Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking of various federal agencies, what is the Office of Special Counsel like?

not sure right now but their previous boss is a criminal defendant and it sounded like a horrible place to work then... has it changed?

The Post ran an article a few months ago that made it sound like the new boss is awesome. What that translates to in terms of working, I don't know.

Saw a listing recently for MSPB. That is one of the more low-stress agencies, much more "just a job" than some. You should subscribe to USAJobs if you haven't already.

Anonymous wrote:I work at one of the "sleepier" agencies and it's the greatest. 9 to 5. Paid overtime. Don't have to wear suits, go to court, or deal with clients. Managers are great about vacation / sick time as long as you keep up with your work. And I get to work from home. FOUR. DAYS. A. WEEK.

The work is dry, I admit. But it's still the greatest lawyer job ever, IMHO.

I am not the PP, but this sounds like my friend who works at DHS. She is home 4 days a week, seems to get her work done in a minimum amount of time, takes all her vacation each year, and does many personal errands/fun things during the day. She readily admits it is cushy and is thrilled to work there. Not sure about overtime - she never seems to have to do it.

My federal agency job is "just a job" and the agency isn't sleepy either. Nor is my job particularly boring...I'm not saying it is particularly exciting either, but as legal work goes, I don't think it is any more boring than the work I did while in private practice so if you like practicing law it is challenging, intellectually interesting, fairly cutting edge and impacts programs of great interest to the public.

I recommend looking at agency positions, the exact ones depending on what you foresee you would like to do. You need to network like crazy because these jobs are in high demand (we get hundreds of resumes for every opening), but a personal connection can be gold.

Anonymous wrote:Speaking of various federal agencies, what is the Office of Special Counsel like?

not sure right now but their previous boss is a criminal defendant and it sounded like a horrible place to work then... has it changed?

Bloomberg Law. They also just bought BNA. 8-6 job that pays well (6 figures), has great benefits, and is definitely just a job. May be kind of soul-sucking after what you've been doing, but work doesn't follow you home or affect your personal life at all.

OP again. Anything over $100k would be fine. $120k for 35 hours a week would be amazing. Where do you work?

OP, what is considered "low paying"? For example, I *only* make $120k for 35 hr/wk. Everyone has a different standard.

Speaking of various federal agencies, what is the Office of Special Counsel like?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In-house jobs. You will be dealing employment law, etc., but it is closer to a job/job than being a lawyer at a firm as you would work normal business hours and such.

Posted by someone who doesn't work in house. My in house job certainly isn't like that. No way could I stick to working 40 hours only and get the work done.

My in-house job isn't anything like that either.

In-house can definitely go either way. There are some in-house jobs where you sit in meetings all day, do the same work daily, delegate the more complicated work to outside counsel and leave at 5 pm. But more and more, I'm seeing in-house attorneys whose positions are actually part of or akin to upper mgmt. That means longer hours, being attached to a blackberry and often a decent amount of travel, though it tends to also mean good money. I think some companies are realizing that they can hire attys to do a lot more contract drafting and brief writing in-house, rather than paying biglaw rates of $500-1000/hr for the same work.

I'm not in a sleepy govt agency but after some time in private practice and some time as a staff atty in a fed agency I can't name, I've been a supervisor for 10 yrs and a non supervisory policy adviser/manager for the last 13. I've developed an independent portfolio/niche off the fast track/ SES track/ needing to be involved in every crisis (real or manufactured) every day and have a somewhat frustrating but very independent and manageable situation where I rarely have to work beyond 45 hrs./week.

I've had time to play in several bands over the past 15 yrs. and have time to play with my old sailboat. Still make a bit less than a 1st yr. BigLaw slave/associate but in 3 yrs. I'll be retired with no financial worries thanks to good planning and no kids to support.

Anonymous wrote:17:20! We are on the edge of our seats! Where is this magical place?!

OP again. Yes, 17:20, please tell us!

For those of you at "sleepy" government agencies, do you worry that your mobility will be limited if you decide you want to do something else one day? Are all the attorneys you work with "lifers"? If not, where do they go from there?

17:20! We are on the edge of our seats! Where is this magical place?! And Trademark Attorney, thank you for the info. I am done having kids, but if I return to working for someone else (I have my own firm now) I will be looking hard at the government.

I work at one of the "sleepier" agencies and it's the greatest. 9 to 5. Paid overtime. Don't have to wear suits, go to court, or deal with clients. Managers are great about vacation / sick time as long as you keep up with your work. And I get to work from home. FOUR. DAYS. A. WEEK.

The work is dry, I admit. But it's still the greatest lawyer job ever, IMHO.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In-house jobs. You will be dealing employment law, etc., but it is closer to a job/job than being a lawyer at a firm as you would work normal business hours and such.

Posted by someone who doesn't work in house. My in house job certainly isn't like that. No way could I stick to working 40 hours only and get the work done.

My in-house job isn't anything like that either.

Actually, I left big law as a mid-level associate and took an in-house position that was like that... I left every day at 5 and worked 2 weekends in 4 years. But I also got so incredibly bored and ended up leaving. I think it depends where you go in-house. I was in a big company, in a fairly big legal department (about 25 attorneys) where everyone had their subject matter areas assigned to them on day #1 and that's what you worked on until you left. There were no opportunties for advancement or trying new things. Nobody ever left either, so that kind of created a log-jam as far as promotion opportunities. The only way "up" was "out"- switching from the legal department to the business side. Some of the lawyers had been there 10+ years and seemed fine with reviewing the same set of vendor contracts over and over again every year. So it depends on what you really want. I tend to think that the more interesting jobs do require longer hours, but I was lucky to move to a new job where I also have a ton of flexibilty to work from home, etc. I still leave at 5 every night, but I do usually get back on-line most nights. Not much weekend work though. That works for me. Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In-house jobs. You will be dealing employment law, etc., but it is closer to a job/job than being a lawyer at a firm as you would work normal business hours and such.

Posted by someone who doesn't work in house. My in house job certainly isn't like that. No way could I stick to working 40 hours only and get the work done.

My in-house job isn't anything like that either.