I realized recently that I eat lunch at my desk almost every single day. Not because I love it, but because stepping away feels indulgent, like I’m slacking if I’m not available. It’s wild how basic breaks have turned into a luxury instead of a norm. I feel more drained by mid-afternoon, yet I keep repeating the cycle. When did rest start feeling like something you have to earn in this profession?

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If you bill by the hour, taking a full lunch at work is indulgent, in that it's at the expense of the other parts of your life, which I'll assume you enjoy more.

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Yes! I have an almost 1 year old so at this stage of my life I rather eat lunch while working instead of staying another hour. I rush to get home to be with him. (I really dislike lunch with coworkers for this reason as well — maybe when he’s older I will more lax with my lunch but right now I want to be present with him as much as I can.)

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I either skip lunch or eat at my desk, but that’s because I go 💯 so I can GTFO as early as possible.

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Stay in touch with your law firm friends and associates who leave by having lunch with them. They will become your clients eventually. And it will give you a break from the grind. And yes, that means going into the office sometimes and getting your friends to do the same.

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If you have the opportunity to eat in the firms lunchroom with partners, it’s a good opportunity to find out what’s going on

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I go through an annual phase where I tell myself I am going to take a real break. It lasts about a week, usually coinciding with a day where I have 1 billable hour by noon because my least favorite partner keeps dumping nonbillable tasks on me and I would like to log off by 9 PM. Then I am eating with one hand and working with the other.

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I’ve never seen an attorney in any firm I’ve worked at do anything different for a normal lunch. Where else would you eat?

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Firm cafeteria

I sometimes walk to the church next door for 12:10 Mass. Or go downstairs to the office gym for an hour at lunch. But I’m in house and don’t bill. And as long as I don’t have meetings or deadlines, my day ends at 4.

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My last firm, most of the attorneys, all left for lunch, mostly together. I hate being interrupted and leaving my desk during the day, so I always have just work all day unless there were firm forced luncheons. I'm still the same way working remotely, I don't go off and take breaks during the day.

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