How many of you JDs do not work anymore because it is not worth it financially?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you WILL NOT find a BigLaw job now or after taking a couple of years off. Nor will you find the kind of clerkship (federal, preferably appellate) that you can use to springboard into BigLaw.

The only viable route I have seen suggested is going by way of the government, but those jobs are extremely hard to get. The PPs who talk about how hard it is are right. I work at a firm with a "big name," and our people do go to the governemnt after a few years in decent slots, but not straight out of a school. It is virtually impossible to get a job at an agency that might lead to a BigLaw job striaght out of school.

Even the people I know who took time off witht heir kids and then eventually found a gig with a non-profit did so only after having YEARS of experience in the given field first.

I think your job prospects are pretty bleak in general, honestly. If you did not figure out how to get where you say you want to go by the end of your first year of law school, I have to say you brought this on yourself.

And to answer the title of your post's question, DH and I are both lawyers. I make what your DH makes, which is bit more than my DH makes, but he is above the DCUM "middle class" line all by himself. So, no, it isn't worth it financially for either of us to stay home. I do see my kids. If you want something bad enough, you figure out how to juggle without dropping a baby, a deadline, or the family dog's prescription refill. It requires a level of commitment in you, and a level of commitment and partnership with your spouse, that you do not seem to have.

wow I feel sorry for your husband.

OP here. PP, why do you insult this poster? Her advice is an excellent one (as many others on this thread) and I am very grateful for it. I think it is admirable how she and her husband as a team succeed in managing everything.

[Anonymous]

OP are you going to answer any of the questions posed to you?

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm sorry, but your thinking about this is just illogical. If you just graduated, how can you not know that your chances at BigLAw are slim and by definition incompatible with wanting family-friendly hours? I work at a law school, and I cannot imagine a 2L or 3L not knowing this. Where have you been all this time? Wake up!

[Anonymous]

OP here. Yes.

I had a child during law school for reasons that I don't want to dwell on on this thread.

Yes, I just passed the bar exam.

Yes, I graduated from a law school from which I would have had a shot to BigLaw. I do have journal experience, but my grades in the second half of law school are modest.

No, I did not mean in my original post that I would go to BigLaw straight from being a SAHM. I know that I will have do something else before. It is just disappointing that I would not see a noticeable financial reward. And I don't see why the idea of a bottom line should be dismissed in my case just because my husband earns well. I do not believe that the cost of child care should be charged only against the woman's salary, but if she stays at home those costs are saved. As many posters have said, there are many JDs who have decided that the hassle is not worth the reward.

[Anonymous]

OP here. If you really want to know, the baby was an accident and I didn't want to get an abortion.

[Anonymous]

OP, my best friend was in a similar situation as you. She spent her 2L in an overseas program, where she met her husband and got pregnant quite by accident. She had the baby and took off a year (or maybe 2) and then returned to law school and finished. She doesn't live in the DC area so I guess things are different, but she does work for her city's top law firm (so maybe the local equivalent of BigLaw?) and does well there. She actually has two kids now, ages 11 and 1.5. The one difference is that because her husband isn't legal to work here yet, he stays at home so the cost of childcare for her is free and they depend on her salary alone. She does work long hours and has definitely put in her time. Like I said, it's not in the DC area, so probably much less stressful than BigLaw here, but she has made it work for her.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Yes.

I had a child during law school for reasons that I don't want to dwell on on this thread.

Yes, I just passed the bar exam.

Yes, I graduated from a law school from which I would have had a shot to BigLaw. I do have journal experience, but my grades in the second half of law school are modest.

No, I did not mean in my original post that I would go to BigLaw straight from being a SAHM. I know that I will have do something else before. It is just disappointing that I would not see a noticeable financial reward. And I don't see why the idea of a bottom line should be dismissed in my case just because my husband earns well. I do not believe that the cost of child care should be charged only against the woman's salary, but if she stays at home those costs are saved. As many posters have said, there are many JDs who have decided that the hassle is not worth the reward.

The bolded statements above are contradictory.

You have to start somewhere, and unless you walk the tiny, narrow path to biglaw (which you didn't, no shame in that -- having a child is a great thing!), you simply DO NOT get a huge salary right out of the starting get. That's reality, and it's not worth getting disappointed over. That's the way the world works.

Frankly, with your DH and parents being as wealthy as you make them out to be, I suspect someone in your network can pull a few strings and get you in as the head counsel for a nonprofit somewhere. That's not exactly fair to those of us without your connections, but again, that's the way the world works. Why don't you go that route?

[Anonymous]

I disagree with the PP that said you need a federal clerkship to get into biglaw. While clerking at DC Superior Court I had interviews at half a dozen biglaw firms. Sure, most interviews weren't at the top tier firms, but they were still generally considered biglaw and paid a biglaw salary (or very close to it). And, while as one PP notes, it is late to apply for federal clerkships, DC Superior Court judges (and perhaps other state court judges) often interview later. OP, since you suggest in your prior post that you went to a top school and have journal experience, I would try sending in applications right now for a clerkship -- just call up each chambers and ask if the judge is still interviewing for law clerks. Hours tend to be decent, it is great experience, and you can try your hand at biglaw next year. And, if biglaw doesn't work, you will at least have some experience under your belt to try elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you WILL NOT find a BigLaw job now or after taking a couple of years off. Nor will you find the kind of clerkship (federal, preferably appellate) that you can use to springboard into BigLaw.

The only viable route I have seen suggested is going by way of the government, but those jobs are extremely hard to get. The PPs who talk about how hard it is are right. I work at a firm with a "big name," and our people do go to the governemnt after a few years in decent slots, but not straight out of a school. It is virtually impossible to get a job at an agency that might lead to a BigLaw job striaght out of school.

Even the people I know who took time off witht heir kids and then eventually found a gig with a non-profit did so only after having YEARS of experience in the given field first.

I think your job prospects are pretty bleak in general, honestly. If you did not figure out how to get where you say you want to go by the end of your first year of law school, I have to say you brought this on yourself.

And to answer the title of your post's question, DH and I are both lawyers. I make what your DH makes, which is bit more than my DH makes, but he is above the DCUM "middle class" line all by himself. So, no, it isn't worth it financially for either of us to stay home. I do see my kids. If you want something bad enough, you figure out how to juggle without dropping a baby, a deadline, or the family dog's prescription refill. It requires a level of commitment in you, and a level of commitment and partnership with your spouse, that you do not seem to have.

wow I feel sorry for your husband.

OP here. PP, why do you insult this poster? Her advice is an excellent one (as many others on this thread) and I am very grateful for it. I think it is admirable how she and her husband as a team succeed in managing everything.

she sounds like a nightmare in my honest opinion.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks much for all the great advice!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[quote=AnonymousI find that all law jobs with halfway family-friendly hours pay only $ 40-50k.. .My net income would be $ 20-25k, while daycare costs $ 18k. The thought of working for nothing is so depressing.

Thanks in advance!

Here is where you lost me. If you earn $40-$50, your net income would e more like $30-$35 and daycare is far cheaper than $18k per year. And, even when you dont earn much money, you are increasing your future prospects - retirement savings, SS contributions, experience to get yourself a better job. You sound like you are trying to justify not working, not like you are looking realistically at your options.

I don't know where the hell YOU live, but in the DC area $18,000/year for daycare is on the low end of the scale.

[Anonymous]

OP - i went the traditional biglaw out of law school route, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I'd advise on really trying to work your network to get a job and to consider clerkships and govt, as others have mentioned. Are there any professors you maintained a good relationship with? Any law school classmates or friends of DH's in a position to put in a good word for you somewhere? Also - what do other posters think of maybe OP going back for an LLM? Do you that could "restart the clock" in terms of being a recent law school grad? finally - are you dead set on being a lawyer? There are definitely other jobs out there that aren't practicing law but the degree might be an asset.

[Anonymous]

LOL oh my goodness. I started out making $68K, but waited until I was a sixth year associate to start having kids. Have worked full time ever since my maternity leaves were over.

[Anonymous]

Op, why do you want to go directly into big law anyway? Do you like lots of document review? Do you like spending most of your time preparing depo binders for more senior attorneys? What are your areas of legal interest, other than humanitarian law?