What Being a Big Law Attorney is *REALLY* Like | Cece Xie

the good, the bad, and the completely average: three types of work days and work-life balance as a Big Law attorney in NYC

0:00 - intro
2:07 - "average" day
4:12 - relaxing day
6:15 - high billable day
9:41 - worst day
12:51 - weekend work
14:00 - the secret to work-life balance in Big Law

💞 f o l l o w m e 💞
@cecexie everywhere

❓ F A Q s ❓
how old are you? 32 ('91 baby)
which schools did you go to? yale (undergrad) and harvard (law school)
what did you major in? economics
what was your gpa and lsat score? 3.86/176
what sign/MBTI/enneagram are you? aries, ENFJ, 3w4
are you sure you're not a virgo? no part of my star chart is virgo or an earth sign, i swear

[karinposser-oko]

Hi CeCe. As a former “Big Law” lawyer, I will say that the characterization of someone’s work experience is largely dependent on your general outlook. Being an “overachiever, ” I would find myself being the first person at my desk in the morning and the last one out. In fact, there was definitely an unspoken rule that if your boss was still there, you don’t leave until well after he or she does. That said, a lot of the experience is dictated by the partner you work for. Regardless, we were expected to check and respond to emails constantly… on weekends, evenings, holidays, while on vacation … I would get pulled into meetings and projects during scheduled time off and if you were “unavailable, ” it was frowned upon. I eventually realized there was more to life than that. Some people thrive on that constant pressure and stress. I was over it. Lol. After close to 20 years of practice, I went in house and haven’t looked back.

[donyconjux]

Your nuance, presentation and articulation of the way you express your experience is always a pleasure to listen to Cece. Thank you for what you've done so far and thank you for keeping it real.

[imaobongu]

the presentation of this is everything. i'm not in law, never planned on it and never plan on it, but i enjoy your videos anyway because of how captivating your narratives are, especially when you discussed the high billable days and steered a change in perspective to unpredictability being the con in that case rather than just hours, cuz of course everyone expects the work to be a lot, but it's true that no one knows WHEN to expect the work to be a lot. i feel so informed and entertained at the same time whenever i watch you either here or on tiktok, hope to see more from you!

[mkoPCV]

I love the way you presented this-- lots of information but the days-in-the-life were entertaining and I love your sense of humor. More please :)

[utakayser]

Hi Cece, as a past Delotte tax lawyer I’m baffled by the high proportion of BILLABLE hours vs hours spent at the office. We would get max average 5 billable hours in an 8 hour working day, and in order to make 8 billable hours (without feeling that it would be unfair to charge the client all of the time), we‘d have to do around 11 hours in total at the office. There are always so many things that need to be done that are not billable, such as writing a service proposal, negotiating it, giving input corns colleague’s proposal, switching from on client to another (I’d mostly work on 5 to 6 different mandates every day). Who‘d do all that stuff if you’d work 11 billable hrs out of 11? I feel we did it wrong…. 😢

[K-wxki]

ive concluded that any job where you work with people (....so every job out there) has unnecessary pain

[mallolemaire]

Hey Cece,
Thanks for this amazing video! ✨
This video makes me realize that I want to minimize “unnecessary pain” in my life, could you make a video about how to do so (eg project management, planning ahead, reaching deadlines/goals) and maybe incorporate how to deal with necessary pain? I believe that would be so helpful for so many people including me 😄

[HKBoba]

This was a really cool video to watch! Getting into college, my parents were pushing me to do law or medical but I ended up going software engineering. Interesting to see the parallels and differences.

[naev.]

I work at a warehouse and keep flip-flopping about taking the LSAT to go ahead to law school. My main reason is wanting "more" time because my schedule is 10-12 hour shifts. I like working weekends (introvert) but rather a career with much more moolah. This sounds like it's going to be the same schedule but more brain power. So for me, it would be out the frying pan and into the fryer 😂 Thanks for posting this!

[SBayne]

As a tax professional, I emotionally connect with the emotional roller coaster starting at 10:36 where a long day turns into an all-nighter. It happens in all professions, and to get through it I tell myself, "This is the price I pay in order to ensure I can still pay my bills and do what I want when the economy shits the bed and people are freaking out."

[Penguinracer]

Practice is about impact & optimising a client's situation. I believe that learning from a sole practitioner creates the most rounded lawyers. Any lawyer worth their salt should be happy to draft a Will, draft a Trust Deed, be able to draft commercial contracts competently before even looking at any template / precedent documents, draft civil litigation pleadings, brief witnesses, organise a criminal defence, do property conveyancing, undertake M&A due diligence, make planning applications, deal with employment law issues etc - this is basic stuff for a well trained lawyer.

[JakeOConnell-efiu]

Long hours are fine. But how do you manage the on call 24/7 side. What if you are out for drinks and get called in. Sounds like a bad time.

[LovepreetSingh-hzyx]

Hi Cece, great video! I have a request. Could you make a video about how you developed your strategy and boundaries? What were your considerations in that process? Also, how did you manage your time and go about prioritizing tasks?

[lfnotyouthenwho]

Thanks a bunch for this clear, concise, absorbing overview of big law! As someone who’s seriously considering pursuing a career in it, it’s terrific to have someone, like you, who’s been through the process, and is willing to reflect on, and share, their experience and thoughts. Do let us know when your book comes out — I’d love to read it! ✌🏼

[dakotacooperr]

Gosh the way you described the typical day, but how did you have continuous energy to work for 10 hours then workout then work more at home

[tazwee]

Loved these insights!! And advise! Thank you

[PhatVick]

Hi Cece, I’m also a former biglaw attorney. I would love to connect sometime!

[ando.arashi]

Cece, I enjoy hearing about your journey to self-employment. I'm on the same journey myself. I love the idea of a legal firm for content creators 😁...I'm trying to serve that same niche as well as a registered financial/tax advisor. I'm glad you escaped big law to pursue your own dreams! Have a good night!

[rachelinlawschool]

Do you think being an investment banking analyst or a big law attorney worse?

[Iamdivine.goddesslaura]

Just found your channel. I’m interested in Law, but I definitely do not want to do “Big Law”. I’m a hard worker, but I want to actually “Live” my life.