I recently conducted an informal survey of junior associate friends working at urban law firms, asking them what they disliked most about working for a big law firm. One person responded:

Hours, followed by unrealistic client demands, followed by stress, caused by hours and unrealistic client demands.

Another person stated simply:

The billable hour system is awful and has created ridiculous incentives.

I can’t say that I disagree. At one firm, my boss actually sat the junior associates down and said that we shouldn’t leave the office unless we had billed at least ten hours that day. There was one problem with this: when the work’s not there, it’s not there. I can recall one week where I billed maybe 20 hours, but never left the office before 8 p.m. The next month, I billed almost 300 hours and had to cancel a vacation. I had absolutely no control over my life outside of the office…and it was miserable for a while there.

It’s not as if I didn’t know what I was getting into, though. Those of you who signed on to work at Big Law LLC most likely knew that, in exchange for the hefty paycheck, you would be sacrificing much of your personal life. This sacrifice comes with plenty of benefits. You’re likely gaining valuable experience (yes, that includes document review and due diligence), working with big name clients, making a few more dollars to pay down those student loans, and slapping the name of a reputable law firm on your resume.

These sacrifices also render you an attractive candidate for a mid-level position at Lifestyle Law LLC or in-house. Indeed, I’m convinced that the fact that I spent two years essentially handcuffed to my desk landed me a position at a smaller firm, with some big name clients and (gasp!) predictable hours! So remember, before you pull a Norma Rae and walk through the halls with a big sign saying “UNION!”, to keep your eye on the prize and power through it until you know that you’re ready to make a switch.

Of course, making the switch is easier said than done, but that’s a different entry, for a different day…

For a fairly accurate dissection of a billable hour day, check out the following site. My only issue with this breakdown is the presumption that you’re afforded the luxury of a one hour lunch break…

http://www.law.yale.edu/outside/html/Career_Development/cdo-billable.htm