Just a quick question today. We're curious about whether local firms are "celebrating" Veterans Day by giving employees the day off (as much as billable-hour employees can get a "day off"). We've heard rumors that some local firms are not.
Please call these un-American firms out in the comments.
No.
ReplyDeleteWe are open for business tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteMy guess - Judge Miley will be off tomorrow, just like she is every other day.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Judge Pomrenze will be hard at work trying to figure out how to squeeze five days worth of rude and hateful into four...
ReplyDeleteI could take veterans day off, but then I would have to come in Saturday and Sunday to catch-up.
ReplyDeleteLionel Sawyer is closed tomorrow <3
ReplyDeleteOff tomorrow and every other federal holiday. But I had to work on Nevada Day.
ReplyDeleteOur office is "officially closed" tomorrow. So that means the front door will be locked and we won't answer phones while we work.
ReplyDeleteOur office is technically closed, but most of the attorneys I have spoken to will be coming in or taking work home.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great profession. I get a little misty eyed just thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you whose firms are open tomorrow, I bet the veterans in your office are really appreciative... nice.
ReplyDeleteI'm wearing my patriotic "short-shorts" tomorrow to work like Will Ferrell...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/215198/
Lewis Brisbois has no day off, but who needs a day off when we get casual dress day.
ReplyDeleteNo Veteran's Day and no MLK Day. Ridiculous - no mail, courts closed.
ReplyDeleteThe whole concept of days off really just applies to support staff. If you're an attorney in something other than a plaintiff's firm, you make money by billing so it doesn't really matter whether you bill zero hours on November 11 so long as you make your hours as required by your firm.
ReplyDeleteNope - no day off. With courts closed and clients not calling, I might be able to get work done. If I don't bill, my clients don't pay me - it is a good incentive, but bad for not wanting to take vacations.
ReplyDeleteMy employer's fair, he says we can have thanksgiving or christmas but not both.
ReplyDelete12:33 works for Scrooge & Marley (Ebenezer Scrooge & Jacob Marley).
ReplyDeletethe comments are exactly why I don't work for Vegas "big law." that and an IQ above 75. I'll take my 10% less salary and have tomorrow off + every other federal and state holiday off and 2 weeks vacation, thank you.
ReplyDeletemoney is only good if you can spend it on something besides the car in the parking lot and the drinks to make you forget.
It seems like most responses are from people who think like employees and not like businesspeople. That kind of thinking leads to either jumping from firm to firm or to being an associate forever.
ReplyDeleteWant to build a practice and make money? Don't bitch, work hard, make clients happy.
Want days off? Go work for the government.
1:47 has a point - at least there are those of us that can have a day off. I know of a few people who have been on "vacation" for a few months now.
ReplyDeleteWe are open tomorrow, but we already had Nevada Day off. It's always fun to try and explain to out of state clients why we won't be open on the last Friday in October. Seriously, Nevada Day?
ReplyDelete1:47
ReplyDeleteI've never heard somebody, with a straight face (presumably), imply that attorneys at billable firms are "business people," and not "employees." Are we talking about the same profession? Attorneys, for the most part, are some of the most risk averse people on the planet-otherwise we would be investment bankers or entrepreneurs. The fact people are working for a billable firms makes them employees, and yes, that means you are somebody's bitch, setting somebody else up for retirement. If you want to be as businessman, then be a businessman and not a lawyer. The Jim Rogers of the world are far and few between.
"Want days off? Go work for the government."
ReplyDeleteI"m assuming this poster works on Christmas, New Years, etc. etc. After all, if he wants a day off, he should go work for the Man. I completely agree with him. If you're not completely devoted to this profession, and willing to toss everything else to the side for it (i.e. family, friends), then get the hell out of the way. You have no business being a lawyer.
I am a Boyd student and I'll spend my "day off" outlining my notes and preparing for finals. At least you guys are getting paid. Sack up.
ReplyDelete2:39
ReplyDeleteactually, you are the reason some of us are getting paid less than others. Drop out/fail/jump off the dam....you are just as greedy as the rest of us, and you have bad timing.
All law schools should be shut down for three years. Who is with me? Let's start that stimulus package...no more lawyers for three years.
Sorry to all you 2008 and 2009 classes...you'll be the bottom for a while longer.
When I worked in Reno, yes. In Clark County, no.
ReplyDelete"money is only good if you can spend it on something besides the car in the parking lot and the drinks to make you forget." - 1:34 pm
ReplyDeleteFTW!
Office closed and not planning on coming into the office either. Will probably work in a motion to amend at some point tomorrow - while waiting for paint to dry. May put together some discovery responses as well, but all that will be done from my home.
ReplyDeleteWay I look at it, I'm a professional. I do what I have to do to meet my clients needs and get the work done. I'll take vacation, I'll take *holidays* and I'll sacrifice all of the above when needed. However, I work to live, not the reverse.
I am off whenever the hell I want to be. the perks of being a sole practitioner.
ReplyDeleteMy girls love me too. Nevada Day off, Vets Day too. No Columbus Day, though.
Tomorrow, I will be checking this blog from teh comfort of Fat-A leather couch on my laptop between Facebook Posts and Mafia Wars.
This thread makes me laugh. @11:43 AM has it spot on. With all the complaining about money, employment, billable hours, you hosers actually take into account whether or not you get Vet Day off in your calculation of solace? You sound like a 3 yr old.
ReplyDelete"I want a day off," but "I want more money"
"I want to work less," but "I want enough work to keep my job".
Which is it?
We get either Veterans Day or Nevada Day off
ReplyDelete1:47 is on the money. All the bitching about days off are from people who will always be associates. Business people look at days off as days in which you won't be able to bill your clients. If you think like an associate, then you'll be somebody's bitch forever.
ReplyDeleteIf people hate work and want to maximize vacation days, then I feel sorry for those people. I can tell you that I love coming into work and making money. For those of you who don't understand how fun life can be when you're on top, then you'll never get there because you aren't willing to do what it takes to get there. I had to work hard to get there and I hated law school, but life is really nice now.
Most people who want the day off are employees. Small business owners (I own a small practice with a few associates) want to be fair to employees but also want to maximize revenue. I mean we didn't start this business to break even. We want to make money. And yes, we want to make a lot of money! So, it's a little over the top to have a day off every two weeks (Nevada Day, Veterans Day, and then Thanksgiving). I live to work. I am passionate about what I do, and yes I want to make a lot of money. Look around, the superstars: Rob Eglet, Jim Jimmerson, Marshall Willick, Frank Shrek, Dennis Prince, etc. are probably working or have put in plenty of hour to get to where they are. If you're complaing about working Veteran's Day, you probably aren't a superstar and/or will never develop into being a superstar. Hopefully, I'm wrong, and you can start your own firm and give your employees every single holiday off.
ReplyDelete1:34 - Amen. I'm saddened by the overwhelming number of lawyers in this town with alcohol addictions. Frequently get together, socialize, network, get absolutely wasted, behave like idiots and then routinely allow each other to drive off in our vehicles that cost more than most people make in a year. Dangerous & pathetic.
ReplyDelete2:20 p.m. is spot-on. I'm an associate at a big firm, and I'm here because I'm very risk averse and saw law as a way to make a decent living. Little did I know I'd be somebody's bitch 24/7. Those of you who think lawyers are "business people" are delusional--even those who own their own firm. You don't work for yourselves, you work for others. I'm not saying you can't have a good thing going, I'm just saying lets not kid ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI gave my employees the day off. They were happy.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm still here to do two new client intakes and get a project back to a client by tomorrow. That's the difference being in charge, and I get paid a little more.
Of course, the intakes will probably not show up.
I like the direction this blog has taken lately. Instead of being driven by first and second year accociates who who do nothing but complain about having to actually work for their inflated salaries, we are now getting comments from attorneys who understand this business. Stop watching the clock with one eye and looking at the calendar for the next "holiday" with the other. This business is simple - work hard to develop your skills along with a client base and you will be suprised how well you will do.
ReplyDelete1:47 is correct.
ReplyDeleteWe're open. Why? 98% of our clients are open today and they expect us to be available (especially my transactional colleagues to whom court schedules are irrelevant). We're here to work for them.
Our office (mid-sized defense firm) is closed. Our partners trust the associates to make a decision on whether to come in. This job is about "how hot is the fire burning?" If I had an upcoming trial or big depositions tomorrow I would be in the office. Instead, I am at home spending time with the family. I like being in a firm where it is not about face time.
ReplyDeleteFrom San Francisco, California, support staff, no we don't get Veteran's Day off and I am APPALLED. Courts closed, no mail, but then I guess I should be glad I have a job.....
ReplyDeleteI am a partner at one of those "officially closed but undercover open" small civil firms. We have two trials coming up in the next four weeks and, along with our other work, we are slammed. Our staff gets double time for their efforts, our attorney associates get to keep their jobs. That being said, most of the office works a 3/4 day. I am in the camp that believes that there is no need to work holidays and weekends and give facetime unless you have stuff due on Monday or trials coming up in the next few weeks (unless of course you want a bonus).
ReplyDelete