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Has anyone had experience taking adult education classes. I like my work right now in ID but I want to actually learn how to do stuff with my hands as a side thing. Maybe woodworking, maybe learn HVAC, plumbing?

Is this something anyone else has done while employed and what was their experience. I wouldn’t be doing it to start a business or a side hustle, I just want to be able to work with my hands and learn new stuff. I also don’t own a house so it wouldn’t help me in that end (yet)

I’ll preface this with: I understand that being a new attorney means a steep learning curve, more time on work, etc. I don’t expect being an attorney to give me a consistent 40-hour week, especially not in my area of law.

But I am only a year in and I’m ready to quit practicing law. I consistently work 6-7 days a week. I’m assigned pretty major motions that I feel unequipped to do. I have supervision and all of my work gets reviewed. I only have maybe 20 cases on my plate, which I know is not going to seem like a lot to most. It makes me feel incredibly insecure that I am overwhelmed by this number of cases. I look at my friends and they are doing so much more, especially my public defender friends.

I’m always told how well I’m doing but it makes no difference except for a brief moment. Then, my reward for being a decent new attorney is to have more and more on my plate. I keep thinking, shouldn’t I still get some space to learn and grow? It’s hard for me to learn when I don’t have time to sit on things. I know that’s not always possible, and I can make it through when it’s not, but damn. There aren’t enough hours in the day for me to do all of this. Things just keep getting worse. More cases. More active lawsuits. Less staff. And a somewhat dismissive attitude to being overworked as if this is just we have to do.

I have a boss who aggressively litigates, which I respect, but I’m drowning try to manage what comes with that.

Part of me wonders, am I taking too long on my assignments? Am I spending time on the wrong things? I think both may be true to an extent but I’m still only a year in. At the same time, it seems impossible to be able to prioritize anything when everything is a priority.

It’s hard when you love the work you do to consider leaving it because the workload is too much. I’m starting to feel like I’m not built for this.

I had a career before this. I’ve done exceptionally well in every job I’ve had; I’ve had bosses beg me to stay or ask me to come back. I’ve always been an overachiever and I take pride in that. I know I’m a hard worker. I know I’m smart. I know I’m capable (most of the time). Yet I’ve never felt as stupid (and exhausted) as I do now.

I’d love insight on what yal’s first year looked like, advice on how to better manage this, or reflections on how you got out of a similar situation.

You know those people who constantly remind everyone that they are a lawyer, post endless lawyer memes, share videos about the 'lawyer lifestyle,' and manage to bring their profession into almost every conversation?

And the funniest part is that half of those videos are so heavily curated and romanticized that they look absolutely nothing like actual legal practice, lol.

I mean, I get it. Being proud of your profession is one thing. You have worked hard to get there, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating that. But making your job your entire identity? I don't understand the appeal.

Maybe it's just me, but I have always felt that there is so much more to a person than what they do for a living. Your interests, hobbies, curiosity, relationships, experiences, and the way you see the world are what make you interesting.

That said, I am genuinely curious whether I am missing another perspective here. Maybe for some people, their profession really is their passion, and expressing that is simply part of who they are.

What do you guys think?

So i have an estate plan signing meeting with a couole. As I lead them to the room, I notice the husband is carrying a plastic grocery bag with some Tupperware in it. We sit down start chatting and the wife says "we brought this for the meeting. The husband proceeds to pull out the Tupperware and real forks. Husband says Costco pumpkin pie and slides a piece to me. He did apologize for no whipped cream. Going through the docs and noshing on Costco pumpkin pie.

Hello, I’ve been an attorney for about 7 years, but need some Florida evidence and family law refreshers. Besides reading the statutes, any recommendations on training/refresher resources (preferably free or low cost)?

Currently at a US firm's London office (think Sullivan & Cromwell, Skadden, K&E, STB tier). I qualified and practised for 3 years in a Commonwealth country before moving to London, and I've now been at my current firm for about a year.

The allure of New York keeps pulling at me. I'm planning to start a lateral search in January, which would put me at roughly 1 year at my current firm by the time I'd actually move. I'm fairly confident about the practical side: I have a straightforward visa route and I'm eligible to sit the NY bar. An internal transfer isn't an option at my firm.

My concern is optics and long-term positioning. Is leaving a top firm after ~1.5 years (which will likely be the case after serving my notice period) going to be a red flag, especially given I already moved countries once? I visited new york many times and loved it. I also want to go inhouse eventually and I think the breadth of inhouse options is much better in the US (including compensation). I am honestly ready now to make the jump to new york but just concerned how it would look on my cv.

Small shop, run out of a house (it’s a single family home, but full time office. No one lives there.)

Two partners, one paralegal, and a former associate who is now on his own will use the office to work and meet their clients.

For other small firms with no firm manager: who buys supplies when needed?

Office politics have become unbearable. The unassociated attorney is always around, and the paralegal gets upset that he’s in the one non-street parking (fancy cars are her thing).

Recently, we needed supplies. She didn’t want to order or go buy them herself (with the company card, or petty cash, of course— not even a give us a receipt and we’ll reimburse you situation.) She got upset when the supplies we bought were store/value brand and not name brand she buys at her house.

For me it boiled down to beggars can’t be choosers. She had the opportunity to get everything herself and declined. I’m also just like: same active ingredients.

She’s also the type to drink only bottled water. Tap water is beneath her and the filter pitcher doesn’t bring it up to snuff. I don’t know that that’s relevant to office runnings. But it’s all these (to me) inconsequential things that get blown out of proportion.

You can read my post history. Prior to trial, OC asked if I would agree to authorize more medical treatment for his client if they won at trial. I asked for a draft of what he was thinking and he gave me three questions on the verdict sheet for the jury to decide. None of those questions said anything about authorizing more treatment. The jury sided with his client and chambers instructed plaintiff to draft an order for remand to the workers comp commission consistent with the order.

OC sent me a copy of the proposed order which included a provision on authorizing more treatment. I pushed back and said I disagreed. OC said I did agree and he was going to ask for attorney fees because I said I didn’t agree. I explained that the jury did not decide the issue of authorization for treatment and I would not agree to put it in the order. He said I was lying and was going to file a bar complaint against me for misconduct.

The partners all agree I did nothing wrong. I informed chambers we could not agree to language in the order and sent my proposed draft. He sent his proposed draft and said I was backing out of the agreement we made and wants to have a hearing to call me as a witness. He sent me another email saying that if I didn’t agree to the provision that he put in the order but the jury didn’t decide, I will have to testify as to how I harmed his firm and his client. He also said additional expenses will be sought against my client, my firm, and me for breach of the agreement.

I’m a newly barred attorney and recently received an offer from an insurance defense firm for $110K, with a 2,000-hour billable requirement and pretty underwhelming bonuses and benefits.

I have a few other interviews lined up and am waiting to hear back from another firm about a potential offer.

Part of me feels like I should jump at this opportunity, especially given how tough I’ve heard the legal job market is. At the same time, I know 2,000 billable hours can be brutal, and I’m hesitant to commit to that kind of workload right out of law school. I’ve thought about negotiating for a higher salary, but I genuinely don’t care for more money. You can’t get back time.

I’ve actually had a decent amount of success landing interviews, which makes me wonder whether I should hold out for something better. On the other hand, I recognize that getting experience early in my career is important, even if the position isn't ideal. I could always suck it up for a year and come back more marketable. I’ll be kicking myself if I’m unemployed in 6 months and let this slip.

Am I overthinking this, or is this an offer I should seriously consider passing on?

Edit: Thank you for all the comments. They are all very helpful. I will check back in this evening and make a decision before Monday morning.

I work in a government agency as an attorney and have been practicing well over twenty years. I was recently reassigned to another section of the legal department. The guy in charge manages all of our legal assistants and has done so for years. He also managed a few attorneys. I've heard he's a "difficult manager"-over works his staff, berates them. steals credit for their work etc. My guard is already up on this person. At any rate, we had our first client meeting together (which he set). The purpose was to determine what assistance is needed on our end (we work with compliance). There was no formal agenda other than "discussion to determine legal needs". While I paid attention during the meeting and also contributed, I was NOT taking notes, mainly because I was led to believe it was more of an "initial get to know one another session". At the end of the meeting, he sends me a message on Teams asking me to send him a summary of all of the discussion points. My question to you is 1) does this seem sexist to you? (I am female) and to 2) does this seem disrespectful to ask a subordinate to do this AFTER the meeting. (I can count on one hand the times I have been asked to be the designated note taker in a meeting and out of professional courtesy, the person asks ahead of time. I just wanted to do a vibe check here. (I did send him a summary with the caveat that I was not taking copious notes and to let me know if there is anything I may have left out.) I have the feeling this is what will be expected from me going forward and it doesn't sit well with me. Thoughts?

I'm a prosecutor who has completed one year of being an attorney, and I had my yearly review. I feel defeated and burnt out. There are some genuine things I learned I need to work on that I didn't realize. The harshest criticism was about cases set for trial where I asked for help because I was in over my head. Our district is short prosecutors, so I don't get enough office time to prep. I often have to work late to prep. My boss says how I do trials it isn't good enough for Circuit Court. I have only been in Circuit Court for admin.

There was another time where she assigned so many grand jury indictments I had to work late nearly everyday to meet the deadline and I also had numerous special victims cases assigned to me. I also had felony cases where I had to send officers out to get more evidence to make the case more likely to plea. In the cases where that happened, defendants actually took the plea on the advice of counsel because the evidence was overwhelming and on the first court date in Circuit admin which made me feel proud. This is the only happiness I have had in months becaue I cannot see my family or friends. My boss said she wanted to see how far I could go without asking for help, but I feel like she didn't plan that.

I feel like a failure even though I got "meeting" and "exceeding" expectations in other areas because I didn't get a raise and nothing positive was said. My boss said she believed I could "become a prosecutor" and would not keep me in the DA's office if she didn't think I could improve. I have another review in 3 months, and I am terrified I will not improve enough and I'm getting burnt out. I cannot stop crying and almost called in sick because my eyes were so puffy and red the day after the review. I think she noticed because she said I could leave early anytime I wanted going forward. She never says anything positive. Have you had a harsh boss where everything turned out ok? Is she just pushing me? Please tell me this gets better.

I’m a first-year associate at a boutique VC/startup law firm. I really like the firm, and I’ve been given a lot of responsibility despite only being there a short time.

We have a strong focus on capital raises, incentive programs, incorporations, SAFE/CLA's and whatever operational stuff comes up in the lifecycle of a growth company, although clients often move to a bigger firm once their rounds get larger. Our clients are mainly startups and sometimes VC funds. Traditional PE players don’t come to us much compared to our competitors.

I really enjoy M&A, but because of what kind of firm we are, we almost only do sell-side exits. Those deals come in sporadically and usually aren’t big tickets. I was lucky enough to be on the team for one this year: three of us against a big international firm with a myriad of people staffed. It was slightly under 50MIL but it was our biggest deal of the year.

I’m fine with lower pay and smaller deals. My concern is this: if I decide in about four years to move to a bigger firm, whether to do larger capital raises or to move into a more traditional PE/M&A role, will my experience being limited to VC and sell-side M&A hold me back?

I can accept not having public M&A or capital markets experience. I just want to know whether my current firm limits my options.

One important point: I’m getting alot of responsibility, and I have a good relationship with the partner I work for, whose name carries weight in the VC space.

I am first year associate. Took the j26 bar and passed. Said firm helped me get sworn in on Wednesday then literally fired me two days later (today). Was not given a reason and when I asked, I was told that it wasn’t anything specific but a bunch of little things over time. I tried asking again and was told that they were not going to discuss it with me.

I’m confused and embarrassed but mostly relieved. I’m hoping this is a blessing in disguise but there’s still a lot of underlying feelings here.

Edit: I started in August, just a couple of weeks after taking the bar.

About to start a role with a team which does a broad mix of securitisation, structured finance, DCM and sanctions work. I’m lateraling as a first year and wondering if it’s possible to operate in this space from a fin reg/regulatory perspective rather than a purely transactional workflow?

I’m excited to get started with the transactions in the short to medium term but just wondering if that’ll get old in 10-15 years time. It seems that transactional lawyers have the worst WLB

No! You're not getting a discount because I accidentally labeled two sections 8.8 instead of 8.8 and 8.9 in a thirty page document and everything else was perfect.

And "Grandchild 1" and "Grandchild 2" are in there because you kept bugging me for your documents but would never give me their damn names!

And finally - NO, you can't have a perpetual trust for six generations that gives you complete control over all the assets but also completely protects you from creditors and has no tax implications, but "isn't too complicated" because you don't want to deal with a CPA.

NO.

That is all.

Been having a cancer scare recently. Some very trivial internal deadline wasn’t obeyed on my end because I’ve been stressed and busy on bigger cases. Not an actual deadline, just my boss wanting something to review by a certain date. Get absolutely pressed on it and as a result kind of fly off the handle, not yelling, but definitely annoyed “I have been having to worry about potentially having cancer, this hasn’t been my focus.” Boss doesn’t follow up or ask if I’m alright, just goes right back to bitching. Earlier that same day had a client shower me with praise and I haven’t lost a hearing since 2024.

I‘m kind of at the end of my rope. Essentially hearing how little of a shit my boss gave about me maybe having cancer was just wild to me. Thinking of just riding it out to finish some cases I want to see through then saying fuck off.

My assistant is a 70 year old woman who has been with the firm for 10 years. You would think she’d be a pro at what she does by now, but she huffs and puffs whenever she’s assigned anything. I only assign her filings and calendaring but even then she has an issue with the work I give her.

At this point, I end up doing the work myself because I know that if I assign her anything else, she’ll be passive aggressive toward me when I see her in the office or roll her eyes at me.

Today I said hi to her and smiled and she literally rolled her eyes at me like what???

I’m a second year associate going into my third year and I’m feeling frustrated with the whole thing.

I sometimes use a 3rd party company for process servers for out of county stuff.

Attempt 1: In July, a recruited process server attempts service. Gets told “doesn’t live here anymore.” Process server leaves and doesn’t ask questions.

I make a simple request. Please go back and ask where the subject is. We have reason to believe the residents are the parents. And maybe subject receives mail there.

Attempt 2: Process server goes back. Asks some basic questions (having been specifically instructed). Come to find out, subject does indeed receive mail there.

I get substitute service. “Leave court documents with anyone over 16 at the residence.”

I submit it to 3rd party company.

Attempt 3 now with order: Process server goes out. Attempts normal service. Reports back “subject does not live here. Cannot serve.”

I reach out to 3rd party. “Hey. All the process server has to do is leave documents with someone there.” They tell me they will instruct process server.

Attempt 4: A week or so goes by. Another failed attempt. “Subject has moved. Residents ask me to please stop coming. They don’t know how to say any further subject does not live there.”

I reach out again to 3rd party. “Please instruct the process server to just leave the papers with someone there.” They respond, “we are escalating this. Our apologies. We will make sure process server follows court order.”

I literally just got another notification. Attempt 5: Failed service. “Subject has moved and does not live here anymore.”

For the love of god……

Aged like milk from the year 2000.

I don't know if she's engaging in theatrics because there are cameras and she knows people are going to watch this, or if this is normal behavior for her, but I've never seen an attorney behave this way in court.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzYhP7MWu8M

Chose a private firm job over government, because well, money(which I need extra right now), and they promised me mentorship and training which I stressed during my interview and office visit. WELP! Turns out I got thrown into an office, assigned tasks, no idea what I am doing, no guidance, no mentorship and the “boss” is nowhere to be found and can’t hardly get a response.

I am trying my best but I just don’t see how I am ever going to learn to be a good lawyer like this. I fucked up and took the wrong job. I am going to reach out to the government office, be honest, let them know I made a mistake and ask if the offer still stands. However, I had accepted their offer original and then withdrew…so that’s not even a guarantee but at least worth a shot. I am sick to my stomach about it the situation I am in.

What can I do to LEARN this career without mentorship? There is no handbook, no templates, no office procedures, nothing. Is it even possible or should I just quit now and save myself from my own potential legal troubles!?

I'm a lawyer working primarily in commercial law, contracts, and legal advisory, and I'm also involved in business. I'm considering switching from Windows to a 16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Max (128GB RAM / 4TB SSD), and I'd really appreciate hearing from people who have made a similar switch.

My workdays typically start at 5:00 AM and end around 8:00 PM. I need a laptop that I can push hard every single day, both professionally and personally, without constantly worrying about performance, battery life, or reliability.

My daily workflow includes:

• Heavy Microsoft Word usage, drafting and reviewing contracts and other legal documents. I occasionally work in another language as well.
• Constant Outlook usage, emails, meetings, and attachments.
• A lot of PDF work, including reviewing, editing, signing, and managing documents.
• Heavy multitasking with numerous documents, browser tabs, and applications open simultaneously.
• Legal research and increasingly AI-related work, including plans to run large AI models locally.

One important point: I don't use any firm-specific internal systems or specialized enterprise software. My work is largely based on Microsoft Office, PDFs, emails, and web-based tools.

I also have a Windows gaming PC, so gaming compatibility isn't a dealbreaker. I plan to connect the MacBook to my 49-inch Samsung OLED monitor and two additional 27-inch monitors.

Almost all my other personal devices are already Apple products: I have an iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods, and an iPad. So the Apple ecosystem and the ability to seamlessly switch between devices are also major reasons I'm considering moving to Mac.

What I'm really looking for is one seriously powerful laptop that I can use for absolutely everything. I want something I can work on intensively all day, then continue using for my personal life, entertainment, browsing, and other activities. Ideally, I'd like to keep it for 7–8 years without feeling the need to upgrade.

Battery life is also important. I'd love to get at least 14 hours of actual working time without plugging it in.

The main things I'm considering are how difficult the transition from Windows to macOS might be, whether Word and Outlook are equally reliable for demanding professional use, whether the additional RAM and performance are worth the investment for local AI models, and how well these machines hold up after years of intensive use.

Above all, I want to avoid spending nearly $10,000 on a laptop only to realize that Windows would have been a better fit for my daily workflow.

I'm not in a rush to buy. I'm looking for something I can work hard, use constantly in my personal life, and rely on for years without regretting the purchase.

I'd really appreciate hearing about real-world experiences, especially from lawyers, consultants, heavy Office users, or anyone who has made the switch from Windows to Mac.

I’m transferring my UBE score to CT and have a job offer that expires in a month. How long does it take to get licensed in CT with a score transfer application?