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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2011 2:22:57 GMT -5
Up late working on a project that is due next week while watching Harry's Law. Anyway, I like that show but I wondered if anyone in real life would do what she did: She used to be a patent lawyer making 600K a year and dropped it to become a criminal defense lawyer that barely if ever gets paid. Would you make such a radical change? And if yes, what would it take for you to do it? Mental brakedown? Burnout? Enough money to say the hell with your current job? And just in passing, I love Hulu
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❤ mollymouser ❤
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Post by ❤ mollymouser ❤ on Mar 18, 2011 2:34:22 GMT -5
I used to be a trial attorney. (Nope, not making $600,000 per year.) Now I'm a happy housewife. (I haven't watched the show you've mentioned.)
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Post by BeenThere...DoneThat... on Mar 18, 2011 2:40:52 GMT -5
...been there... done that... not a lawyer, though... I followed Jesus to some ends of the earth... and Texas... paychecks can be peripherals, depending on your perspective and purpose...
;D
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2011 2:46:45 GMT -5
I used to be a trial attorney. (Nope, not making $600,000 per year.) Now I'm a happy housewife. Intend to ever go back to practicing law? Do you miss it at times? It's a pretty good show, at least so far. Look it up
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2011 2:52:33 GMT -5
...been there... done that... not a lawyer, though... I followed Jesus to some ends of the earth... and Texas... paychecks can be peripherals, depending on your perspective and purpose... ;D You moved from Texas from where? How did life change? I moved from Northern NJ to upstate NY (clifton park) but it was so my wife could attend grad school and yes I hated being unemployed but it was a risk I took. From making 35K at the time to making zero for close to 9 months sucked big time.
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Post by BeenThere...DoneThat... on Mar 18, 2011 3:06:22 GMT -5
...risks can cost and they can pay off... ...fwiw, I answered the call of the wild, so to speak, when I had the chance to "do some good in this world" for "others less fortunate" while "my burden was light" (cough, sputter, laugh) ;D ...I was your typical American pie church kid who ran off to do volunteer work as often as possible for as long as needed in some far away places... humanitarian aid, community outreach, ministry support, general evangelism... a la Acts 1:8... and yes, I even landed in Texas, which was pretty outlandish, too... ...I wouldn't trade those experiences for nothing... granted, I'll be taking advantage of those catch-up limits at age 50 to truly "catch up" on the 401k/403b, but I will never regret taking a road less traveled...
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2011 3:26:01 GMT -5
...risks can cost and they can pay off... ...fwiw, I answered the call of the wild, so to speak, when I had the chance to "do some good in this world" for "others less fortunate" while "my burden was light" (cough, sputter, laugh) ;D ...I was your typical American pie church kid who ran off to do volunteer work as often as possible for as long as needed in some far away places... humanitarian aid, community outreach, ministry support, general evangelism... a la Acts 1:8... and yes, I even landed in Texas, which was pretty outlandish, too... ...I wouldn't trade those experiences for nothing... granted, I'll be taking advantage of those catch-up limits at age 50 to truly "catch up" on the 401k/403b, but I will never regret taking a road less traveled... Seems like you enjoyed every minute and don't regret it (same for Harry in that show) and it is all that matters Ok off to close my eyes for a few hrs, have to report to work at 9 in the morning
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Post by poodlemom on Mar 18, 2011 8:51:09 GMT -5
I am an attorney who walked away from higher paying job in my idealistic late twenties, when I had fewer responsibilities. I walked because my idealistic self did not believe in my clients' goals.
I became, for a time, a consumer advocate (read low low salary).
The thing about the TV example (I don't watch the show) is that in my mind there is little difference between the tension generated by patent law and the pressure of criminal defense. I assume the tv show indicates that she zealously defends all of her "innocent" clients, but I don't know any criminal defense attorney that thinks like that.
These days, I represent corporate interests, and when a junior attorney/staffer indicates "concerns", I think they are naive. (I mean, I'm not representing clients doing awful things, but they are trying to make a profit). I do worry, periodically, that I have lost contact with my idealistic self who went to law school to right the wrongs of the world.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2011 9:03:45 GMT -5
I worked with a lawyer who had an undergrad degree in Chemical Engineering. She did the law firm thing, then joined our company (an insurance company- less lucrative but more stable than law firms), and then left to start her own chocolate-making business. She's got a husband with a Real Job, but she's a pretty dynamic lady and I bet her business is doing well.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2011 9:52:59 GMT -5
Thanks guys and I don't mean just lawyers but anyone. Would you drop a high paying job for one that is not high paying if paying at all?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2011 9:53:58 GMT -5
The thing about the TV example (I don't watch the show) is that in my mind there is little difference between the tension generated by patent law and the pressure of criminal defense. I assume the tv show indicates that she zealously defends all of her "innocent" clients, but I don't know any criminal defense attorney that thinks like that. no no... her clients are everything but innocent ;D
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Mar 18, 2011 9:59:10 GMT -5
Anyway, I like that show but I wondered if anyone in real life would do what she did: She used to be a patent lawyer making 600K a year and dropped it to become a criminal defense lawyer that barely if ever gets paid. Criminal defense attorney do get paid. I mean, I don't make $600K a year, but I'm not starving.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Mar 18, 2011 10:00:22 GMT -5
The thing about the TV example (I don't watch the show) is that in my mind there is little difference between the tension generated by patent law and the pressure of criminal defense. I assume the tv show indicates that she zealously defends all of her "innocent" clients, but I don't know any criminal defense attorney that thinks like that. no no... her clients are everything but innocent ;D Frankly, most of the defendants are guilty. The important question is not whether they are guilty, it's whether the DA can prove it.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2011 10:03:11 GMT -5
I am sure they do but in that show (I guess you guys got to see it) she opens her own practice up in the ghetto and most of her clients (except for one or two) she defends for free.
Like I said, it's not about lawyers but anyone with a very lucrative paying job. Would you be willing to be walk away from it to make less than half or 10% of that previous salary?
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Post by illinicheme on Mar 18, 2011 10:04:22 GMT -5
Theoretically, yes, I would drop a high-paying job for something different.
I'm currently very early in my career. (~6 years out of grad school) I'm very well-compensated ($123k + annual bonus) and currently still like my job. But I'm trying to invest/save my way to downstream flexibility. I don't yet have kids, and I haven't yet reached unmanageable stress levels. I'd like to eventually be in a financial position where I can step off my current path for something different later on if I feel like it (or need to). This is especially important since I work in a "contracting" industry. There is a real possibility that what I currently do will be almost completely out-sourced to India and China within the next 5-15 years.
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chemnerd99
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Post by chemnerd99 on Mar 18, 2011 10:17:52 GMT -5
Sooner illinicheme. 100K chemist jobs in pharmaceuticals shed over the last 2 yrs. They can hire 8 people and not pay benefits for your salary and they get to follow the environmental rules of the country they are in. Another PhD in medicinal chem who saw the writting on the wall and I am going back to school to be a pharmacist. And NO dropping from 100K to 15K (adjunct teaching) sucks. NO way I would do it voluntarily.
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Post by illinicheme on Mar 18, 2011 10:28:19 GMT -5
It could certainly be sooner. I'm optimistic that I'll get at least 5 years more out of this gig, which is why I listed that as my low end. Hopefully by the time there are no process gigs left, I'll have wormed my way slightly further up in the organization somewhere. ;D
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The J
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Post by The J on Mar 18, 2011 11:50:08 GMT -5
It's a question of financial capacity to me. Right now, I wouldn't do that because I don't have the financial capacity to sustain a major paycut. If I earned $600k/year for a number of years, and had built up a nest egg where I was no longer worried about earning money to sustain my lifestyle, I could see leaving that job and doing something where it wasn't about the money (like volunteering with Project Innocence).
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whoisjohngalt
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Post by whoisjohngalt on Mar 18, 2011 12:02:56 GMT -5
I watch that show, probably not for much longer.
First, she was fired from her patent lawyer job. Second, her stress is much higher now, with no benefit. i.e money. And third, may be I AM too cold-hearted, but I've yet to see her help anyone who is that "special", so I am not sure what has she accomplished so far
I like money and the job would have to be pretty bad for me to quit. It would have to be something that goes against my core values. I've worked for "evil" insurance companies, I've worked for "evil" mortgage companies, I've worked for "evil" financial institutions. Never bothered me.
Lena
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azphx1972
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Post by azphx1972 on Mar 18, 2011 13:33:25 GMT -5
Would you drop a high paying job for one that is not high paying if paying at all? Unless I hated my job, I would stay in it and save like a crazy person until I felt I had put enough away for retirement. In fact, that's what I've been doing. In an Utopian world, we wouldn't have to worry about working for money, and just work for personal satisfaction. Unfortunately, most of us live in the real world.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2011 13:47:33 GMT -5
I watch that show, probably not for much longer. First, she was fired from her patent lawyer job. True but as her boss put it at the beginning : she is one of the top patent lawyer in the state, probably the country. So I don't doubt she could have easily find a job in another firm. She defended the albinos that were looking for asylum because they were being hunted and killed in their country (sad but it's true, not tv) The old grandmother that robbed the store, I love the lady that played her. Come on, you got to love a few of them I think that is the way I feel. It would have to be seriously bad for me to live a jobn that pays me kind of salary. Heck I get paid 53k and it would have to be bad for me to leave this job for a less paying one.
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Artemis Windsong
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Post by Artemis Windsong on Mar 18, 2011 18:39:47 GMT -5
No. I would rat hole cash from the $600k for several years then retire and let eveyone figure out where all the money came from.
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Post by Agatha on Mar 19, 2011 8:38:36 GMT -5
Thanks guys and I don't mean just lawyers but anyone. Would you drop a high paying job for one that is not high paying if paying at all? Well, Carl, it's what I'm planning on. I'm going back to grad school to get a masters then doing what I love and should have been doing more than a decade ago. It's funny really. I will probably take a pay cut of up to 25%. Will it be worth it? I think so.
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