"Pyth" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<
[email protected]>...
> >
> > You know what they say: 1st year they scare you to death, 2nd year they work you to death, and
> > 3rd year they bore you to death.
>
> I feel it. I'm being worked to death so far this year. On top of it all, I tried out for and made
> the Moot Court team. Now THEY expect me to work! Dammit all!
>
>
> >
> > I moved to Boise out of law school, got a cushy clerkship the first year, then into a firm with
> > fellow mtb'ers and cyclists/runners/kayakers, who all covered for each other when nature called.
> > Our office was on the river. When we weren't running during the lunch hour, we would grab inner
> > tubes and run a few miles up river in the blasting heat, then drop the tubes in for a float back
> > to the office.
>
> What a life. That's ideal. If only...
>
>
>
> >
> > For the last several yrs, I've been on my own, with a very flexible schedule and an
> > understanding staff. My boss is a lazy jerk, but hey. When the schedule's clear as the sky, and
> > I start getting growly in the office, I usually get shoved out the door to go riding, rather
> > than sit here and make more work for the secretaries.
> >
> > Life is good. But you've gotta pay your dues. Hang in there, force yourself to do something! But
> > be careful about jumping for the brass ring of the big firms with their big salaries and their
> > big cities, if you want any free time to carve out a life or identity for yourself.
> >
> > Remember, the most important things in life are not things, and that the road to hell is paved.
>
>
> Unfortunately, I think the carriage-grade firms are my targets -- for now. I'd like the cash. My
> wife (or should I say Pfizer) has been providing the funding for my education. I'd like to be
> able to return the favor for awhile. Perhaps after the money piles up, I'll back-off and take it
> easy again.
Ahh, moot court, I remember it well. I was National Moot Court team captain, and the travel and
practice, etc., only adds to the "fun."
Well, I have friends in the so-called big firms of Boise (at least they work like slaves and have
tiny offices) and it is a huge deal for them to get out and ride before sunset, or do anything fun,
before 730pm, and then they feel guilty because their only contact with their wives and kids is by
cell phone and email.
The divorce rate at the big firms is worth looking into.
In my solo practice, I have one full-time person, + my wife part-time (somebody's gotta keep the
boss smiling), and I honestly believe I have it made, except for the typically lower salary. But
I've taken my fees in cars, furniture, baked goods, frozen salmon, tools, guns, even a good bike
from a race promoter.
But contact with real people with real problems is also very rewarding. I cut my teeth as a
gladiator in court for a few years for big companies, and the ego rush was great, victories
intoxicating, but you're just a hired gun. Hired, fired, doesn't matter.
Now my clients bring me cinnamon rolls and invite me to their cabins in the mountains. And
before you think that I "settled for this podunk lifestyle" know that I did *real well* in L.S.
and had lots of options. I just wanted to live in Boise. And that's been a berry berry gooood
decision for me.
"It was so cold in Boise last winter that I saw a lawyer walking down the street with his hands in
his *own* pockets." Just some things to think about. If you go the big lawyer warehouse route, just
don't forget who you really are. Let them pay you, train you, then cut you loose!
Paladin there I go again meddling and rambling...