I have been overworked and overwhelmed at my current job for quite a while. This is my first position out of law school, small firm with large caseload, and in my second year of practice. I often think I should look for another opportunity elsewhere but I don't know that any other firms would give me the potential for growth and experience that I am getting here. What are other 2nd year associates doing at other firms? Trying to gauge if I really am getting more opportunities here

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I just left my biglaw job in my second year and couldn’t be happier. I’m still interviewing but many smaller firms provide even more room for growth because their practice groups are not as siloed.

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I don’t disagree with the comments generally but my concern is you feeling overworked and overwhelmed and I don’t see anyone addressing that. I agree you’re getting experience that others in big law at your year wouldn’t do but at what cost? there’s a middle ground my friend between the sweatshop of a firm (yes, that’s what that sounds like) and and a white show firm where you’re not even allowed to draft the prepare the depo outline of a key witness. I gotta say when I read the number of cases (90-100), I cringed for you. If that’s your caseload alone that’s not sustainable. If that’s the caseload for all 5 attorneys that changes. But I have 15-20 in my very busy (litigation) practice and I’m always behind and stressed. And looking for an alternative for that reason so I cannot imagine that.

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It may help if you say what type of hours you’re billing.

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So we do a mix of plaintiff and defense. The caseload is probably handling 90-100 defense cases (medical malpractice) as well as around 40 plaintiff personal injury/medical malpractice cases. The real issue that is causing the stress is the volume of work and lack of real support staff to assist. There are 5 attorneys and we share 2.5 paralegals (one is also the office manager), and one calendar clerk. Because of the amount of cases, I get to both defend and take depositions of nurses and doctors so I feel like I am getting a lot of useful experience in that sense. But at the same time I constantly feel like my discovery is late and I will never catch up

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Second year. Left biglaw for a mid-size firm a few months ago. You will not get that experience in biglaw, and prob not at a mid-sized firm either. I left biglaw to get the experience that you’ve been getting all this time. I felt like I needed to build my actual lawyering skills. Still haven’t gotten much of it, but I think it’s coming. It sounds like you are doing that. I would probably stick it out with the aim of opening up your own shop once you are ready.

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