Shitlaw could also be contact work.

I was a paralegal in a shitlaw firm many years ago. It was my first paralegal job. Not in the DC area at all, by the way. The firm had about 40 attorneys at their main office where I worked and a number of smaller branch offices in other states so not tiny. Their only areas were auto insurance subro, and collections for credit cards, student loans, and high-interest car loans for people who had bad credit. I was on the credit card collections team and basically we worked on behalf of the junk debt buyers trying to recover years old CC debt from people who were really at the bottom rungs of society. There were no benefits offered to staff until you had been there a year, and a good number of the attorneys were related to each other - lots of father/son or daughter combos, siblings, cousins, etc. I actually think they got paid fairly well in a lower cost of living area and none of them went to prestigious law schools so I assume their student debt, even among the younger attorneys, wasn't too high. There was also a lot of turnover. That, to me, is shitlaw.

and at one job i had (insurance defense), the shyster running the joint dabbled in plaintiff's work. he had this dude who would show up every few months with another "car accident." piece of shit drove around with a neckbrace in his car. that is scummy, sorry. and the gentlemen was a fucking moron.

I don't think PP sounds awful except for the client comment. Perhaps redrafting to say that "clients who think you can help them get away with something illegal" may be the right characterization. Luckily don't have clients like this but know a few colleagues that have been pressured by clients to do things that are wrong and just find the conversations exhausting as they repeatedly tell them no.

Non-prestigious law firms that pay less than six figures. Lawyers from crappy law schools. Lawyers who need to put Esq. at the end of their name.

To be fair, lots of jobs get slammed on here, they just don't have a catchy nickname.

Anonymous wrote:

Let's not get into this, ok? There are so many lawyers in this town, not all of us can have flashy, high-powered, or even respectable jobs. Or jobs in law at all. It's just kind of mean to call the work that other people do because it's the work they can find "shitlaw." You think that because someone went to law school they are immune to being made fun of because lawyer = fancy, but that's not true, and this is demeaning.





I agree. Let's not do this.


Seriously. I'm at biglaw but don't understand the percentage in demeaning other people's jobs. It's a tough old world - no reason to be needlessly hurtful.

IDK, when I moved to DC for DH's job, and the only job I could find was working for a horrible, horrible small firm where the hours were awful, the work was not stimulating, the partners were awful, and I was treated poorly. Thankfully, after several years, I was able to find a job in local government that I like, but it took forever. I wasn't insulted when people called my small firm job shitlaw. It was shitty and awful, not because of prestige, but because it was a bad, bad working environment where I was treated poorly.

This doesn't help for a number of reasons. 1. It wasn't a bad job really 2. You got out. ....

Let's not get into this, ok? There are so many lawyers in this town, not all of us can have flashy, high-powered, or even respectable jobs. Or jobs in law at all. It's just kind of mean to call the work that other people do because it's the work they can find "shitlaw." You think that because someone went to law school they are immune to being made fun of because lawyer = fancy, but that's not true, and this is demeaning.





I agree. Let's not do this.


Seriously. I'm at biglaw but don't understand the percentage in demeaning other people's jobs. It's a tough old world - no reason to be needlessly hurtful.

IDK, when I moved to DC for DH's job, and the only job I could find was working for a horrible, horrible small firm where the hours were awful, the work was not stimulating, the partners were awful, and I was treated poorly. Thankfully, after several years, I was able to find a job in local government that I like, but it took forever. I wasn't insulted when people called my small firm job shitlaw. It was shitty and awful, not because of prestige, but because it was a bad, bad working environment where I was treated poorly.

Those clowns at Binder and Binder-the disability specialists....lol

Lawyers that help "disabled" clients. 90% of them have back injuries and depression.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's not get into this, ok? There are so many lawyers in this town, not all of us can have flashy, high-powered, or even respectable jobs. Or jobs in law at all. It's just kind of mean to call the work that other people do because it's the work they can find "shitlaw." You think that because someone went to law school they are immune to being made fun of because lawyer = fancy, but that's not true, and this is demeaning.

I agree. Let's not do this.

Seriously. I'm at biglaw but don't understand the percentage in demeaning other people's jobs. It's a tough old world - no reason to be needlessly hurtful.

Anonymous wrote:Let's not get into this, ok? There are so many lawyers in this town, not all of us can have flashy, high-powered, or even respectable jobs. Or jobs in law at all. It's just kind of mean to call the work that other people do because it's the work they can find "shitlaw." You think that because someone went to law school they are immune to being made fun of because lawyer = fancy, but that's not true, and this is demeaning.

I agree. Let's not do this.

Document review. Low pay and long hours. Ambulance chasing/malpractice. Insurance defense.

Let's not get into this, ok? There are so many lawyers in this town, not all of us can have flashy, high-powered, or even respectable jobs. Or jobs in law at all. It's just kind of mean to call the work that other people do because it's the work they can find "shitlaw." You think that because someone went to law school they are immune to being made fun of because lawyer = fancy, but that's not true, and this is demeaning.

My understanding is that it's a low-paying small or medium sized law firm where you are still expected to work exhausting hours.

I keep seeing this term on here. what is "shitlaw"??