IP litigators, how’s the average associate workload and morale at your firm at the moment?

Anyone has a good rec for improving SC in a really short time. Test in 2 weeks and still not getting half my SC questions right. CR and RC are at about 80% accuracy.

Hi Guys,
Can someone refer me in JPMC , I have 3.10 YOE in core PMO. TIA

Anyone who has started up a side hustle whilst working in consulting - is it generally a good idea to let your employer know or will they make your life difficult/try to push you out if they know?

(Context - I need the extra income to have a shot at affording grad school, I work for a small boutique, job contract was ambiguous on the issue. Side hustle is selling stuff I make as a hobby on Amazon)

Thanks!

If someone goes to Dubai as a third party contracter for job, is it still possible to get a job in India and come back.?

What's your morning commute reading material?

Do y’all admit that you spaced out when called out of blue in a call?

I've been assigned to a campaign with a designer who just hates me and I'm sure he's out to make my life miserable. I am so uncomfortable with this but as a marketing director, it's my dream campaign.

Take home salary for a fixed 23lpa CTC.
After pf deduction and tax ,what myt be the take home.

Shopping for roommates and apartments for July 1st! I'm male, mid 20's, have phenomenal roommate reviews, and looking to spend $1400 or less. Shoot me a message if you're interested!

Moving to Chicago in a few weeks from a state on the quarantine list. Been in a different (safe) state but going to my state of residence in a few days to pack up - planning to self quarantine (contd)

Is Ukrainian Village a safe area to live? I’m looking at a place near Western Avenue and have received mixed reviews.

Does anyone have recommendations for a wicker park-based barber/hair stylist that does a good job with long men’s hair?

Wondering if anyone has a good example of a brand that originally sold a commodity/mass food and successfully introduced a premium/luxury line, under the same brand name. Kicker is the brand has to have started as mass then gone upmarket, nor vice versa.

Posting so that I can receive enough likes to DM for job referrals

How much do Nursing Assistants make in Michigan? Metro Detroit more specifically?

Safe weekend getaways right now? Meeting a guy for the weekend, can’t stay indoors since my family is with me.

Any news from DPW? 🤔🤔

Does your firm let you take 28-30 December off? Many of my team members won’t be working those days and I decided last minute that I’d like to travel somewhere between Christmas and the New Year.

Was interviewing with a firm and soon after receiving an offer, learned of bad culture/toxic partners in the practice group from a couple of associates who recently lateraled from the firm. I turned the offer down. A partner that I clicked with while interviewing reached out asking me why I turned down the offer. Should I be honest and relay what I heard?

Joining a big firm next week as fully remote lateral and flying out to home office for orientation. The schedule has me in office until 4:15. I’ve already been told I won’t have any actual work. Depending on how many people are there and how it feels, I was planning to stay an hour extra but should I hang around the office until later? First time visiting this city so it’d be great to take in some sights too (although that’s not a priority of course).

Are L&E firms raising salaries (Littler, Fisher, Ogletree, etc.)? What is starting compensation?

Just started in Biglaw as a first year - one of the partners made a passing remark that he couldn’t remember my PQE but thinks I’m “the same as X associate”. Went on LinkedIn and saw that X associate is a third year. How do I gently correct this misconception in a future conversation?

Looking for a family lawyer in Australia who either works on contingency or on the legal aid panel with respect to an access and property settlement case.

Does someone have a good punch list of things to do before giving notice at a firm?

Completely and totally miserable at my firm and just need a space to vent because my friends are tired of hearing about it. I wish the worst part about it was the amount of work, rather than the completely toxic culture, lack of appreciation, arbitrary and back/breaking deadlines, lack of mentorship/feedback/training, and the fact that the associates act like they don’t even know each other. I cry every day and constantly am made to feel stupid for not understanding the highly technical (cont.)

PROPOSAL: Can we start naming names with respects to layoffs, furloughs, and pay cuts? Knowledge is power, and the only ones who benefit from vague exchanges of info. are the employers. Thank you!

“Keep costs down”???? I am happy to keep costs down by not working on this ducking matter anymore. Maybe stop saying yes to matters that are too small to justify our rates and staffing an expensive senior person on them when you’re already dying trying to get anything staffed. You didn’t have to do shit on this matter, didn’t hear you complaining about my taking the lead and managing everything for you when that was happening. >.>

Junior Associates - How much student loan debt are you and your peers in these days? A few young partners and counsel at my firm were discussing the student loan moratorium and most of us were convinced we could have paid the majority of our loans off with the bonuses associates got these last two years. But we are all old and when we graduated 150k to 200k was about the max student loan debt people graduated with. So educate me. What is the average student loan debt these days?

I’ve made it 5+ years in a NY M&A practice and have consistent exceeding expectations reviews. I’ve had a few mental breakdowns because of work during this time, but thankfully made it through. I’ve been in a near constant depressive/anxious state for family reasons for the last year and half, and am soon having my first kid. I’m scared shitless that I’ll spiral out of control both at work and at home if something doesn’t change soon. Any suggestions on how to keep this job and keep it together?

Curious - would you consider a lateral move to a lower ranked firm if the practice group is higher ranked than at your current firm? In other words what’s more important - firm or practice group ranking?

Kasowitz Benson - what is your opinion of them?

Joining GT…Should I choose a company phone or transfer my phone to GTs plan?

Random partner asked a litigation-related question to a partner I frequently work with (i’m a transactional associate). My partner cc’d me and said for me to briefly look. Asked the library. They got me a great case. Sent it back. Now the random partner is asking for more cases in another circuit.

I haven’t done caselaw research since 1L and this isn’t even my practice… wtf do I do (I am fully utilized in my normal work and have a few deals closing soon…)

Are tech trans hours better/more predictable than M&A?

Is it a big deal if a partner questions how much time you spent on something? Can’t they just write off time that seems excessive, or am I missing something? Sometimes I take a really long time to do things because I switch matters frequently, and I do a lot of research to make sure I’m doing things right.

Why do many associates at top tier firms stay to make Partner when they can go in-house in tech and make around the same, even long term? For example, you can make near 400-550k in-house at Google, Netflix, FB with 8-10 years of exp. More senior than that in-house, it can easily break $1M.