Investment Banker Study Chronicles the Negative Effects of 100-Hour Work Weeks

A study of a small group of newbie investment bankers who worked an average of 80 to 120 hours a week documents the stress-related toll. About two dozen people were observed over a decade, and every one developed a stress-related physical or emotional ailment, the Wall Street Journal reports. The…

Feb 16, 2012 11:30 AM CST

Can Workaholics Avoid Burnout? Those in the ‘Engaged’ Category May Be Protected

Law firm managing partner Elizabeth Valenzuela may be the best kind of workaholic—those engaged workers who put in long hours because they love what they do. Valenzuela, a lawyer in Sherman Oaks, Calif., puts in 70 to 80 hours a week, but she remains enthusiastic, the Los Angeles Times reports.…

Feb 15, 2012 11:30 AM CST

Scalia Backs Work-Life Balance, Suggests Law Firms Based in Cleveland or ‘La La Land’

Justice Antonin Scalia gave some advice to law students at the University of Chicago on Monday involving work-life balance and the geographic means to achieve it. Scalia said job-hunting students should try to find a practice where they won’t have to work too many hours, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. “Try…

Feb 14, 2012 12:59 PM CST

Former BigLaw Associates on Rewards, Balance from Careers in Civil Rights

Jennifer Klar had only been out of law school for about a year when, as part of a legal team, she helped free 12 people wrongly convicted of drug charges in Texas. Even though she’d been on a BigLaw track, she tells the Washington Post that the case opened up…

Feb 2, 2012 1:17 PM CST

Speaking Up: Helping Law Students Break Through the Silence of Depression

Feb 1, 2012 8:50 AM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: Takes on Apple’s iBook Author; Volunteer Job Requiring 5 Years Experience?

Launch’s Legal Fallout A big tech story this week was the Apple’s launch of iBooks Author, a free tool allowing users to create textbooks, which the company says will “reinvent textbooks” by allowing iPad users to access texts that are interactive and constantly updated and available at a relatively low…

Jan 27, 2012 2:30 PM CST

Trial Attorney Who Seemed to Have It All Is Now in Jail Awaiting a Bed in Drug Rehab Program

Once a handsome, successful and charismatic criminal defense lawyer described by a fellow Ohio attorney and friend as brilliant in the courtroom, David Scacchetti has had a spectacular fall from grace. Facing a felony heroin possession charge, the 55-year-old is represented by a public defender and has appeared disheveled in…

Jan 26, 2012 7:38 PM CST

Help is Available for Lawyers with Addiction Issues

Lawyers have a tough job to do, and some try to alleviate the stress with mood-altering activities. Done to excess or illegally, that can make their situation much worse, as demonstrated by the criminal cases of at least two attorneys in the news this past week concerning their alleged activities.…

Jan 26, 2012 7:37 PM CST

Four Law Firms Are Back on Fortune’s List of 100 Top Workplaces

Fortune has put four law firms on its annual list of the top 100 places to work, citing their high pay, good perks and nurturing environments. Law firms on the list are: • Alston & Bird at No. 24. According to Fortune, support staff at law firms are often ignored,…

Jan 19, 2012 5:04 PM CST

NALP Sees Decline in Part-Time Lawyers at Law Firms for First Time in 17 Years

The percentage of lawyers working part-time at law firms declined slightly in 2011, the first drop since the National Association for Law Placement began compiling the figures in 1994. In 2011, 6.2 percent of lawyers were working part-time, compared to 6.4 percent in 2010, according to a NALP press release.…

Jan 19, 2012 3:54 PM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: Victorious Lawyers in Heller Case Got Chump Change, Bloggers Say

Reeling over Fees Decision In 2008, small-firm lawyer Alan Gura prevailed at the U.S. Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller, which struck down D.C.’s handgun ban. The same year, Gura and the other lawyers for Heller sought more than $3 million for the work they put in over…

Jan 13, 2012 2:58 PM CST

She-roes: Women Strive to Promote Their Own in Silicon Valley IP Law

Jan 1, 2012 8:39 AM CST

Time Out: Sabbaticals Help Lawyers Reassess, Redirect Careers

Jan 1, 2012 8:00 AM CST

Annual Santa Gigs Bring Joy to Mich. Attorney, Along With Serious Responsibilities

A Michigan lawyer has attended a continuing education class every year since 2004 that he takes as seriously as law school. It’s for those, like attorney Roland Davenport, for whom playing Santa every year is a top priority. Although his day job as an Ann Arbor sole practitioner prevents him…

Dec 21, 2011 11:10 PM CST

Do You, Like Santa, Routinely Choose to Work While Most Others Are Sleeping?

This week, we noted a Washington Post column in which the columnist chronicles the phenomenon of “midnight moms” who find themselves pulling late-night work shifts from home while their children sleep. A Latham & Watkins IT worker and “midnight mom” interviewed for the column who teaches an infant swim class…

Dec 20, 2011 6:25 PM CST