Moving to NYC for Biglaw Paralegal Position? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi all,

I am looking for some help with a decision that I have to make soon, and would love some of your opinions.

I recently graduated from university (late graduate, mid 20s), and I am preparing slowly for the LSAT. With that said, I did not participate in my university's OCI as an UG for various reasons, and after graduating I am currently unemployed (not panicking yet). However, In the last couple months I have been mass applying everywhere locally and nationally for all types of office and legal assistant positions and I got a little bit lucky with an interview coming up at a V10 Biglaw firm in NYC.

However, despite landing an interview, the main problem that I face is that if I was given an offer to take the position, I would have to move to NYC from the Midwest. Such a move seems difficult because I have no ties in NYC, the 40k salary (and bonuses) do not justify the high COL, and the hours and OT might prevent me from adequately preparing for the LSAT. If I lived at home with parents and snagged a FT job I could save up money, study, and assist the family with various things.

But, coming from a top public national university with no ivy league ties (and no connections to anyone anywhere), this position seems like it will be a gift from god lol, and blowing this off to stay comfortable at home while studying for the LSAT seems to be a huge mistake. I discussed this with my parents, and they both explained that while this is a great chance to get out and start my young professional life, there will be no financial support for moving or anything of that matter. This is totally fine, but it does make me wonder about what is the next step to take. Look for local jobs, stay home, save money and study? Or go get some Biglaw experience, make some connections, work my ass off, and hope for the best?

With regards to living in NYC, here are a few questions I am pondering:

1) Would living outside NYC and commuting by car (I own a car) every day be doable (salary wise and time wise?). I commuted to UG via Amtrak for one year which entailed a 3-4 hour round trip depending on weather etc. And I would have no problem living in CT, NJ, SI, or anywhere and driving so long as its affordable on the salary I am on.

2) The work/life balance as a paralegal in a V10 in relations to studying for the LSAT: how hard of a balancing act would this be?

3) Connections: Is there a difference between getting recommendation for law school from someone at a V10 firm over some office manager in X Midwest city, or some Y lawyer from a personal injury shop?

4) I also wanted to say that after doing some research on different practice areas within law, I find plaintiff/tort/class action litigation intriguing me the most, and is why I am interested in going to law school. Biglaw is not something I aspire to go into, but the position to get your foot into the door and assist on some top notch legal work seems too good to turn down.


I would love to hear some tips, opinions, or wisdom from all of you!

[UVA2B]

1. No. Don't do it. Just don't do it.

2. Quite a few paralegals at that echelon are doing what you hope to do, but they're still going to try to get work out of you. That means you'll have to be committed to studying in your downtime/riding the train/commuting, weekends, etc. That doesn't mean it can't be done, but you'll have to commit a significant amount of your free time to studying, because a significant amount of time will be spent working if you take the job.

3. Maybe, but for admissions, it's probably not much. Lawyers will ostensibly know more about what admissions are looking for at a law school, but LORs in general don't have a huge impact unless they're an influential donor or otherwise carry cachet among admission folks. I wouldn't worry about the relative weight of LORs.

4. If you want to go into plaintiff side class action/tort work, you've already pigeon-holed yourself quite a bit before starting law school, and I would kindly recommend you don't do that. It's possible you could end up at Quinn or another big plaintiff-side firm in the end, but I wouldn't give much weight to it before you start. Figure out whether you're eligible for Wilkinson Walsh or Kaplan when you get closer to interviewing.

[Anonymous User]

If you want to go into plaintiff side class action/tort work, you've already pigeon-holed yourself quite a bit before starting law school, and I would kindly recommend you don't do that. It's possible you could end up at Quinn or another big plaintiff-side firm in the end, but I wouldn't give much weight to it before you start. Figure out whether you're eligible for Wilkinson Walsh or Kaplan when you get closer to interviewing.

Hi UVA, OP here, thanks for your input. I actually just wanted to comment on the firms you listed, and just wanted to add a brief list of firms that I was interested in working for as both as a lawyer or a legal assistant/paralegal so you get a better idea of where I hope to go after law school (I know I know, interests can change etc, but these firms are propelling me to go to law school).

• Altshuler, Berzon, Nussbaum, Rubin & Demain.
• Berger & Montague.
• Bernstein Liebhard.
• Bernstein Litowitz.
• Cohen Milstein.
• Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd.
• Gibbs & Bruns.
• Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro.
• Labaton Sucharow.
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein.
• Milberg.

As for the comments on the actual move to NYC:

1) Why would it be not advisable to commute via car (I heard it was faster than train/bus)

2) Has anyone successfully done this? By success I mean getting a score of 170+ while working biglaw hours?

[Npret]

If you want to go into plaintiff side class action/tort work, you've already pigeon-holed yourself quite a bit before starting law school, and I would kindly recommend you don't do that. It's possible you could end up at Quinn or another big plaintiff-side firm in the end, but I wouldn't give much weight to it before you start. Figure out whether you're eligible for Wilkinson Walsh or Kaplan when you get closer to interviewing.

Hi UVA, thanks for your input. I actually just wanted to comment on the firms you listed, and just wanted to add a brief list of firms that I was interested in working for as both as a lawyer or a legal assistant/paralegal so you get a better idea of where I hope to go after law school (I know I know, interests can change etc, but these firms are propelling me to go to law school).

• Altshuler, Berzon, Nussbaum, Rubin & Demain.
• Berger & Montague.
• Bernstein Liebhard.
• Bernstein Litowitz.
• Cohen Milstein.
• Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd.
• Gibbs & Bruns.
• Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro.
• Labaton Sucharow.
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein.
• Milberg.

As for the comments on the actual move to NYC:

1) Why would it be not advisable to commute via car (I heard it was faster than train/bus)

2) Has anyone successfully done this? By success I mean getting a score of 170+ while working biglaw hours?

1. Because traffic in NYC is insane and parking will cost a fortune.

It may be worth doing this to help you solidify your interest in law. How much it will help with your future, I’m not sure.

Your LSAT is far more important in admissions than any LOR. Getting into a top school at a good price is the best way to get into the kind of jobs you might want. I’m not sure how much paralegal experience will help you with employment over grades or schools, but I admit I know nothing about employment at the firms you’ve listed.. Maybe if you stayed a few years, or went to Fordham at night while you work.

[Go Nats!]

This is a horrible idea. Becoming a paralegal will not be a major point in your favor into getting into a great law school or being picked as a summer associate in your 1L year at a top firm. The things that will do that are a great LSAT and great 1L grades. Taking this job will distract from you succeeding that first goal and have a minimal benefit. Stay home and study your butt off so you get a great LSAT score. That's all you really need to focus on. If you were doing this to get more life experience, as the above poster says, then I'd be for it. But that's not what's happening here.

For the record, I did have someone who was a paralegal to NYC biglaw who was in the same law school section with me. She had a great score, so it worked out for her. The key difference is that she chose to being a paralegal as a life career first and then decided to go to law school. You're doing this primarily in an effort to enhance your chances into getting into a great law school and that's not worth it.

[yuppitsme]

1) Commuting by car would be extraordinarily cost prohibitive because you'd need to pay for parking which blows in NYC. Additionally, traffic.
Commuting by train from CT or the Hudson Valley isnt so bad. I actually did some studying on the train before I moved into the city. However, it makes your day a lot longer, and biglaw days can be very long already. Maybe dont commute from NJ because pen station BLOWS.

2) I think its pretty common for paras to be studying for the LSAT. I would wake up early and study and then weekends that I didnt work I would study.

3) I think its just about having someone that can write about you meaningfully. (In NYC thats generally going to be a midlevel or senior associate over a partner.

4) I did biglaw (para work) thinking that I was going to HATE the work but found it way more fun than anticipated, also it was very helpful in terms of saving for law school. (Even living in Manhattan). I also will be going to a firm this summer and am doing completely different work than I came into law school thinking I would want to do. I still maintain my original interests, they have just gotten broader as I have learned more about the law. Not to say that this will happen to you, but its not a bad thing to address with an open mind.

Overal I was really glad that I chose live in NYC before law school and would highly recommend it! Also if you do decide you want to work in biglaw being a para was very helpful in my OCI interviews and callback. We had more to chat about than just law school, and it allowed the interviewer to make the joke "you were a para and you STILL want to be a lawyer?!"

**edit for clarity

[Anonymous User]

If you can get a reasonably professional 9-5ish job in your hometown, I would recommend doing that in lieu of biglaw paralegal work. The paralegals at the V5 where I worked had insane schedules (e.g., not sleeping for 24-48 hours at a time), and studying under those conditions would be very difficult. I also second the other commenter's point about letters of recommendation--to the extent that they matter much at all, admissions offices will typically care more about the content of the letter than the identity of the author. And I don't think they matter all that much in any case.

What will matter a great deal, however, is your LSAT score. If you get a low LSAT score because you didn't have enough time to study, the fact that a biglaw partner is one of your recommenders will not save you (unless, perhaps, he/she is personal friends with the admissions officer and goes to bat for you). But if you get a very high LSAT score, the fact that your recommenders are office managers from the Midwest will not stop good law schools from accepting you.

For reference, I was a paralegal at a small plaintiff's firm in a mid-sized southern city before law school. I had no Ivy ties, and I can assure you the law schools I applied to had never heard of my recommenders or of the offices where they worked. I was accepted at top schools (including HYS) because I had a very high LSAT score, and the reason I had a very high LSAT score is that I was able to spend several months studying without the stress of biglaw-style hours. Some people manage to do well on the LSAT with little preparation, but I'm not one of those people (and I think that's true of most people).

Also, I can't imagine commuting by car in and out of Manhattan every day. That would be highly unusual and a logistical nightmare for many reasons (parking likely being at the top of the list). But if you were willing to make a long commute, I'd try to pick a place in NJ or CT that's within walking distance of public transport (train/bus) into Manhattan.

Hi all,

I am looking for some help with a decision that I have to make soon, and would love some of your opinions.

I recently graduated from university, and I am preparing slowly for the LSAT. With that said, I did not participate in my university's OCI as an UG for various reasons, and after graduating I am currently unemployed (not panicking yet). However, In the last couple months I have been mass applying everywhere locally and nationally for all types of office and legal assistant positions and I got a little bit lucky with an interview coming up at a V10 Biglaw firm in NYC.

However, despite landing an interview, the main problem that I face is that if I was given an offer to take the position, I would have to move to NYC from the Midwest. Such a move seems difficult because I have no ties in NYC, the 40k salary (and bonuses) do not justify the high COL, and the hours and OT might prevent me from adequately preparing for the LSAT. If I lived at home with parents and snagged a FT job I could save up money, study, and assist the family with various things.

But, coming from a top public national university with no ivy league ties (and no connections to anyone anywhere), this position seems like it will be a gift from god lol, and blowing this off to stay comfortable at home while studying for the LSAT seems to be a huge mistake. I discussed this with my parents, and they both explained that while this is a great chance to get out and start my young professional life, there will be no financial support for moving or anything of that matter. This is totally fine, but it does make me wonder about what is the next step to take. Look for local jobs, stay home, save money and study? Or go get some Biglaw experience, make some connections, work my ass off, and hope for the best?

With regards to living in NYC, here are a few questions I am pondering:

1) Would living outside NYC and commuting by car (I own a car) every day be doable (salary wise and time wise?). I commuted to UG via Amtrak for one year which entailed a 3-4 hour round trip depending on weather etc. And I would have no problem living in CT, NJ, SI, or anywhere and driving so long as its affordable on the salary I am on.

2) The work/life balance as a paralegal in a V10 in relations to studying for the LSAT: how hard of a balancing act would this be?

3) Connections: Is there a difference between getting recommendation for law school from someone at a V10 firm over some office manager in X Midwest city, or some Y lawyer from a personal injury shop?

4) I also wanted to say that after doing some research on different practice areas within law, I find plaintiff/tort/class action litigation intriguing me the most, and is why I am interested in going to law school. Biglaw is not something I aspire to go into, but the position to get your foot into the door and assist on some top notch legal work seems too good to turn down.


I would love to hear some tips, opinions, or wisdom from all of you!

[GeneralFile(s)]

I was a biglaw paralegal in a non-nyc major market right out of college for 2 years and work in NYC biglaw now. I would only recommend this job if you specifically want to see how a biglaw firm operates and the work life of the associates first hand before you decide if you want to go law school and whether to target biglaw during your 2L.

Otherwise any other job before going to law school is going to be a better decision in my opinion. The work is not going to be interesting and you are very unlikely to learn anything legal that will be relevant to law school or your future practice. You will get no special bonus in law school applications or during OCI for having been a big law paralegal over working any other job before law school. All you will gain is some insight into how biglaw firms are to work at from the inside and basic work skills.

If you know you want to be a lawyer and you know you dont want biglaw, dont take the job.

[Anonymous User]

OP here, wow so many response with so many different views and opinions. This is awesome keep them coming!

3. You can easily find affordable living arrangements in the city. You'll have very little space, and will likely need to have at least one roommate. But it's doable. Depending on where your firm is located, you may wish to consider housing in Brooklyn, Queens, or Jersey City/Hoboken (on the PATH).

Yes! thank you for these locations, I will look around and see what I can find! I wonder how prevalent rats and roaches are around these areas lol.

1. Because traffic in NYC is insane and parking will cost a fortune.

It may be worth doing this to help you solidify your interest in law. How much it will help with your future, I’m not sure.

Your LSAT is far more important in admissions than any LOR. Getting into a top school at a good price is the best way to get into the kind of jobs you might want. I’m not sure how much paralegal experience will help you with employment over grades or schools, but I admit I know nothing about employment at the firms you’ve listed.. Maybe if you stayed a few years, or went to Fordham at night while you work.

Solidifying my interest in law is something I want to do, but at you mentioned, how much will it help in my future? I have no Idea.

This is a horrible idea. Taking this job will distract from you succeeding that first goal and have a minimal benefit. Stay home and study your butt off so you get a great LSAT score. That's all you really need to focus on. If you were doing this to get more life experience, as the above poster says, then I'd be for it. But that's not what's happening here.

Thank you Nats for this reply, bolded is what I am concerned about, and I am leaning towards staying put and studying.

1) Commuting by car would be extraordinarily cost prohibitive because you'd need to pay for parking which blows in NYC. Additionally, traffic.
Commuting by train from CT or the Hudson Valley isnt so bad. I actually did some studying on the train before I moved into the city. However, it makes your day a lot longer, and biglaw days can be very long already. Maybe dont commute from NJ because pen station BLOWS.

Overal I was really glad that I chose live in NYC before law school and would highly recommend it! Also if you do decide you want to work in biglaw being a para was very helpful in my OCI interviews and callback. We had more to chat about than just law school, and it allowed the interviewer to make the joke "you were a para and you STILL want to be a lawyer?!"

Thanks for the comment Yup, your experience paints a different perspective that I will take into consideration. And my commuting by car question is taking a beating. I thought you can save more money living outside of NYC and then use that money for parking etc. But I guess this is a really bad idea according to TLS

Some people manage to do well on the LSAT with little preparation, but I'm not one of those people (and I think that's true of most people).

Hi anon, your overall response was well put and quoted is what stood out. I feel related to your pre-law school position. I personally feel I need to take as much preparation as I can with the LSAT and I feel like studying while commuting for a test like that would not be adequate. I did a commute to my UG for one year which was not bad, but the commute on top of studying on the train was hell (and the commuting aspect was a circumstance that arose out of necessity, and not by choice).

I was a biglaw paralegal in a non-nyc major market right out of college for 2 years and work in NYC biglaw now. I would only recommend this job if you specifically want to see how a biglaw firm operates and the work life of the associates first hand before you decide if you want to go law school and whether to target biglaw during your 2L.

Otherwise any other job before going to law school is going to be a better decision in my opinion. The work is not going to be interesting and you are very unlikely to learn anything legal that will be relevant to law school or your future practice. You will get no special bonus in law school applications or during OCI for having been a big law paralegal over working any other job before law school. All you will gain is some insight into how biglaw firms are to work at from the inside and basic work skills.

If you know you want to be a lawyer and you know you dont want biglaw, dont take the job.

General, this was a strong reply. Out of curiosity, say I forgo this paralegal offer but later go to law school and find out I want biglaw, could I not experience the amazingness that is biglaw during my 2L summer?

[QContinuum]

General, this was a strong reply. Out of curiosity, say I forgo this paralegal offer but later go to law school and find out I want biglaw, could I not experience the amazingness that is biglaw during my 1L summer?

You shouldn't count on landing a 1L SA position - they're relatively rare, even from the T14, and the positions there are are mostly for diverse candidates. (Different firms define "diverse" differently; overall, the definition tends to be broader than the definition of URMs for law school admissions purposes, but you obviously wouldn't be a diverse candidate if you're a straight white male.)

[Anonymous User]

General, this was a strong reply. Out of curiosity, say I forgo this paralegal offer but later go to law school and find out I want biglaw, could I not experience the amazingness that is biglaw during my 1L summer?

You shouldn't count on landing a 1L SA position - they're relatively rare, even from the T14, and the positions there are are mostly for diverse candidates. (Different firms define "diverse" differently; overall, the definition tends to be broader than the definition of URMs for law school admissions purposes, but you obviously wouldn't be a diverse candidate if you're a straight white male.)

OP here, *Edited to 2L*, but then again there is no guarantee on that either. Thanks for the clarification!

[LBJ's Hair]

if you can afford it, I'd just stay put and study. the work is boring, the hours suck, it's not going to help your application, and there will be tons of people who did it at OCI. Might get an "in" with the firm you worked at (early interview or w/e), but that's about it - they're not going to cut you slack on grades or anything.

[sd812]

I worked as a biglaw paralegal (in DC, not in NYC) for 2 years after graduation, and was at my firm until August. I am now a 1L at a T-14. I am not going to comment on the logistical commute issues, etc. since I have no NYC experience, but in your shoes, I wouldn't do this for a few reasons.

- NYC has a higher COL than DC, and on my salary ($45k), living in a major city can be tough. Obviously people do it all the time and there are ways to live in NYC cheaply, but your overall quality of life is not going to be great. Maybe moreso if you love NYC or something and are dying to live there, but still not high. I got to live at home and pay $0 in rent, but without that help, it would have been difficult. I would not have taken my job at my salary in NYC, though I realize, again, that people's individual tolerance on this varies.

- Your LSAT is absolutely 100% more important than any work/networking you do prior to law school; as long as you're gainfully employed (in any city), law schools won't care what work you're doing. I was a splitter and my outcomes tracked exactly with my numbers - there was no discernable advantage to my work experience. Biglaw paralegal experience is pretty common among law school applicants, so it's not some OMG special resume line or anything. Also probably useful to note that people in my 1L class were paralegals at small Midwestern firms, nannies, teachers, etc. - so really, as long as the numbers are there, the type of work experience is not going to make a difference. Don't sacrifice LSAT studying for a paralegal job where they expect you to work crazy hours. NYC is known for significantly worse hours than other legal markets, and studying after a long day of work is really hard.

I was extremely lucky in that my paralegal role was extremely niche (basically working for one client, who had a slow but steady volume of work - and I was the one person in the firm who knew how to do it, so no direct supervision) so I had 3-4 hours of free time at work every day that I used to study for the LSAT. Without this allowance, I absolutely would not have done as well as I did. This is not at all the norm, and certainly not in NYC. I did get good letters of recommendation, but I also had to get academic letters as a relatively recent graduate, so the LoR issue is really not one that would make this tradeoff worth it. Concentrate on the LSAT!

[Anonymous User]

if you can afford it, I'd just stay put and study. the work is boring, the hours suck, it's not going to help your application, and there will be tons of people who did it at OCI. Might get an "in" with the firm you worked at (early interview or w/e), but that's about it - they're not going to cut you slack on grades or anything.

OP here, Do you get to deal with substantive issues as a paralegal? Like, if you work in a transnational practice area do you get to assist/read what a deal consists of that is closing? Or as a litigation paralegal, do they let you in court or do you get to be in when negotiations are happening between two clients? I know this sounds naive, I just hope the work does not entail putting together binders or making folders for 60-70 hours a week. That would piss me off so much.

I worked as a biglaw paralegal (in DC, not in NYC) for 2 years after graduation, and was at my firm until August. I am now a 1L at a T-14. I am not going to comment on the logistical commute issues, etc. since I have no NYC experience, but in your shoes, I wouldn't do this for a few reasons.

- NYC has a higher COL than DC, and on my salary ($45k), living in a major city can be tough. Obviously people do it all the time and there are ways to live in NYC cheaply, but your overall quality of life is not going to be great. Maybe moreso if you love NYC or something and are dying to live there, but still not high. I got to live at home and pay $0 in rent, but without that help, it would have been difficult. I would not have taken my job at my salary in NYC, though I realize, again, that people's individual tolerance on this varies.

- Your LSAT is absolutely 100% more important than any work/networking you do prior to law school; as long as you're gainfully employed (in any city), law schools won't care what work you're doing. I was a splitter and my outcomes tracked exactly with my numbers - there was no discernable advantage to my work experience. Biglaw paralegal experience is pretty common among law school applicants, so it's not some OMG special resume line or anything. Also probably useful to note that people in my 1L class were paralegals at small Midwestern firms, nannies, teachers, etc. - so really, as long as the numbers are there, the type of work experience is not going to make a difference. Don't sacrifice LSAT studying for a paralegal job where they expect you to work crazy hours. NYC is known for significantly worse hours than other legal markets, and studying after a long day of work is really hard.

I was extremely lucky in that my paralegal role was extremely niche (basically working for one client, who had a slow but steady volume of work - and I was the one person in the firm who knew how to do it, so no direct supervision) so I had 3-4 hours of free time at work every day that I used to study for the LSAT. Without this allowance, I absolutely would not have done as well as I did. This is not at all the norm, and certainly not in NYC. I did get good letters of recommendation, but I also had to get academic letters as a relatively recent graduate, so the LoR issue is really not one that would make this tradeoff worth it. Concentrate on the LSAT!

1) Not a city person, and not dying to live in NYC lol. Living at home would be great for me as it would allow me to save money if and when I find work. And my tolerance for living in a city is low; I don't want to room with anyone, and don't want to deal with any bug issues or infestations, and don't want to deal with the BS NYC real estate market.

2) LSAT prep is key for me, so yea, as mentioned before, I would prefer to focus on it rather than work all those hours. And if the work sucks that much and is not boosting me as a candidate or giving me skills for other work areas outside of law, I'd rather stay put.

[Npret]

OP - why would you want to come to NYC then? And no, paralegals don’t come to meetings or do substantive work. Even 1st years are limited in that .

[GeneralFile(s)]

As a inexperienced ligation paralegal in biglaw with a 1-2 year stint you will likely exclusively be making binders, pulling documents requested by attorneys from document management software and other time consuming rote tasks. In corporate you will be making closing sets, organizing signature pages and, you guessed it, other time consuming rote tasks. But guess what - being a junior attorney involves only marginally better work and significantly more stress. Not sure why you would want to do it twice.

[benwyatt]

Yeah, don't do this. Literally no part of it will help you in your goals and you won't even like it.

Also commuting into NYC by CAR every day as a paralegal is a remarkably terrible idea, even for this website.

[Keilz]

The only reason to move to NYC before law school in your situation would be if you wanted to live in NYC. If you don't, then you can obtain all of your same law school goals while staying at home. Prioritize saving money and time studying for the LSAT over the prestige of your pre-law school job. NYC is EXTREMELY expensive and having to find a roommate, commuting, and working a demanding job while studying will just add unnecessary stress, especially if you are not used to the city and have no particular interest in moving here.

I do think working as a paralegal would help you in job interviews because it shows you have some familiarity with a law firm environment, but that can be achieved at any law firm.

I stayed home working as a paralegal for 3 yrs and saved a lot of money, and was very grateful for the opportunity.

[benwyatt]

While being a parelegal might give you an edge in some interviews, any advantage it gives pales in comparison to the advantage of attending a top school and having good grades.

School + Grades will beat working as a para literally any day.

[Anonymous User]

OP - why would you want to come to NYC then? And no, paralegals don’t come to meetings or do substantive work. Even 1st years are limited in that .

OP here,

Fear and anxiety, I have been able to land two V10 interviews for these paralegal/assistant positions but I cant land anything at home. I cant even land a basic entry level office position. Its scary because if I don't land anything at home, I am going to be working in retail most likely. That is going to look like a joke on my resume later on down the road. So I am scared lol.

As a inexperienced ligation paralegal in biglaw with a 1-2 year stint you will likely exclusively be making binders, pulling documents requested by attorneys from document management software and other time consuming rote tasks. In corporate you will be making closing sets, organizing signature pages and, you guessed it, other time consuming rote tasks. But guess what - being a junior attorney involves only marginally better work and significantly more stress. Not sure why you would want to do it twice.

Interesting thought on the junior attorney aspect. Does the practice and setting determine what kind of work will be done as a junior attorney i.e., working in gov, working in immigration, trial, prosecution. I mean at the end of the day I am comfortable with climbing the legal ladder and doing the mundane stuff at first. But there has to be a ladder that is being climbed, albeit slowly.

I stayed home working as a paralegal for 3 yrs and saved a lot of money, and was very grateful for the opportunity.

I hope I can find a gig like that, the state I am in is terrible for employment.