by Charlotte Attorney
This is coming from someone who temped for nearly a year and I understand that times are rough and every needs money. But, here in North Carolina there are numerous options available to a recently barred or out of work attorney.
Top Ten Reasons why Temping sucks
1. The Firm bills the client $250 per hour for you or more, Agency gets between $100-70 per hour for you, Agency in NC (rates in other places are little higher) give you about $20-25 per hour. Not to mention if you work in a downtown area you will be required to pay for parking which is not reimbursed by the agency or the firm.
2. When on a project you are often monitored like a child and your every move is being watched.
3. The staff attorneys and or associates on the case you are working on are not as smart as you. I don't care where their degree is from.
4. Recruiters from agencies are often rude, greedy, unprofessional, dishonest, and could careless.
5. While at the agencies headquarters or the firm, you are often denied access to the internet and use of your own cellphone. Which in fact makes you less productive and makes your life that much harder to take care of both personal and professional business.
6. Document review is mindless, mundane work.
7. You work crazy hours (10 hour days or more) and sometimes more than the associates. Except you do not receive the same respect, benefits, or pay (www.infirmation.com McGuire Woods and Womble first years are making 160K or more starting!).
8. Because there is little if any guarantee that a) the project will end tomorrow, b) you will be let go, c) how much overtime you will be allotted that week.
9. Because you took the bar and there is actually a shortage of practicing attorneys in NC. I will most that article after this one. (I will post this article shortly)
10. Because more and more document review projects are being outsourced to India and the US market will soon no longer assist. (I will post this article as well). Temporary these days literally means just that.
Ten Reasons why you should Practice
1. Theres a great need here in North Carolina for practicing attorneys particularly in an urban area like Charlotte where there about 1-2 Thousand attorneys in a population of almost 1 million. You are not in a large metropolitan city like NYC, LA, DC where other Attorneys have no real choice but to do this type of work for years.
2. Because you can make a decent living as a solo practitioner. $600 from traffic tickets, $65/hr on the court appointed, and charge decent fees for other services. Which is more than you'll make temping in NC!
3. Because of the sense of fulfillment you get from doing something more productive than clicking your life away.
4. Because you will no longer be subjected to someone else's terms and be treated like a child.
5. Because it isn't that expensive to start your own firm in NC. See my helpful websites/links on the right panel.
6. Because if you are willing to put in the work now and grow your firm eventually you will receive the benefits from your labor.
7. Because working on your own offers you freedom and flexibility.
8. Because you can not wait around and hope that the Associates at BIGLAW will notice how well you work and offer you a staff position.
9. Because there is a wonderful support system in North Carolina between solo practitioners which will make it not that hard for you to find a mentor.
10. Because if all else fails you have other options as an Attorney (you try your hand at teaching, writing, researching, work at a small to mid-size firm, ect) But this will only be possible after a few years of real practice and experience. Document review is not considered to be the "practice of law."
This is coming from someone who temped for nearly a year and I understand that times are rough and every needs money. But, here in North Carolina there are numerous options available to a recently barred or out of work attorney.
Top Ten Reasons why Temping sucks
1. The Firm bills the client $250 per hour for you or more, Agency gets between $100-70 per hour for you, Agency in NC (rates in other places are little higher) give you about $20-25 per hour. Not to mention if you work in a downtown area you will be required to pay for parking which is not reimbursed by the agency or the firm.
2. When on a project you are often monitored like a child and your every move is being watched.
3. The staff attorneys and or associates on the case you are working on are not as smart as you. I don't care where their degree is from.
4. Recruiters from agencies are often rude, greedy, unprofessional, dishonest, and could careless.
5. While at the agencies headquarters or the firm, you are often denied access to the internet and use of your own cellphone. Which in fact makes you less productive and makes your life that much harder to take care of both personal and professional business.
6. Document review is mindless, mundane work.
7. You work crazy hours (10 hour days or more) and sometimes more than the associates. Except you do not receive the same respect, benefits, or pay (www.infirmation.com McGuire Woods and Womble first years are making 160K or more starting!).
8. Because there is little if any guarantee that a) the project will end tomorrow, b) you will be let go, c) how much overtime you will be allotted that week.
9. Because you took the bar and there is actually a shortage of practicing attorneys in NC. I will most that article after this one. (I will post this article shortly)
10. Because more and more document review projects are being outsourced to India and the US market will soon no longer assist. (I will post this article as well). Temporary these days literally means just that.
Ten Reasons why you should Practice
1. Theres a great need here in North Carolina for practicing attorneys particularly in an urban area like Charlotte where there about 1-2 Thousand attorneys in a population of almost 1 million. You are not in a large metropolitan city like NYC, LA, DC where other Attorneys have no real choice but to do this type of work for years.
2. Because you can make a decent living as a solo practitioner. $600 from traffic tickets, $65/hr on the court appointed, and charge decent fees for other services. Which is more than you'll make temping in NC!
3. Because of the sense of fulfillment you get from doing something more productive than clicking your life away.
4. Because you will no longer be subjected to someone else's terms and be treated like a child.
5. Because it isn't that expensive to start your own firm in NC. See my helpful websites/links on the right panel.
6. Because if you are willing to put in the work now and grow your firm eventually you will receive the benefits from your labor.
7. Because working on your own offers you freedom and flexibility.
8. Because you can not wait around and hope that the Associates at BIGLAW will notice how well you work and offer you a staff position.
9. Because there is a wonderful support system in North Carolina between solo practitioners which will make it not that hard for you to find a mentor.
10. Because if all else fails you have other options as an Attorney (you try your hand at teaching, writing, researching, work at a small to mid-size firm, ect) But this will only be possible after a few years of real practice and experience. Document review is not considered to be the "practice of law."
2 comments:
I'm originally from NC but practice law in NYC. I am actually freelancing as opposed to opening my own practice (I have to since I'm a partner in an entertainment company & need flexibility to leave when the company takes off--this company is my dream job) but another plus is that there are clients who PREFER new attorneys--I've got a few who said they like new lawyers better b/c they have more to prove, will work harder and are more willing to collaborate w/clients. I temped once & wouldn't do it again unless it was in a respectful atmosphere (my CEO could care less what I do to pay bills); can't believe you make $20-25 an hour there. The rate here is about $35 an hour.
Hey Ms. Maxwell! So funny I just saw your post on the Alumni Facebook group and decided to come visit your blog. I'm hoping to open my own practice in the near future, but, oddly enough, am doing doc review to sock away a little money in the meantime. I look forward to reading more and hearing how your practice is going! I'm going to go check out your firm site, too.
Best of luck,
Sarah Farber
NCCU Law 2008
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