A term used by law students and those in the legal profession to refer to large private firms in the
US. These firms are typically located in NYC, Chicago, or Washington DC and have impressive multi-million dollar offices in skyscrapers, complete with full libraries that are rarely used. Many law students initially aspire to work for a Big Law firm.
The seduction:
> Six-figure salaries, as much as $150k right out of
school
> Internship during
school, which mostly involves a reduced workload with lavish lunches and trips to
baseball games
> Company perks, like leased Beamers or season tickets to MLB or NBA games
The reality:
> 2500 to 3000 billable hours, which translates to 80-90 hour work weeks
> 7am-7pm five days a week, often half day on Saturday, so you
don't have
time to use your Knicks tickets anyway
> Over 33 percent drop-out rate among first-year associates, up to two-thirds quit by third year
> Lawyers have one of the highest rates of alcoholism and
depression among all professions, and this is especially prevalent in big private law firms
1L: I want to work in Big Law so I can buy a
boat and drive a
BMW 745i
3-year associate: I'll gladly
trade you mine in exchange for the last three years of my 20s back
