to attend or pay law school.
I dunno. Supply and demand. Too many lawyers and the price goes down. Plus, we need commercial truck drivers. They do something useful.
Yeah but if you knew that industry you would know why we need good lawyers!
I detasseled corn for $5.35 an hour. Worked at junk yards. Watched my dad (whose body is wrecked) work in factories for $13.50/hr. – which was good pay when he could find it.
$32/hr is great!
I have absolutely no sympathy for document review lawyers.
Come to my hometown where probably 25% of people my age are on meth. Work in a factory for a week. Then talk about hopelessness or whatever.
Also, JAG is a GREAT gig and pays pretty nicely. You’ll never get rich being a military lawyer; but you’ll never be poor, either. Lots of my friends who are majors live a nice life. Of course, one died in Iraq…Such is life, and such is death.
Making $32/hour does not make you a loser. Whining about does.