I started a new gig today. Most of the day has been spent waiting for the online data to be ready for our review. For those of you interested in the exciting world of legal temping, here it goes. I'm sitting at a conference table with 14 other attorneys, each of us with a laptop. We're way too crowded, and the temperature in the room is satisfying to no one - too hot for some, too cold for others. We've been provided laptops and a binder full of names and organizations, rules for what is responsive, confidential, priviledged, etc. We'll spend the next month or so going through thousands upon thousands of emails, memos, spreadsheets, etc, whittling down the vast universe of documents into a smaller universe so that the real attorneys at this firm don't have to wade through all the crap. In other words, it's mindless and sucky, except for the pay. This is the kind of gig that allows you to work as many hours as you want. This is the kind of gig that a very motivated individual could easily gross 20K15K in a month if he was willing to work 90 hours a week. I'm not that motivated but I am motivated to a lesser degree so if you guys don't see me much in the next month, you know where I'm at.
****Update: I almost forgot to mention the other aspect of temping; when the lawyer sitting next to you, who sat through 5 hours of training with you, asks you upon the commencement of work, what are the responsive issues? What are we supposed to be looking for? How do I login? What would make something priviledged? Starting tomorrow, headphones and mp3 player!!!! Believe it or not, I've been on worse, like when one of the people sitting in the overcrowded windowless room with you smells like elephant shit.
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Windowless rooms? Smells like elephant shit? "the real attorneys"? Big-d, for 15k gross a month, there's lot of people that would EAT elephant shit. there's some indian kid right now learning english every day, so one day he can replace your ass in the windowless room. pity the soul: someone call amnesty international, there's a sweatshop issue going on amongst the corporate slave crowd. quit ya' yellin. you a bitch
PS you're shot has officially been rejected!
That's why, Shotblock, we have things called Bar associations which are essentially, among other things, restraints on trade and job protection associations. They ensure that those shit eating Indian kids you mention can't take jobs for red blooded Americans like myself. Not only is it near impossible to get licensed in the US without an American law degree, but the continuing education requirements make it impractical to maintain long distance. As for the rest of the suffering world, that's not MY problem, I'm concerned about my level of perks and benefits that my 7 years and 200K of higher education affords me. It's not like my job provides me with a below market rate - patronage induced - apartment. Where can I get a job like that?
hahah rejected. que feo! way to give perspective Shotblock.
interesting question--will legal work of this nature ever be outsourced? I doubt it DC did pass a requirement that you have to be licensed in DC to perform such work! woohoo. I am sure other jurisdictions will follow.
Big-D--you forgot to mention the charming aspects of legal temp jobs--no benefits, no paid holidays, no paid days off/vacation/sick days/personal days...nothing...but hey..it could be worse...you could be at place with no access to Kwotebel.com!!!!
A place with no access to Kwotebel - if I end up at Guantanamo I might be in trouble.
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