Left private practice a few days ago for a government job due to burnout and a desire to get my life back. Won’t start new job for a few weeks but How long does it take to stop feeling the knee-jerk reaction to check email or anxiety that I felt while in firm life? So happy to be done with firm life but man I feel like im going through PTSD or withdrawal? WTF is this? This normal?

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

Im 8 months into a govt job and still deprogramming from big law. It is SO nice to have weekends.

like

I've never been in private practice (12 years as a government attorney) but my colleagues who came from private practice still operate like they're in the private sector. They answer email at all hours and work on the weekends, which is completely unnecessary. I would encourage you to turn off your work phone and put it in a drawer. Your withdrawal from the private sector lifestyle isn't going to happen automatically - you'll need to make a conscious effort to wean yourself. Good luck, and welcome to having a life!

like

Lol I came from gov. It might just take a while. Eventually you’ll realize that no one responds after hours or on weekends so that naturally will just cause you to disconnect too.

like

You get the opposite problem. No one listens to you and the red tape is infuriating.

like

You’ll likely find something to be anxious about at your new job so focus on doing work on yourself vs letting your external circumstances determine your internal mood

Three months for it to set in. Another three to recover from burnout.

like

It tends to take longer to wear off the more time you spent in that state. I spent 2 years in that firm life and it took me 4-6 months in government to start reacting and interacting differently / feel more comfortable. You relearn by having different experiences and you haven't started the new job yet. For now just do whatever relaxes you and gets your mind to slow down. A few months in you will feel better, likely sooner. GL

like

Give it time- time fixes alot

Recommend totally disconnecting (social media too) for at least a week, two if you can. Look into dopamine/stimulation fasting.

I experienced this when I left private practice for an in-house job. Looking back on it now, I call it the “law firm detox” period. For me, it took about 2 weeks. Incidentally, that’s about how long it took for my company cell phone to get issued to me. (We have ONE GUY who does cell phones, and he was on vacation.) So I echo the suggestion to unplug for a bit. Also, just be patient with and kind to yourself. It’s a transition; it’ll take time.

I’ve been in a government position for about 18 months and I’m still tightly wound from 10 years of private practice.

Related Posts

Hello! I’m looking for a female sports masseuse that has availability between tomorrow and next Thursday, does anyone have any recommendations? I’m a long distance running who has been training for a marathon on may 1st. I do have a car so I am able to drive if they are located in the greater Boston area.

like

Hi , is the Gym in sab labs Bangalore opened? Also will be open on Saturdays?

like
like

Guys, I am following this guy name Chakabars on IG, any of you do? He basically talks about racism, being black, health etc... Yesterday, I saw a post where he mentioned that COVID 19 couldn’t touch>

like

God is so inspiring...

// I'm actually very happy whenever someone beats any terrible disease, even then the amount of cancer beaters is quite overwhelming lately.

Post Photo
likefunny

I have a looming sense of self hatred. I take medication I workout and do all the things to feel good, but it’s just stuck there. Constantly thinking I’m trash, in a bad person, etc. Feeling guilty for things idek if I should feel guilty about. This is a privileged problem and I know it’s minuscule to compared to the actual struggles of so many people in the US and abroad. Just wondering if anyone has felt this as well and if so, how do you get rid of that self hatred?

like

Any gym recommendation in Central London that I can access with ClassPass? Ideally around Oxford street/ Euston

like

I find it so hard to connect with patients with things like chronic pain or fatigue. Disease just feels so obscure and multifactorial to me

like

My mom won't wear her Fitbit to bed. She has a pacemaker and has had a fib. We got it for Christmas so we could find out while she's in an episode and not a month later. She read or saw somewhere that it interferes with pacers. I looked it up and it's not a legit concern, but wanted more opinions before I advise.

like

Is anyone aware of studies on how safe tented outdoor dining is? Here in LA I’ve been seeing very elaborate renting that basically looks like indoor dining and feel like that defeats the purpose of eating outdoors to reduce transmission.

like

Apologies for the awkward venue...but any one else struggling with addiction slash self destruction slash wtf am I doing in life?

like

I have a CKD patient who is really struggling with their diet. I tried to help but whoa, it is involved!

like

How has seeing patients in clinic changed for you? We get our patients from the parking lot one at a time.

like

Have a presentation in front of a large group tomorrow and it's giving me anxiety. Will taking a Xanax help?

like

Supposed to go to Mexico next weekend but getting worried now of covid / travel req, back into states. Anyone get stuck from travel?

like

When, or if you set time aside to take care of yourself or do something for yourself, what do you do? I'm realizing I don't really have any "healthy" ways of relaxing outside of work, so drop whatever you got. It's starting to affect my personal life and I'm worried I won't be able to have healthy relationships unless I can take care of myself first.

like

Here is my dilemma: I was passed up for manager promo last year and rightfully so a lot of my feedback was definitely correlated to me not properly handing my symptoms causing a good bit of inconsistencies in my performance especially if I lacked interest. This year I’ve crushed it and switched up projects off of ones that I’ve long been on. The few people who “advocate” for me seem to be stuck on things that seem either 1) so unsubstantiated and show that they are too far detached from the …

like

My psychiatrist today revealed to me that I may have ADHD, still a hypothesis that he is still exploring but from my personal experiences and discussions with therapist, it seems likely.

One example of personal experience is my ongoing prep for case studies as I'm interviewing with a number of firms. I do struggle to keep focus and generally take a bit longer to finish them, specifically the structuring of the case. Does anybody else feel the same way and any recommendations to overcome this?

Can someone confirm for me that suicidal thoughts are not normal? I’ve been dealing with it’s this (ideation but not intent) for as long as I can remember and honestly just assumed (cont)

like

Is Unisom safe to take in first trimester? My doctor assured me it was and recommended because of nighttime nausea but I’m seeing a mix online that it can cause the baby development issues.

like

More Posts

What is the salary range for Senior developer with 5.5 yrs experience?

like

^He's also probably in Operations or Accounting...

like

'An Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Use of Police Force' by Roland Fryer

Link to study:

https://scholar.harvard.edu/fryer/publications/empirical-analysis-racial-differences-police-use-force

Some bullets:

- Blacks 53% more likely to experience any use of force relative to 15% for whites
- All controls available, officers 46.6% less likely to discharge firearms before being attacked if suspect is black.
- Black officers are more likely to shoot unarmed whites, relative to white officers.
- Blacks are 21% less likely to report voluntary interaction with police than whites.

like

It’s Fry Day!!!!!!!!!!!

Post Photo
likeupliftingfunny

Done with the East Coast, planning a move to the Bay Area in the next year. What company would be the best to target coming from Comcast?

Do I put these succulents in soil now? What’s next?

Post Photo
like

Anyone involved in pro bono consulting? Particularly interested in opportunities for junior level consultants.

like

Hey folks. Question for the majority of us still under the big 3 holding co’s...are raises a thing anymore? I’ve been at my (smaller) agency almost 5yrs and got one raise (a nice $12k bump) during that time—is that sufficient? Is one increase in that span normal? I also recognize being somewhere 5 years is rare these days. The honeymoon period at any agency seems to be 2.5—3yrs before bolting. Not complaining, just asking. Have y’all been getting raises/bumps in any kind of regular cycle? Thx.

like

How long does it take to get promoted in virtusa? And how much increment one should expect?

like

What's the average CTC of OSP State lead in Jio

like

Is this true that relocation bonus is not applicable if I've done my college from that city even if my home town is in different state.

No facilities for those freshers who are shifting for the first time after lockdown???

Bain & Company McKinsey & Company Bain & Company

Folks, are your digital practices aslo treated like 2nd class citizens with 20-30% lower compensation for the same work?

like

Where is the best place to look at inspo for directors / style for TVC/OLV?

like

Is it normal to not get a perfect review? Just curious . Does everyone pretty much get some sort of constructive feedback?

like

Any books suggestions?

like

How do RSUs/equity work? I received an offer that includes $20k equity. I'm not sure if this is good, or low, as I don't really know how the payout is calculated or given. Can anyone advise?

Wondering if $150,000 base + 25% bonus, no RSU, is underpaid for a Director of Operations in a Marketing/Tech firm?

Responsibilities include direct oversight of onboarding, support, implementation/integrations, customer success, production - fulfillment, production-web dev, and content departments. 8 years experience at various management levels, 2 years as DOP.

like

I have 3 weeks to review for FAR. Any tips? How many MCQs a day? Practice TBSs?

Additional Posts in Law Exit Opportunities

like

I know this question is asked a lot, but what are some good non-legal fields or jd preferred jobs for lawyers who no longer want to practice? If you left the field of law, how did you know it wasn’t the right career for you?

like

I need out of the legal field for a job with independence, interesting and challenging issues to solve and a decent amount of pay. Halp!

like

Has anyone pivoted to a fed gov job in the intelligence space? Such as a civilian intelligence specialist, etc. would be curious to hear your path! Thanks.

like

What’s the typical salary for a GC VC role? They indicated they would pay in line with big law plus equity upside. It would be their first GC outside hire. Curious what the equity percentage would be?

like

Going into my fourth year of practice and seriously considering becoming a legal recruiter. Does anyone have any insights on this path? Pros? Cons? Advice?

like

What are other ways to get out of law aside from legal recruiting? I have insurance defense (MVA and first party property) and labor and employment law experience. Do not want to work for an insurance company. Not sure what my other options would be.

like

One of my junior associates recently resigned and I've been trying to make an exit myself for several months now. The job market has been really competitive but I am getting closer to getting a new job and moving on. The firm culture isn't great and work-life balance is non existent. My physical and mental health have been suffering, so I really don't think I could stay. How did you avoid the guilt trips from Partners/Senior staff trying to get you to stay?

like

I’m so miserable every day is painful. I want to go tell pre-law school me it’s not worth the debt because you will hate this career and then feel trapped by the debt. And then I want to come back to present day, quit this life-leeching, soul-sucking job and start over doing something else entirely. Too much? Oh well. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

like

I’m trying to get all my ducks in a row for when I quit here at the end of next month… I am taking a break to figure out what I want to do, so I will be unemployed for a time. Do I have to notify the ARDC of this change (IL licensed)? Do I have to immediately switch to inactive status or can I stay active in case I decide to keep practicing law just a few months later? Thanks in advance fishies!!

like

3rd year work comp attorney, trying to transition to different non-litigation practice or law exit opportunity. Any ideas?

like

I’m a fifth year associate who is ready to get out of litigation (and private practice altogether). I’ve only ever done professional malpractice (legal, med mal, etc) and feel like those skills will not transfer as well if I had done transactional work. Ideally I would like to transition to something in-house. Any suggestions as to what jobs/industries I could transfer into with only litigation experience?

like

Giving my notice this week. It’s going to seem very out of the blue as I am a first year associate. I’m leaving to go into a different career path completely. The people are great but I’m just looking for something different. Any advice?

likehelpful

Big law for 8 years (litigation/antitrust) and have never enjoyed the work. It’s too late to try a new practice area and am thinking about either leaving the law or going in house. Any non law ideas?

like

Are there recruiters who specialize in or have opportunities in non practicing attorney or jd preferred roles? I don’t want to litigate anymore but I really need help finding a non practicing role. I wonder if there are recruiters who do this.

like

What is a typical paycut expected for a midlevel in biglaw going to an in-house legal department (NYC corporate)?

like

Does anybody work for case text? If so I would love to talk about how you're liking the role and your compensation specifically as an attorney.

like

Are there any lawyers that moved to healthcare tech (non-legal related positions)? That would include medical devices, AI, robotics, etc. Would love to learn from your experience.

Parents always wanted me to become a doctor, so did I. However, did not do very well around blood. :))

Thank you!

like

Hello! Has anyone pivoted to a legal operations position? Do you like it and why?

like

For attorneys who have transitioned to corporate development/business development, was it worth it? I’ve heard CD involves a lot of process work and I’m not sure if I’m glamorizing the field compared to my (relatively technically challenging) field of law

like

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