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1. Working past 9pm is failure, not a flex. Look, there will be genuine emergencies. Deals close, courts have deadlines, shit happens. But if you're consistently working past 9pm, either you're terrible at managing your time or someone's taking advantage of you. Neither is something to be proud of. I've seen too many associates wear their all-nighters like medals. It's not impressive, it's concerning. The best lawyers I know are efficient and have boundaries. The ones bragging about working till 3am are either disorganized or have nothing else going on in their lives. Don't become that person.
2. You need to push back sometimes. This is hard when you're junior but it's essential. Some seniors will test you with unreasonable demands - draft needed by morning when they've sat on it for a week, "urgent" calls at 11pm that could've been an email. You have to learn when to push back. Not rudely, but firmly. "I can get this to you by tomorrow afternoon" instead of scrambling at midnight. Most bullies respect people who stand their ground. The ones who don't aren't worth working for anyway. Obviously pick your battles, but don't be a doormat.
3. Don't skip meals. If you're regularly skipping lunch or dinner to meet deadlines, you're doing something wrong. Either your planning is off or your senior is unreasonable. Your body isn't optional. I've seen associates genuinely proud of not eating all day to finish a draft. That's also not impressive and your body will begin showing signs of discontent very soon, some of it irreversible. Any senior who expects you to skip meals for work is a bad senior. Period. Tell them you need 30 minutes to eat. The draft will survive.
4. It's okay to do the bare minimum sometimes. Yes I said it. As long as your work ethic is solid overall, there will be days/weeks where you phone it in. God knows I do. Not every deal deserves your soul. Not every partner deserves 110% effort. Learn to identify which matters actually need your A-game and which ones just need competent work. Save your energy for things that matter to YOU - your health, your relationships, your life outside work.
5. Remember what this job actually is Here's something that took me years to accept - our work isn't that important. If every law firm shut down tomorrow, would the world be worse off? Probably not. We're not doctors, we're not teachers, we're not building anything. We help companies move money around and we draft documents. That's it. The money's good and the work can be interesting, but it's not your identity. I've watched too many talented people get consumed by this job, sacrifice their health and relationships, and for what? To make partner at 35 instead of 38? Law firms are golden handcuffs. Biglaw can be valuable experience and the money helps. Just don't lose yourself in it. Set boundaries early, push back when needed, and remember there's an entire life outside those glass towers. The documents will get done either way.
Anyway - no one honestly asked you for your opinion on comparison with litigation and the original post wasn't even about it. Clearly the number of votes the OP has gotten proves ppl benefitted from it. Thanks for your time and attention.
law firms draft, file, defend and argue and most importantly strategise and some also argue. Very often, the biggest of the senior counsel fail in strategy. Most law firms today handle statutory tribunals and arbitrations matters in house which is also great legal work and “shaping the law”.
On the corporate side - If law firms did clerical stuff, then why are the biggest PEs and MNCs going to the top firms instead of letting a senior counsel’s clerks or office handle it.
It is only unfortunate that law firm lawyers don’t get the recognition and “senior counsel” gown that they equally deserve.
Bottom line is that I would choose 50lakhs- 1Cr per annum in my 30s than 10Crs in my 60s. In terms of shaping the law, do you think all loopholes are plugged only when a big case comes up? We find loopholes every day, and the regulators try to plug them. We also work with the Government and the regulators and push policy changes. We actually bring value to our clients when we save a debt-ridden company or save Crores of taxes.
The percentage of people who choose litigation and become successful like that is far, far lower than the percentage of people who choose law firms and make partner. Moreover, the lit people either undergo a lot of hardship financially to begin with or else have a privileged background. People joining good law firms can start earning decently from day one and also support their families. These are all good enough reasons to choose one over the other. However, your adulation of one group is also over the board. Very few lawyers do anything consciously to 'shape' the law, most of them are trying to represent their clients to the best of their ability and cater to their needs and wants, that's all. A good professional can do well in both. Neither should ideally go after 'fame' or headlines, that's not the role of a lawyer.
Sincerely,
A litigator who has seen enough to comment.