BigLaw Scheduling: Sunday Funday? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Would those of you in BigLaw mind discussing what your schedule looks like if you manage to stay organized?

I have a slight disability that can make me tired if I don't consistently get enough sleep. You could liken it to how you feel after giving blood- kind of woozy and awful. One or two nights won't do me in, but sustained bouts of not caring for myself can cause me some problems with cognition and ability to stand for long periods of time.

I don't really want to disclose to my employer, because it's kind of an 'If you don't like the heat stay out of the kitchen', thing.

I graduate in a year and am wondering if I manage to be relatively Type A and get my stuff done on time, will I be able to stick it out?

I know there are a lot of procrastinators here, and I'm with you most of the time. Law school isn't as hard as NY BL though, and I'm pretty worried I don't have what it takes. Enthusiasm isn't the problem; I'm just worried about whether I can physically handle it. The things I'm supposed to stay away from are the things that keep most people going (alcohol and caffeine -_-).

[Vincent Adultman]

You would be insane not to disclose a medical condition to your employer.

Also why is this thread called Sunday Funday?

[kalvano]

I have a slight disability that can make me tired if I don't consistently get enough sleep.

Have we really gotten to the point where basic biology is a "disability" that presents an issue with Biglaw?

[grand inquisitor]

i understand op's reticence because i was anxious about disclosing my need to use the restroom 3-7 times per day during a lateral interview

[SmokeytheBear]

I have a slight disability that can make me tired if I don't consistently get enough sleep.

Have we really gotten to the point where basic biology is a "disability" that presents an issue with Biglaw?

That's one of the more insensitive things I have ever read on these threads. "Basic biology" causes all kinds of disabilities. I don't even know how to articulate a response your comment was so assholeish.

OP--you should disclose this to your employer so you can get reasonable accommodations, whatever they may be.

What city are you in? I can say that in my experience (and my friends' experiences) in LA, all nighters happen, but they are rare. I've had several late nights followed by early mornings around closings or signings and one week that was essentially sleepless, but that's over a several year period.

[Anonymous User]

I have a slight disability that can make me tired if I don't consistently get enough sleep.

Have we really gotten to the point where basic biology is a "disability" that presents an issue with Biglaw?

OP

It's not basic biology to average over 10 hours per night when I have no other commitments that would make me restrict the number of hours.

I can get it down to average of 9 hours when I need to. As for the Sunday Funday thing, I had been planning to ask about scheduling extra sleep on Sunday to compensate. (Like an idiot, I forgot to add that before I posted.) I'm curious to know whether that would be possible- is Sunday usually a calmer day? I know most people work on Saturdays when it's busy.

Disclosing is a deeply personal preference, especially when the disability is invisible. I know of someone who doesn't have a job after graduation yet and has disclosed her (Type I) diabetes openly. She will never know whether her lack of job is from her grades, her interviewing, or her illness- it isn't possible to know. You can't keep someone from seeing the monitor/insulin pump.

I'm already openly gay and a woman, I don't need anything else added to the list of reasons I might not be treated equally.

Thank you for your comments, whether positive or not.

[Vincent Adultman]

Oh boy this got weird(er).

[2014]

Lit or corp?

In my experience (corp) the 12-14 hours from Friday at 10pm - Saturday at Noon are the most predictably slow hours and you could generally expect to be able to catch up on sleep then if you are disciplined enough to forego social stuff on Friday evenings. It will be less than 100% predictable though and you will need to be flexible as required (unless you want to just come out with the disability). Saturday night going into Sunday is a little more hit or miss because you will have seniors who took a relaxed approach to Friday evening/Saturday and are then scrambling to get everything accomplished that they wanted to over the weekend.

If you are in lit your schedule will generally be more predictable and you should safely be able to plan around this the vast majority of your weekends unless you are right up against a filing deadline early the next week.

Disability or not, you are right to flag this as a major challenge of (NY) big law. You will be expected to push your body beyond where science says you have lost all hope of productivity and to put out substantially perfect work product and it can take a real toll.

[Anonymous User]

Really just depends on your firm, practice group, how work is allocated at your firm, and the Partners/Seniors you work with.

First, some firms are just more lifestyle-oriented. I'm in the west coast and office hours are generally closer to 9-6pm, with some take-home work. Obviously this can vary depending on your firm, but it's definitely more-so the case compared to NYC/DC.

Second, if you work with just specific partners, you'll come to know exactly what your schedule may or may not look like. Some partners are more needy and/or put off urgent to-do's that will ruin your weekend, while some are more organized and tend to give you sufficient notice to plan ahead yourself. The same can be said for Senior-Level Associates who may also possibly assign you a good chunk/majority of your work. Personally, I don't know much about how an associate-manager/work-coordinator type situation works, as I work directly with a handful of Partners - so can't speak to how that would be although it sounds like it would suck.

All of that being said, there are without a doubt going to be times where you have to step-up and work ridiculous hours either because (1) you take on or are assigned too much work; (2) you're working on one or multiple large and time-sensitive matters; (3) you're a newbie and things take way longer than anticipated; (4) you get distracted throughout the day or are just procrastinating; or (5) life happens.

You'll get better at managing all this as it goes, but no one can guarantee you your schedule won't at least occasionally suck, even though it may be much less likely at certain places than others. If this is really important to you, you damn well better know people who work at the places you're interested in and in the specific practice groups you will work with VERY well on a personal level. Otherwise, it's a gamble.

Honestly, if you're TOO type A, I fear that you will attract a stressful big law life. You need to be comfortable setting limits for yourself, realizing that you know next-to-nothing coming in and are going to screw up certain things (the real question is what types of screw ups are tolerable), and also develop a feel for where certain short-falls are your fault versus out of your control. Basically, to the extent your work life will allow it, you'll need to figure out when and how it's okay to chill out a bit for your own sanity. Otherwise, you'll be the one keeping yourself up at night.

[Anonymous User]

You would be insane not to disclose a medical condition to your employer.

Also why is this thread called Sunday Funday?

Not OP but I also have an invisible disability.

Can you explain why you would have to be insane not to disclose? I honestly don't rmr if I disclosed mine..I believe I did to some firms and did not to others.

[RaceJudicata]

You would be insane not to disclose a medical condition to your employer.

Also why is this thread called Sunday Funday?

Not OP but I also have an invisible disability.

Can you explain why you would have to be insane not to disclose? I honestly don't rmr if I disclosed mine..I believe I did to some firms and did not to others.

Dislosing = job security. If you disclose to your employer, they are unlikely to shitcan you for something that could be tangentially tied to your disability.

Fucked up that that thinking is part of the equation, but its reality.

[kalvano]

I have a slight disability that can make me tired if I don't consistently get enough sleep.

Have we really gotten to the point where basic biology is a "disability" that presents an issue with Biglaw?

That's one of the more insensitive things I have ever read on these threads. "Basic biology" causes all kinds of disabilities. I don't even know how to articulate a response your comment was so assholeish

I mean, you certainly seems OK articulating insults as a response. It wasn’t a dig at the OP. It was more a comment / wonderment at a profession in which the need to sleep (e.g., basic human biology) is something that would present a substantial issue with the profession.