I have been working like a dog for two weeks none stop for an emergency on a case. As the only junior, I’m juggling 10 different things on the case and still meeting deadlines. Worst of all, the partner asks me to complete drafts of documents by last night so we can have them finalized for the client. Work like hell ALL day to get them done - partner doesn’t even review them to send to the client and meet his own deadline. This is honestly a thankless job.

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Respectfully disagree with the other comments in this thread. This is indeed a very difficult and taxing job, and one perhaps not worth doing unless there’s something about it you genuinely enjoy (people, substantive work, etc). When I was interviewing, I specifically looked for personalities I felt would contribute to a healthy, committed environment: the partners and seniors I work with absolutely do say please, thank you, and other basic human niceties, and they’ve earned my respect and loyalty (and in some cases, friendship) as a result.

While the facts you’ve described are certainly “part of the job” and what we get paid to do, I think it’s a bit dangerous to normalize toxic or abusive environments, because — while unfortunately prevalent — other options do exist within biglaw. Personally, the salary would not be “enough” for me to tolerate a crappy working environment — I love my team and what I do, and that’s what makes the crazy hours and intense and demanding workload worthwhile.

That said, I also recommend keeping in mind that everyone you work with is similarly crunched — often someone assigning you work may give you a deadline based on their anticipated workflow, but things come up and the partner ultimately is the one making the call whether to delay something to the client (the good ones will tell the client it’s their delay, not yours). As you start to manage more people, you may look back on these experience with a bit more understanding (there’s nothing worse, when you are trying to hold things together on all sides, to have your work streams disrupted by someone below you missing a deadline, which can have a ripple effect into lots of other things that may be invisible to that person). A little empathy can go a long way — but my point being, I hope you would get it back as well as give it.

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Your "thank-you" note is the Rolex and $120 steaks you get to buy later

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Did you get paid this month? Thank you.

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A2, you're being a jerk and reinforcing everything terrible about the profession.

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