A. Harrison Barnes

Harrison Barnes

I have been speaking with a lot of attorneys who have been on the ground and fought wars in the Middle East and subjected to a lot of stress: Without exception, every single one of them states that the law firm world is more stressful than working in combat conditions. Many are so stressed out they leave the profession. One former fighter pilot from my law school class concluded he could not handle it and committed suicide.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3596986&forum_id=2#33172373)

I was reviewing resumes this morning. One was of an attorney who was a graduate of Columbia Law School and currently clerking for a federal judge. He wrote something like the following in his cover letter to me: “I’ve downloaded all the lists of top firms I can find and applied to at least 250 law firms and have yet to secure an interview.” This is common. Most attorneys apply to a ton of law firms and experience no luck

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3596986&forum_id=2#33172409)

"The pressure and conditions of a law firm are such that, like it or not, most attorneys are cast out of this cauldron of hell at various times in their careers. Associates may be let go because there is not enough work, due to their performance, or other reasons. As attorneys get more senior, they will be cast out if they do not have enough business. Partners who do not maintain enough business are cast out. Attorneys can be cast out of their law firms very quickly—and they often are. Most attorneys will be cast out of a law firm one or more times in their careers.

. . .

Once an attorney is cast out, of course, it can be exceedingly difficult for that attorney to find a new position and re-enter the legal profession. Many never do."

Yes, it is true that many people get canned from law firms (I did). But this notion that "many never" re-enter the legal profession is laughable bizarre hyperbole.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3596986&forum_id=2#33172512)

Being a law firm attorney is an incredibly demanding thing. There is no rhyme or reason to why anyone chooses the legal profession inside of a law firm. The money is not worth it compared to other professions that require less education. The prestige is not worth it compared to the contempt with which many attorneys are held by others. The camaraderie among fellow attorneys is not worth it because there is very little, if any, of it. The advancement potential is not worth it because there often is no advancement potential. The security is not worth it because there is no security. The good feelings it gives you are not worth it because most of the other feelings you get from it often outweigh the good ones.

But attorneys continue to do it. Being a law firm attorney is something that the best ones can explain they have to do. It simply gives them something. You either have it or you do not. The one thing that every attorney has to have is persistence. This is because it takes a long time to see whether you have made it. Even when you get to the top of the heap you never will fully know you have arrived. Law firm attorneys only know they are successful when they compare themselves to their prior selves, see what has happened to their peers, and listen to the few voices out there that are willing to tell them they have done a good job.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3596986&forum_id=2#33172548)

Also fwiw, T10 grads these days literally have it better than pre-ITE, b/c law school class sizes even at top schools are half of what they once were, curves have gotten softer, the applicant pool is weak so half scholarships or more can be easily negotiated for by anyone with a 170+ lsat and a 3.5ish GPA at all schools save H/Y/S, and the top 20 or so firms have been booming and associate demand exceeds supply over the past 3-4 years.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3596986&forum_id=2#33182777)

and he prolly also lives a 180 life

some of us write lengthy screeds here

he does that and manages to monetize it and prolly makes a ton of money

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3596986&forum_id=2#33172593)

*goes over the top of law trench*

*gets hit with shrew gas; skin melts*

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3596986&forum_id=2#33180784)

I wonder how much blow he consumes.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3596986&forum_id=2#33183119)