An update on me
Well I’ve been working as a lawyer for a total of four years (including graduate training) so I thought it was about time to provide an update.
In summary, I’m still very happy to be a lawyer! The work is very challenging and I continue to learn every day. I prefer to be busy rather than sitting around with not much to do so the private practice environment suits well – that said, I could do with a few hours less in the office each week.
I’m certainly more jaded and cynical than when I started, but not enough that my general outlook on a career in law has changed (and not enough to actively dissuade you from studying – though some of my contemporaries would try). My least favourite part of working in private practice is the pressure pushed onto junior lawyers. This is much harder to manage than the long hours, and I feel like I’m only now starting to really find my rhythm.
I think I have been lucky with my firm – there have been some extremely busy periods and lots of pressure at times, but overall it has been manageable. I also have a good team of lawyers around my level which helps a lot. If I left it would probably be for a change in role (eg in-house) rather then lateraling to another big firm.
There’s only around 25% of my graduate group left, which is quite scary! Most have left over the last year or so – some to in-house roles but many to other large law firms. The grass is always greener I guess, and that lateral hire bonus would be nice…
Aims for the future are to make senior associate and to keep learning. I’m on track for the first one and it would be almost impossible not to achieve the second. Happy times!
An update on the blog
The frequency of posts on this blog has decreased over the last few years.
There are two main reasons for this. First of all, there was an increase in hours that I spent in the office. The second reason was that my topic to-do list, that I created when I first started, was slowly being ticked off! I’m pretty happy with this – I wasn’t sure that I would ever get around to sharing everything that I wanted to get through (though I still have one post to go on practical legal training)!
So where to from here? Well there are lots of other topics that are important to law students and junior lawyers that I would like to share. However, I’ll stay away from the 2,000 – 3,000 word posts for those (in my defense, I think the longer posts were necessary to drill down into the earlier topics so that I was sharing something actually useful, rather than offering massively broad generalisations with no real steps that could be followed). In any event, moving forward the the posts will be much shorter!
Oh, and I’ve also updated that painful theme that made the blog look like it was from the early 2000s.
Thank you
A big thank you to everyone who has visited over the last few years – I hope the blog has been useful. Please drop by every now and again, and as always, feel free to suggest any other topics that you would like discussed (eg use the comments section below)!
Cheers
Will
Hi Will,
Thanks for taking the time to make this blog. The posts are amazing and very helpful. I am in my final year of JD and I want to join private practice. I just wanted to know how manageable is the workload for someone who is a parent?
I have a toddler and I am very apprehensive in going into the work realm. But this is what I always wanted to do.
Thanks.
Thanks Will, I’ve only just come across this blog and have thoroughly enjoyed reading all your articles, thanks for all the hard work over the years.
cheers
Damien
Thanks Damien, glad you enjoyed it!
This question is about resillience in staying on the job and how to stay resillient.
In the 5th paragraph of your article, you mentioned that 75% of recruits have left within four years.
One ‘hears’ stories of “….don’t work for firm X (regardless of discipline, law, engineering, commerce….etc), they suck blood out of a stone….”
It appears that there are long hours and many people don’t survive and move on. Perhaps only two, three or four years experience at a “sucking blood out of a stone” firm may be enough for someone to leave the firm and work in their dream job. I know of students that work at a “top tier” for a three years and gone to better things.
On the other hand, the question that is not answered anywhere is the resilience factor to remain working at a firm and bearing those long hours. Is there something in the person’s resilience attitude to stick it out at a particular firm regardless of the discipline (law, engineering, commerce)?
I know of the story of a person who went to my former yr 5-12 school, graduated in law then worked at a top-tier firm (Freehills), made it to partner within five years (one of the earliest time periods to become a partner), then practised at the bar and is now a judicial officer in the NSW SC.
Then at the same time, this person also worked for an excellent partner, the late His Hon. Justice Kim Santow and his colleagues who showed this particular graduate and other former graduates “the ropes”. There are similar stories of former graduates working for the late former judicial officer and gone to bigger and brighter things.
In sum, having good people above you is another way of keeping you interested in the job and continuing to work for the firm.
Thank you,
Anthony of exciting Belfield
Hi Anthony
Your question around resilience to remain working at a firm is a good one, and I guess the answer varies from person to person.
A lot of people really love it. They might complain to friends and colleagues about 12+ hour days, or missing out on weekend plans because of some last minute client request, but they ultimately thrive in these conditions and wouldn’t have it any other way. Some of these people want to become partners, but I’ve met many other senior lawyers who have the same drive and would never want to be a partner. I think the common theme for this group is that there is a job to do, and they just go out and put their best effort in every time, regardless of what it takes. I probably fall into this group – not ideal when I don’t want to go down the partnership track, but it is what it is.
Of course, the amount of crap you can cop before looking for another role will vary from person to person. If you are outraged at how junior lawyers are treated at large firms then it’s usually more likely that you will leave earlier. I’ve seen one partner drive out various lawyers over different timeframes. He treats them all the same (spoiler – not very well), and some will leave within a few months, some last over a year, and there are a few where his behaviour doesn’t even phase them.
Some people just stick around, even though they hate it all, simply because they can’t figure out what to do next (or don’t put in the effort to)! This is all necessary though – law firms need people to leave after the first few years so that the pyramid structure remains. A smaller partnership will mean that there are less people to draw on the firm profits.
One thing that I have found difficult to identify is when people have their identity wrapped up in being a “lawyer”. It might be because they really believe in what they do, or it could be because of the perceived prestige.
I was lucky to be sent on a really good secondment during my first few years, and following that, I got to work with a great partner. Wouldn’t have lasted nearly as long without that!
Cheers
Will
Thank you for all the advice.
Is it possible for an international student to study juris doctor degree and find a job in australia?
Hi Elizabeth – I’m sure it’s possible, but from what I understand, a lot of hurdles are thrown up for international students. The main one is that you will need to have a permanent visa (or PR? I’m not sure) to allow you to work. If you don’t have that then the chances are very low because there are a lot of other law students out there that have no restrictions on their ability to work.
The second issue facing all law students is that there is a lot of competition for law graduate roles. But hey, if you’ve got PR and good marks then you’re off to a good start!
Will
I’ve followed you since I started studying in S2, 2016. Due to finish my undergrad in S2, 2020. Thanks for the super useful content and resources.
Almost there! Thanks for your comment and glad the site has been helpful 😊