quick Q.'s

[Mina]

I'm @ BLS, Q.1: is it nearly impossible for me to work in BIg law?, q.2: if not, will I be worked like a filthy animal (e.g. 70-80 hr weeks)? , q.3: what kind of law is practiced in these firms, will crim. law suffice, or must be corporate in nature? Thx.

[vaplaugh]

I'm @ BLS, Q.1: is it nearly impossible for me to work in BIg law?, q.2: if not, will I be worked like a filthy animal (e.g. 70-80 hr weeks)? , q.3: what kind of law is practiced in these firms, will crim. law suffice, or must be corporate in nature? Thx.

No, but what does "nearly impossible" mean to you? Probably, but maybe not at first. No, not crim.

[1L0307]

Q1. It's better than "nearly impossible." You would have a good shot if your in the top 10-15% of the class. Q2. 70-80 hours is slightly high, but you will be working a lot (60 min.) Q3. big law firms do pretty much all types of law.  For criminal law, its usually more white collar crime.

[jacy85]

1.  I don't know.

2.  Maybe - depends on the firm, and the practice area and the economy (e.g. bankruptcy is starting to boom, and be extremely busy, and mergers and acquisitions and real estate are slowing down).  Basically, the hope is that you'll at least be billing the minimum to get your bonus, and other times you'll be slammed depending on what kind of deadlines are going on.

3.  No, crim law will not suffice, and neither will family law, most likely.  There are exceptions here and there, and it may differ depending on what your definition of BigLaw is, but most big firms do corporate work - corporate litigation, corporate transactional work, corporate real estate, corporate taxes, etc.  If there is crim work, it'll be criminal white collar and possibly securities work.  But most large firms have to do corporate work b/c their fees are too high to be affordable to anyone but corporations or the rich people who run the corporations.

As a 1L, it sounds like you need to start doing serious research on what type of work is out there for attorneys.

[themanwithnoname]

I'm @ BLS, Q.1: is it nearly impossible for me to work in BIg law?, q.2: if not, will I be worked like a filthy animal (e.g. 70-80 hr weeks)? , q.3: what kind of law is practiced in these firms, will crim. law suffice, or must be corporate in nature? Thx.

1. Not nearly impossible, 10-15% sounds about right.
2. more like 60-70 hours per week
3. Some firms do white collar criminal law.