Family friendly Tax Law jobs?

[Anonymous]

Has anyone found a way to practice tax law and still be a part of your kids' lives? Did BigLaw for a while and was laid off. Now at a consulting firm and if anything the hours are worse. I'm happy to have a job but want to work toward better work/life balance, I feel like I'm missing the kids' childhood. The partners in my group mostly have no kids, the other mom travels constantly and rarely sees hers. There are a lot of last minute calls/meetings in the evening and on weekends and the hours are actually worse than BigLaw. Can't do govt yet, loans are too high. Any suggestions? I went back to law as a second career and am really regretting it. The hours seem much worse than even a few years ago.

[Anonymous]

I know you said you can't do government yet, but maybe you can squeeze it somehow - office of chief counsel is wonderfully family-friendly.

[Anonymous]

THe scam that is law school and the law career.

[Anonymous]

Yup, law school is a perfect gateway into indentured servitude in a non-legal field to work off those loans.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't write off government so fast. Govt attorneys can easily make around 120-150k, which should be plenty to pay off your loans. Unfortunately, the high paying jobs are high paying, at least partially, because of the hours you have to work. With very rare exception, you can have a high paying legal job or a lower paying legal job with work/life balance. You have to decide what's more important to you.

Signed,
A govt attorney who is quite happy making much less than my earning potential in return for having a 4-day week, telework and over a month of vacation a year. If I could find a job with these perks making a higher salary, I'd jump, but know that such job doesn't exist.

[Anonymous]

A tax boutique firm might be more family friendly, but since I've been out of firm life for a while I don't even know how many of those are left or what they are like.

[Anonymous]

P.S. You might also look for something in house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't write off government so fast. Govt attorneys can easily make around 120-150k, which should be plenty to pay off your loans. Unfortunately, the high paying jobs are high paying, at least partially, because of the hours you have to work. With very rare exception, you can have a high paying legal job or a lower paying legal job with work/life balance. You have to decide what's more important to you.

Signed,
A govt attorney who is quite happy making much less than my earning potential in return for having a 4-day week, telework and over a month of vacation a year. If I could find a job with these perks making a higher salary, I'd jump, but know that such job doesn't exist.

All paid for by the good hardworking people of the U.S.A.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't write off government so fast. Govt attorneys can easily make around 120-150k, which should be plenty to pay off your loans. Unfortunately, the high paying jobs are high paying, at least partially, because of the hours you have to work. With very rare exception, you can have a high paying legal job or a lower paying legal job with work/life balance. You have to decide what's more important to you.

Signed,
A govt attorney who is quite happy making much less than my earning potential in return for having a 4-day week, telework and over a month of vacation a year. If I could find a job with these perks making a higher salary, I'd jump, but know that such job doesn't exist.

All paid for by the good hardworking people of the U.S.A.

Well yes. The people of the US get high quality legal talent at below market rates by offering flexible work schedules and 40+ hour work weeks instead of 60+ hour work weeks (I actually don't think it's that hard to find a firm job offering 4 weeks vacation a year though). Personally I think that's better than if the hardworking people of the USA hired a bunch of schmoes as their lawyers, and got taken to the cleaners by private lawyers hired by special interests that can afford to pay $400/hour for lobbying and legal work.

[Anonymous]

OP, biglaw options open to you and the better government jobs pretty much pay the same hourly wage. There's no miracle solution to your problem of wanting family friendly hours and biglaw pay.

[Anonymous]

DH is a gov't attorney and calculated that he actually makes more per hour than many of his BigLaw friends. He makes a lot less per year, but more per hour. It is worth the trade-off for us, although he does not owe much on his loans.

[Anonymous]

I second Office of Chief Counsel - I did tax litigation before and no longer do litigation. No job is perfect, but the work-life balance is fine.

I still have loans to pay off - Unless you went to law school twice or have an insane mortgage, you should be able to swing paying off loans on 110k/year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't write off government so fast. Govt attorneys can easily make around 120-150k, which should be plenty to pay off your loans. Unfortunately, the high paying jobs are high paying, at least partially, because of the hours you have to work. With very rare exception, you can have a high paying legal job or a lower paying legal job with work/life balance. You have to decide what's more important to you.

Signed,
A govt attorney who is quite happy making much less than my earning potential in return for having a 4-day week, telework and over a month of vacation a year. If I could find a job with these perks making a higher salary, I'd jump, but know that such job doesn't exist.

All paid for by the good hardworking people of the U.S.A.

Different poster here, but this sentiment reflects a lack of understanding about the legal market. I am a $120k government worker, but I left a position in which I was making $300k+ (and had the potential to make much more) to take this position. I do work fewer hours (40/week), but the government is not getting a bad deal.

[Anonymous]

I can also recommend CC. I have never worked at a law firm, only a big 4 accounting firm national office and CC. I know things can get stressful at a Big 4 firm but I believe it is up to you to convey to the partners the work/life balance you want. I knew many women who only worked part time and certain men who did not want to be partners and were fine in an "of counsel" type position. That still does not mean there might not be periods of extreme stress (happens at CC too) but overall I thought the hours were better at an accounting firm than at a law firm.

CC positions can be very competitive to get in this economy though and not always hiiring. It may take a long time for an application get processed, really have to watch like a hawk on USAJOBS.

When I was at an accounting firm, I scrimped like hell and paid off my loans in 4 years, it's possible but you'll be living about the same as you were in law school for a few years. Just bite the bullet and do it. You can easily get sucked into a high debt lifestyle where firms have you in platinum handcuffs. CC salary is not great but if you have no loans and/or no kids, it is definitely doable.

[Anonymous]

I work for a large corporation. The tax lawyers in my department (tax) do not work any overtime and make very good money. Several had said they left big law to have a life. (I'm a tax accountant)