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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I couldn’t make this work, I was at 75% for biglaw (this was the lowest you could go without losing benefits such as health insurance) and I was working full time hours nonstop. With remote working log ins and iPhones, you’re available 24/7 and basically will feel pressured to respond ASAP to most, if not all, requests. And the firm is going to make the requests. The boundaries will be blurred. So what do you do?

I was working more than full time hours for part time pay. It just wasn’t working. At all. This was 10 years ago and technology is so much better now, I imagine the pressure is even higher to be available.  I was in project finance.

I left to SAH and figure out my next moves. Well 10 years go by, which is a big gap on my resume. And in 2021 I have been offered 3 jobs without looking, from people in my network that have needs and thought I would be good fits. I ended up accepting an offer to do contract work in house with a large wealth management/hedge fund group. I am trying this out for a year to see if it works for my schedule and family and 2 months in so far so good. I have 25 hours a week maximum, I set my own hours, it’s 100% remote.  I heavily negotiated my hourly rate (it’s the perfect market for this, don’t be underpaid). I did a tremendous amount of research on the company and it has excellent reviews as a top place to work and I have found it to be very true. I regret in the past not doing more outreach on firm culture before accepting offers. It makes a big difference what the work environment is.

1) don’t be afraid to negotiate a higher salary (IMO $160,000 part time is too low, you’re working full time hours), 2) can you honestly set real boundaries, and 3) what is the firm culture like there (do you know anyone who does work there now and even more important someone who used to work there)

Good luck. [/quote]

OP here. Thank you. How did you get up to speed on the most current technology the employer uses? I'm assuming things will have changed a lot in the last 8 years. I'm just thinking Lexis and Westlaw probably are different than they used to be, there are probably new ways employers use to store information and communicate, etc. And what about the fact that you probably had to do a lot of leg work to relearn or learn anew the applicable law in your practice areas? One of the appealing things here is that this is the same practice area I used to be in, and it seems to be understood that I will have a natural learning curve and that is okay with them. Was your new employer okay with that? To be honest, I'm intimidated at the idea of looking at anything in-house because in my practice area they tend to hire associates or partners with at least 7-8 years of recent experience which I just don't have right now. [/quote]

PP here who suggested in house.  Don’t sell yourself short - people are desperate for hires and making all sorts of exceptions they wouldn’t typically right now.  The main concern about in-house 8th year associates  is companies think they are bringing home around $400K including COVID bonuses, etc. even if it’s a lower tier firm not paying market and wouldn’t take or keep the job.  You may be more competitive than you think![/quote]

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