Is it the firm or is it law?
I’m a mid-level litigation associate at a boutique firm, a few months back from leave I took for burnout and related health issues.
Since returning, I’ve been heavily staffed on a high-maintenance case that I worked on before leave with a partner who generally is not very involved until the day of any deadlines or unless there’s an important hearing, and often doesn’t respond when I ask his input about case decisions that he wanted to be involved with. The hours have been significant and disproportional in comparison to the rest of my caseload (80ish hours in March and 100ish hours in April) due to case management choices that have created more work than necessary on what should be a routine case. I have a meeting coming up where I’m going to try to get off the case or get some relief in the form of more junior support.
To be honest, I’m worried how the meeting will go, or if my concerns will be taken seriously. The broader issue is that I have a less prestigious background than all of my colleagues — different school, different prior experience — and the firm very visibly favors associates with more prestigious credentials in the form of better cases, more partner attention, and more mentorship. I feel like I’m doing serious, complex work in isolation yet not taken seriously, while others with shinier resumes get significant opportunities and are given preferential treatment.
I genuinely love the actual work. But I’m exhausted and starting to wonder if the environment is the problem or if this is just how law works. I’m scared that leaving means stepping backward career-wise, so I choose to stay to keep doing work that actually engages me.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? Did things improve at a different firm, or does pedigree just follow you everywhere in this profession?