Read on for a day in the life of a litigation partner in a medium-sized firm in the Northeast…
Job Title: Partner (Non-Equity)
Industry: Law
From: Medium-Sized City in the Northeast
Age: 36
Gender: Female
Salary/Benefits: $145,000 salary plus five-figure yearly bonus. I also get a 3% match for my 401k.
Employer Type: Private law firm
Employer Size: Around 30 lawyers and 20 support staff
How Long in Current Position: Three years
Highest Level of Education: J.D.
How You Got to Your Current Job: I feel like I should have a good answer for this! I went to college thinking that I’d be going down an engineering/pre-med route, but discovered pretty quickly that wasn’t for me. I took a constitutional law class as a political science elective my junior year and loved it, so law school it was!
Describe a typical day at work:
6:30 am: Wake up. I’m not a morning person, but waking up a little bit earlier than I have to allows me to ease into the day by doing something I enjoy. Today, it’s watching WandaVision!
7:30 am: Get ready for work, including packing up my breakfast and lunch for the day. I try to spend 1-2 hours on Saturday/Sunday meal prepping so that breakfasts/lunches are ready to go and fruits and vegetables are washed and sliced for snacks and dinners.
8:30 am: Arrive at work, read the news, eat breakfast.
9:00 am: Call with a partner in a different department about an issue for one of his clients that falls in my realm of experience. Review a memo from an associate about the issue and confer with the partner about a plan of attack. Brief one of my associates about the matter and ask him to start some research.
11:00 am: Call with a client about responses to discovery demands that we received from another party. They think the other side is trying to withhold relevant information so we discuss strategy for filing a targeted motion to compel to get the documents we need.
12:30 pm: Lunch at my desk while I attend a CLE via Zoom.
1:30 pm: Another partner is handing off a number of cases to me in an area of law where I’m still somewhat new. Spend a few hours going through the files, making a chart listing the status of each, and doing some preliminary research to formulate a strategy. During this time and throughout the day, I am interrupted roughly one million times by phone calls or junior associates with questions.
4:30 pm: Non-profit board meeting via Zoom. I’m on the boards of two organizations that aid in causes that are close to my heart. I always tell people that I do it to “make business contacts,” but honestly, I mostly do it because I like the work. I agree to take the lead on a fundraising project.
6:00 pm: Draft an email to the other partner with my status chart on the cases, and ask to set up a time to go over it in more detail. Since I’m still learning this particular area, I want to get the benefit of her experience and make sure I’m headed in the right direction.
6:30 pm: Pack up and head home. I have a relatively short commute, but always use it to make phone calls to friends and family. Today, I chat with my mom and dad while I drive.
7:00 pm: Hop on the Peloton for a 30-min class. Tunde is my favorite, but I also love Cody and Alex!
7:30 pm: Throw together dinner with whatever meat and vegetables I prepped over the weekend. I live by myself, so I like listening to podcasts or audiobooks while I cook and clean up.
8:30 pm: Shower and watch an episode or two of whatever show I’m into.
10:00 pm: In bed! I take my sleep very seriously, and try to stop checking my phone by 9 or so.
READERS, SUBMIT YOUR DAY: The Career Files Submission Form
If you enjoyed this day in the life of a litigation partner, check out our other day in the life posts here
Photo by Sora Shimazaki on Pexels.com