I’ve been wondering: at what point do you draw the line and say “enough”? I’ve caught myself crying in the bathroom, snapping at people I care about, and waking up at 3am with my heart racing. Part of me feels like this is just what comes with the territory, but part of me knows it can’t be sustainable. How do you decide when it’s time to step back before the job swallows you completely?

like
Posting as :
works at
You are currently posting as works at

If you're asking the question there's a good chance you're there.

like

Different for everyone.

I know people who have exactly what you indicated and have said they’re “about to quit,” for about two years now.

Only you know your capacity for pain. All I’ll say is that money isn’t everything and you really should think how much you need. Most people just keep on wanting more and more without ever wondering what it will go to.

like

So somehow I ended up reading the law Reddit thread for the past 5 years…just been a bystander and it’s quite a ride over here. I can’t help but chime in as a mental health therapist and say a really good therapist or life coach can be super helpful if you’re struggling. Not just any therapist, but one with experience with people in high-demand jobs. Just an idea friend.

like

Go into government. There's a lot of stupid HR bullshit they care about over performance and a ton of ridiculous leftist bullshit to navigate, but if that doesn't bother you the work/life balance is good and honestly you're doing good work even if it is for petty tyrants sometimes.
If a house is falling over and endangering the neighborhood, you're doing good work getting it condemned even if the mayor sucks. If someone isn't paying their taxes and everyone else is burdened by that, you're doing good work collecting those taxes even if you don't terribly much like what it's spent on. Government lawyers (especially local govt workers) do a lot of important meaningful and impactful work.
Pay sucks, life's good. Try it out. I don't cry in my bathroom at 3 am. I don't do anything at 3 am except sleep the sleep of the just.

like

Is it the work itself or the people you’re working with that are upsetting you so much? Especially if you’ve only ever worked at one firm, you could just be in an unhealthy environment. I’d look to lateral and see how it goes elsewhere before throwing in the towel.

It's different for everyone, but don't be like the masses that drag it out until they have a health emergency. If you feel like you can't tolerate it anymore, you shouldn't. If you're not sure what your exit strategy is, talk to a career coach. I can refer one to anyone who needs one, but what you described is not sustainable for long. You know your health (mental and physical) better than anyone else. No job is worth your health. There are many ways to practice law, and even more ways to use your law degree that has nothing to do with the practice of law. This isn't the only path.

Sure. I'll DM you.

Related Posts

What tool/ paid website do you use for roadmap planning? Looking for something to present to the uppers.

like

Friends - top watch for ~$5k? Looking for a dress watch that works for many scenarios

Best paying firms in Toronto?

Obviously MBB pays the most but other ones that pay well? Looking to make ~200K (TC) at the M level

like

Hi everyone.

Any day trader guru here? Suggest me where I can learn trading methods and knowledge. I won't start trading now until I feel my techniques good.

TIA

likesmart

Have a shoot next week that’s coinciding with a blizzard. I’ve yet to deal with Mother Nature interfering with a shoot... any tips / tricks for preventing this from turning into an utter shitshow?

Looking for information on strategic planning. Looking for possible change but want to hear from current folks. Thoughts, ideas, pitfalls…

like

For those of you required to be in office- do people use the phone and email to contact you or do they still come by in person? People in my office seem not to understand how the phone works...

like

I’m a Geoscientist by profession and have been working at big tech for half my career - the other half in Geosciences - i think i have a brilliant plan for the next best thing in Geosciences and have a working proof of concept already - how should one go about this? I don’t think i can do it alone and need both an investor and a partner.

likeuplifting

Hi Fishes,

Can someone please tell me the in hand salary of the below offer . I am just confused by the PF thing.

Post Photo
like

Microsoft is hiring an account executive and I’m really interested in the role. I have B2B sales experience in a different industry, but my skills include lead generation, prospecting, account management, negotiating, etc (all within the C Suite and other decision makers).

Would appreciate knowing if this is something I have a shot at with no tech sales experience and what I could expect for promotional opportunities and compensation.

Thanks for the help!

Hi All
I have 4.6 years of experience in Oracle PL/SQL development. Can someone please refer if there is any opening in your company?

Thanks.

like

Hi folks,

I finished manageral round for one of the openings at Cisco...how much does it take for them to inform wether selected or not

like

Does MBB hire non-MBA master from Lvys? With 2 years of experience

like

Folks - anyone purchase or lease a car under their LLC? If so, advantages and disadvantages of this move?

like

Hi fishes, I recently joined Accenture, I am from manual testing background and they put me into monitoring team where we need to analyse errors looking at codes, logs and resolve it and the KT that is being given to me doesnt feel enough when I raised concern to TL, TL itself is blaming it on me that I qm not able to understand what is being taught, I am not able to work in the project at all, I requested for roll off within a month, will this imact my career at accenture? someone please sugges

like

Hey Accenture India any openings for java, i have around 9+ yrs of experience and currently working as project manager at CTS, I am an ex employee of Accenture.

like

Is there 163j tax implication if there is a loss and some business interest expense.
Simple financials statement scenario.

like

When you get a report back from the research team and it's exactly what you need. Happy Tuesday.

like

Any recommendations for women’s watches? Looking to spend $800-$1000

Additional Posts in Law

How much time is acceptable to bill to admin per day?

like

Probably a foolish question: are bonuses based off of raw billable hours or billable hours modified by the partners?

like

How to switch practice areas? I’ve been in immigration for 3 years now and need a change. How do you convince employers you’re a good fit for a role you don’t have any experience with?

like

Any hospital in-house attorneys willing to share their title, location and compensation?

like

Second year associate here who recently switched from litigation to corporate law. I am absolutely swamped while simultaneously having no idea what I’m doing ever and I’m feeling so burnt out. The partners are pretty great and feedback is constructive which I’m grateful for, but I’m so desperate for a compliment I’ve been saving any scrap of positivity in a folder 😭 it’s December 22 and I haven’t done my Christmas shopping because I don’t feel capable of thinking about it. I need a hug.

likeuplifting

What kind of professional development/marketing-focused seminars/webinars/etc. has your firm offered that you found helpful?

like

Considering becoming a consultant lawyer. Any advice/tips from someone who made that move?

like

I'm a third year plaintiff's employment law attorney and I'm looking to move to defense, preferably still in employment law. I received an offer from a midsize firm that primarily focuses on PI with little-to-no employment law practice, so I'll have a bit of a learning curve. Offer is $90k, billable hours of 2100. Is this reasonable? I'm dead-set on leaving my current job, and this would be a $20k pay increase - which makes me believe I'm leaning towards taking it for those reasons only.

likesmart

Any tips when leaving a firm? Younger associate <1 year.

likehelpful

I'm a junior associate. A couple people have left my small firm and I'm now the lone associate at our main office. I've now been told I am "temporary senior associate or permanent or partner whatever that results in." Please send help. I'm just a baby attorney still.

like

For associates who have lateraled in the last 6 months or so, what made you decide to move? Has your situation improved since moving? I’m a transactional mid-level & I’ve interviewed with some great firms recently. I’m struggling to get excited though…it just seems like no matter where I go I’ll be overworked & under appreciated. Hoping there are some positive stories out there to give me hope. Haha

like

How are 1st year litigation associates dealing with WFH? I’ve been having terrible anxiety/panic attacks, and pretty sure my billables wont exceed 110 for April. I’ve been super stressed about it and don’t know how to move on to May with the proper mindset to make up for as much time missed as possible. CA courts are still closed, and I’m worried I won’t be able to exceed (or even meet) my May goal after April.

like

Thinking about applying as a lateral to Quinn Emmanuel LA. Thoughts on hours, etc.?

like

What are your outlook organization tips?

Trying to organize my email in a way that makes stuff easy to find. I have folders but how do I make emails both sent and receive easily save to their respective folders (as opposed to dragging each one)

Or any other organization tips for better productivity Iike I just have things organized by matters. Any other categorical suggestions?

like

What do you do about computer problems? It just took me 24 minutes to send a .1 email due to my computer constantly freezing. Is it worth entering that time into non-billable? Or do I just stop whining and work longer to make it up?

like

I found out a soon to be 2nd year associate got a 10k raise making his salary 110k now, while I, the soon to be 3rd year associate got a 2k raise making my salary 107k. So now the 2nd year male associate is making more money than me. How do I bring this up to the partners?

like

Brand new baby lawyer dumb question - I am tasked with drafting response to request to produce. How long should this take? And follow up… how do I bill this?

like

Enviro/ natural resource lawyers— what’s your dream job?

like

What’s your take on Lydecker? What is the culture? Market salary? Expectation on billable hours? Mentorship? Etc.?

like

As a junior, how do you deal with the anxiety that the advice you provide to a partner based on your research (that is being sent to client without much supervision) could be wrong or incomplete?

likehelpful

New to Fishbowl?

Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
That was just a preview…
Sign Up to see all discussions
  • Discover what it’s like to work at companies from real professionals
  • Get candid advice from people in your field in a safe space
  • Chat and network with other professionals in your field
Sign up in seconds to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.

Already a user?
Login here

Share

Embed this post

Copy and paste embed code on your site

Preview

Download the
Fishbowl app

See what’s happening in your industry
from the palm of your hand.

A phone with Fishbowl app

Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile

Download app

Sign up for free to view this conversation on Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Already have an account? Log in

Sign up for free to continue using Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use(New) and Privacy Policy(New)
Messaging rates may apply

Already have an account? Log in

For account settings, visit Fishbowl on Desktop Browser or

General

Legal