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Old 10-08-2016, 12:05 AM
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Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
It depends. I guess in a team system, the partner/associates can (at their discretion of course) choose to leave a trainee alone if he/she is already swamped. But as an associate, if multiple files that you're handling blow up at the same time you're gonna die one way or another. So, still stressful.

From my experience as an associate you don't really get isolated pieces of work whether your firm operates in a team or pool system. I.e. you get put in charge of a file and you'll have to handle all aspects of it. So, save for asking another associate to take over you because you're busy (which the partner won't) you still have to do everything for a file that you're handling anyway.

Working hours suck in general in the big firms. Expect to work 12+ hour days (a 12 hour day is a good day), 6 - 7 days a week. Honestly, if your working hours are great in a big firm, you should leave the firm. You're probably not gonna get in enough billable hours to get a good bonus and/or your department's not getting any work which means you don't get any bonus anyway. And soon you're actually gonna be used to it and you'll find that your life outside the office is an abyss of emptiness and you're actually becoming resistant to sunlight muahahahahaha

Source: I'm a jaded associate

Yes because bonus is the only think that matters in life huh? /sarcasm

Law, like certain other professions, is filled with a certain type of overachieving, kan chiong personality. These are usually the same types of people who'll think its a failure to score 98 rather than 100 in a primary school exam.

So whether its a pool or team system, these same types of personalities will drive themselves to surprising depths of self-induced stress to exceed their billable targets. Heck, they'll drive themselves crazy with stress even if they were tasked with running an ice cream stand.
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