Requested PTO months in advance and still got staffed on a deal the week before. Everyone says take time off, but no one actually protects it. How do you defend your boundaries without tanking relationships?

Raise your hand if you are surviving the holiday season! 🙋‍♀️

Anyone from ACN asked to take a week of vacation in June? I was asked to but the friends I checked with we’re not; afraid I’m being prepped to exit.

Best fall vacation destinations on a biglaw budget?

hi all, hope all is well

i left deloitte risk advisory due to personal reasons in sep 2021 (time off since july 2021) as the work got a bit much and my situation at home was complex.

i applied for a snr consultant role in consulting (strategy & ops, indus. redesign & innov.) and saw my app. got shortlisted. this role looks more suited for me and im super interested in it, more so than my prev. exp at D but you never know haha. whats the process like/how likely will i progress?

Will base jump from 120 - 145 make a significant difference in my saving? Offer has significantly less PTO and a lower 401k match. 32F with 400k saved, interested in buying a home soon in HCOL.

In 2023 I'm wanting to help make my management more effective. So, I'm looking for a book or a couple of books to gift my team this holiday season. I would like books that focus on communication and taking ownership. Any recommendations?

Took a gig in a team that got back to me with a contract faster than another team as they had to get approval, people on vacation more, etc etc. Was in need of employment certainty at the time. The other team, that fits my desires more, now reached out. Same org, two entirely diff departments and I've been in og gig for a month. Stick or ditch? Any advice for a youngin' like me?

Do you drink at holiday parties? This is the first company I've worked for that does a real holiday party and I'm kind of anxious about letting my guard down around my co-workers like that...

Do you work the holidays into your lesson plans this time of year? Or is it too much of a distraction from your routine? Teaching a SPED music class this year and the students have finally *mostly* become comfortable in the room and with the instruments + noise. We usually work on the same songs each week for one month, but I'm thinking of switching it up and doing Christmas/Holiday songs next week as a send off into break. I work with mostly autistic students.

Been dating for a little over a year, but she hasn’t introduced me to her family yet. I don’t have any plans for thanksgiving this year, and she didn’t invite me to spend the holiday with her family (local). Is it still too early or is it a red flag?

I spend most weekends/vacation days trying to figure out my life and find a job I’ll like better. Then after awhile I convince myself that I have a good job and I’m a fool. All is well until about 3 hours into my first day back when the bs starts in again and all hell breaks loose. 🥴 Is this common? At what point do you know it’s time to leave?

Planning a trip to Rome and Naples with day trips to Tivoli and Pompeii. Is 1 week enough? I feel like reading through 3/4 day Rome and 2 day Naples itineraries, the trip seems rushed. I have unlimited PTO but my SO is limited in time (but luckily he can work extra hrs and then use less PTO). I would say max we could do is 1.5 weeks but adding on 3-5 more days seems almost too much? Thoughts? For reference, I did Venice-Florence-Rome in a week and it seemed okay but it also wasn’t as planned out

When is it either allowed or seen as OK to start using FTO? I recently started here and while I’m not looking to slack off and take time off, I just want to know how it works. (Plus, I don’t want to not use something that I can or should use.) Elementary stuff, I know. But I’ve freelanced my whole career until now. Thanks

Is it normal to feel numb around the holidays? I'm tired, dealing with seasonal affective disorder and a really tough caseload right now. Not in the holiday spirit at all and honestly don't even want to be, I just want to spend the weekend resting. Is it bad that I don't care about it at all this year?

I recently had an initial interview for a technical recruiter position. The guy on the phone stated that this is not a 9-5 job and long hours are expected. I proceed to ask how much PTO is offered and he said that is not recommend within the first 6 months of working and the harder you work the more PTO you receive. From that conversation, I saw instant red flags. Any thoughts?

For all you retail people...are you experiencing a very slow holiday season? I am a retail manager and I feel like this season has been freakishly slow. I thought we would at least match last year's number or be up a little bit but we are trending down. I talked to employees of other stores in the mall and they are saying the same thing. Is anyone else experiencing this in their market?

I’m in a little of a pickle but a good one. Offer A. Established “start up” doing well financially and projected to hit profitability. 130k base. Stocks offered, unlimited PTO, and 70% Medical covered. Offer B. Is at a business much larger…90k salary with 10% bonus and generous stock offering. Titles are different which is why the pay is much different. I know some may think it is a no brainer but offer A allows me to grow the department ground up whereas offer B id be apart of to just different

I'm 6 months old at D! Planning early promotion next year.. counselor and pm both are backing me.. I need to go to India for at least 4 weeks in Dec ... most probably would be rolling off from current project by then .. would this vacation hurt my promotion chances coz of utilization etc?

Hi everyone,
I am a new joiner @ Coforge, joined on Nov 15th and still waiting for project allocation. What is the resource pool/bench policy for a new joiner, can anyone please help on this?

Made a fireable mistake (timesheet not adding up) at work along with a SERIES of lesser mistakes (but mistakes never the less). Should I just quit? I feel so stupid/slow/inadequate/scared every day.

Any insight into potential salary range for a Wealth Brokerage Trader at Truist located in Charlotte NC?

For those using voyager, does it take a really long time for deposits to settle? It's been like 1.5 weeks, my cash has been taken out of my bank account a while ago, but voyager still has all my deposits as pending.

I can still trade with the pending deposit, but I'm just wondering since I'll eventually withdraw some.

Received less salary this month also. (Same amount as last month)
Why is this happening? Too much tax 🥵

Any in house brand strategists out there?

Tax Staff 1, currently making 56k. You think it’s wild if I ask for 59/60 as a salary raise ?

There’s an Art Director at my job who helped with a new business pitch and came up with the WORST headline construct without consulting me or any copywriter. (Cont)

Nice Leather laptop bag recommendations pls. Looked at Tumi website. I can’t expense ~$600 for 💼.

Please suggest to get some nice suits at London. I will be there for two weeks.

Recommendation for winter gloves?

Hey all, curious to know how you like the bowl. Anything you want to see more of? Anything you want to see that we don’t currently do (e.g. Zoom happy hours, live chats, etc)? Let me know!

Considering joining a small 50-person company as the only attorney (prior attorney is retiring). (I am currently in-house at a F50). For others who have done the same path, what surprises did you have when moving from a large company to a small one?

For example, it sounds like I should not expect a document management system, based on a prior post in this bowl. I’m guessing expenses like state bar fees and cell phone are not reimbursed.

Any advice on things to expect (or not expect)?

Can someone link me to the confessions pt 2 bowl 🤪🤪🤪

Recommendations for ergonomic office chair? Wfh is going to go on for awhile so want to invest. Budget is about $300

Any thoughts on Phillips Lytle? If you could please provide insight on culture/billable requirements? Thank you.

How competitve is a US district court clerkship?

Did anyone not meet their billable hours requirement during their first year of employment? If so, how did your firm react? 😬

Anyone have any affordable case management software recommendations? I’m looking for something a bit non-traditional as I work for a small nonprofit. Ideally the software would involve document organization/access as well as like a running “log” for folks to post relevant events or work completed for the file.

Career Sabbatical?

Can anyone who has taken a career sabbatical to travel/explore other interests share their experience with both leaving their jobs and returning to the legal field?
I really want to live in Asia for a year at least before I have to settle down and start a family. I’m not getting younger but don’t want to be reckless with my career.

Do anyone know any legal admins or paralegals looking for contract/part-time work in California?

Does anyone practice White Collar criminal defense in NYC or know a decent amount about it? Is it fun or fulfilling? Is it a good way to break into government work in the future?

Parental leave: do you have to be at a company or firm for a year before being eligible to take parental leave? Are there any companies/firms that don't have this requirement?

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...

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

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

Any advice on how to deal with a partner/boss who is shifting all responsibility to me with zero guidance, no mentoring, and an unwillingness to discuss the issues? (Small firm, only associate under this partner and have been working at the firm for 2 years). There are an increasing number of passive aggressive comments from the partner who expects to be completely hands off once the case lands on my desk. Wants me to figure it all out despite cases being from different areas of law.

Have a call on Friday with the CEO of an environmental entrepreneurship non-profit. It could lead to a professional opportunity and maybe even billable work I can refer to my firm down the line. I’m going in with an open mind but little concrete information on his entity and goals and ways I could get involved. What questions would you ask such a person?

Orally accepted a job offer that I’m excited about, but have another interview this week for a different job. I didn’t realize the first offer would come so quickly! Should I cancel the interview this week or go through with it? Small legal community- people talk.

Advice Request: Started my career litigating. Switched to niche transactions (so about half and half at this point). Halfway through a year long sabbatical and reevaluating what I want to do (left before jumping to Senior associate). I’d like to get into litigation again in a practice group I don’t have experience in. Any suggestions on how to do this? How to approach firms and partners etc? Past 2 firms on my resume are top 30.

What is everyone’s: (1) billable hours this year; (2) practice group; (3) year; and (4) size of law firm?

What is the scoop on med mal defense vs. plaintiff work? Is defense more respected by other practice areas if I were to switch somewhere else later?

I applied to a position that brands itself as civil litigation and apparently the role is med mal defense. Not sure what to go by but would like to do a little research before I call them back.

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

How many billable hours per week is considered at capacity? I’m getting pushback on boundaries I’m setting about additional matters and marketing work from my firm when I’ve been billing 60-75 hours per week for the last 6 weeks, and I’m still behind on my work. I feel like it’s reasonable to not kill myself further to fit in more/turn things around faster at this point, but am I being unreasonable? I expect my workload to remain at this level through the end of the year at least.

I want to get out of ID so badly. I don’t mind the work but the hours are just killing me. I just started at a new firm less than 6 months ago and I am already desperate to get out. It is not the firm or the people. I just hate the high billables. I have been applying to other jobs but I think I may need a recruiter for help. Any recommendation for a great recruiter in NYC?