🚀 go-pugleaf

Hello,

I have read some of the threads about law firm working conditions and
life in the big firms.  Does anyone out there know if this pertains to
various types of law, or is it every type.  I live and work in Boston
and will be entering the field of patent law soon.  Do any of you out
there know what conditions are like in patent firms in major cities?
I am not commited to Boston, but probably will end up here.

I expect to work in the 55-65 hours per week range on average, and have
heard this is about standard for patent firms, at least in the Boston
area.  I can handle this, but 80+ hours every week would drive me nuts.
The way I look at it, I go to school at night, and work full time as
an Engineer 45+ hrs per week.  When I go into practice, I will just
replace thoose hours at school with working in practice.  As school
takes at least 15-20 hours per week just for class (12 credits, plus
commute to/from school 3 nights a week).  Does this sound about right
for non-NYC firms or are my perceptions way off base?

I have an interesting story from this past weekend too.  I was skiing
in VT on Saturday and was riding up the chairlift with some guy from
NY.  I asked him what he did in NYC, and he laughed a little, and said
"I don't like to tell people this, but I'm am an attorney."  I said "
That's ok, I am in law school."   He asked what kind of attorney I wanted
to be and I said a patent attorney.  Well he laughed again and said
that was what he did.  What a coincidence.

So I started asking him about life at his firm, and he said that
today was the first day he had off since the beginning of December,
except for Christmas day.  He worked for a major (the largest I think)
Patent Firm in NYC, and did litigation, not patent prosecution.  He had
been there 5 years, and said that they worked way too much there.  80+
hours weeks were the norm, and sometimes he would be there till 4am and
have to be in a meeting that morning with a client at 8:30.  How true
is this for an average firm in a major city?

We talked about various other patent law issues, the patent bar, and
other stuff.  Basically, he said if you want NYC, you will make major
$ cash, but have little to no life.  He said prosecution of patents was
less stressful, but less rewarding (not sure what sense of rewarding he
was refering to, $ or enjoyment?).  He told me to send my resume to
him - on the chairlift; talk about networking!  How long does a person
work like this, and when/if they make partner, does it continue, or
is that when you get to play golf on Sundays?  'Cause I love golf.

I hope I don't appear to be a whinner, because I am certainly not afraid
of hard work, rather, I can't wait to begin hard work in the patent field.
When I hear stories like this, from a real life person in a big firm,
and not through the grape vine, I begin to wonder what life is all about.
How can someone maintain any sort of life, family, whatever, under this
type of working conditions?  My main trhust behind this post is my
question about working conditions and hours at average sized patent
firms in areas other than NYC.  After a lexis search I just did, it
appears his firm is one of the 2 largest, thus is not an average firm.

Reflecting back, I do not know how I felt about what I had heard.  Sort
of envious in some ways, yet fearfull I may be headed into the same
boat and that I will lose something I have now.  I know I will enjoy the
work as I read all I can about patent law and related topics on any
(what little) leisure time I have now, but does life stop when you work
in the firm?  How does corporate practice vary from firm life?

Thanks for any insight any of you may have, and someone please smack me
with a dose of reality.  I can bet I am not the only one who thinks
about this stuff.

-Barry Chapin	chapin@draper.com
Engineer	Draper Laboratory, Cambridge, MA
Law Student	Evenings, Suffolk University, Boston, MA