Staff Attorney
(Female, Age 28) from Owings Mills, MD
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 28 who works as a Staff Attorney in Owings Mills, MD. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Staff Attorney |
|---|---|
| Salary | $92,500 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 40 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | Owings Mills, MD |
| Years Experience | 2 years |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
I work in a large law firm with several hundred attorneys.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
I work on a large-scale pharmaceutical litigation case where I review documents both on the computer and in hard-copy.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
I receive all major benefits…medical, dental, and vision. I also contribute to a 401K.
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
I feel that I am well compensated.
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
My assignments are done by me alone, but I interact with several members of my team on a daily basis. This is one of the best parts of my job, as I really like most of the people I work with.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
I work in an office, which I share with another staff attorney. For a while, I greatly disliked this set-up, since I wasn’t fond of my officemate, but since May, I have an officemate who I really like. It’s nice to have the company. Also, I am able to work from home when needed, which is great.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 3
Benefits: 4
Hours: 1
Co-Workers: 5
Supervisors: 6
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 7
The Actual Work: 2
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | N/A |
| 8am to 9am | Work from home. Review documents in binders for medical privacy and personal information, such as social security numbers, home addresses, and patient information (birth date, etc.). Redact these items using highlighters, and also redact them on our database. |
| 9am to 10am | Drive to work. Once I arrive, continue reviewing documents for medical privacy and personal information. |
| 10am to 11am | Review documents in binders for medical privacy and personal information, such as social security numbers, home addresses, and patient information (birth date, etc.). Redact these items using highlighters, and also redact them on our database. |
| 11am to 12pm | Review documents in binders for medical privacy and personal information, such as social security numbers, home addresses, and patient information (birth date, etc.). Redact these items using highlighters, and also redact them on our database. |
| 12pm to 1pm | Take a 15 minute lunch break. |
| 1pm to 2pm | |
| 2pm to 3pm | |
| 3pm to 4pm | |
| 4pm to 5pm | |
| 5pm to 6pm | |
| 6pm to 7pm | |
| 7pm to 8pm | |
| 8pm to 9pm | |
| 9pm to 10pm | |
| 10pm to 11pm | |
| 11pm to 12am |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
A legal employment agency
What was the application process?
Submitted resume through the legal employment agency
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes. I had one interview with 2 different people… a woman from Human Resources, and one of the attorneys here. I was offered the job shortly after that.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
I can’t recall…sorry.
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
No, I feel prepared, but sometimes, I feel like I could be better informed. I don’t think that we Staff Attorneys know as much about the case as we should.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
A little bit of training, but it was subjective…basically, just explaining what to look for in each document, what to review, etc.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes, since I am working in litigation, and I am a lawyer. However, I learned quite a bit in law school that I haven’t had the chance to use yet.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
N/A
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
I would recommend for him/her to look at the large law firms in the area. Most or all of them have ongoing document review jobs, so the person could just send in their resume to apply.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Sadly, I don’t think many skills are required to do my job! Obviously, most firms prefer a legal background, but I don’t use my legal skills much. I guess attention to detail would be important, as would organization skills.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
No.
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Just to be thorough and accurate when reviewing the documents. While it might not seem important at the time, document review means a lot in any given case.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Yes. I think it is important to try things you never planned on trying, and I never saw myself working in a large firm environment like this one. I work at a law firm with a great reputation, and I think it will help me in the future.
What are your current career goals?
I would like to switch jobs in the next year or so to something where I feel I can make a difference.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
I guess that’s about it. I’m relatively happy in my life, and I think career has a lot to say about that.
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | Law clerk | 1 month | $22/hour | I worked for a brief period of time as a law clerk at a law firm…writing memos and doing legal research. |
| Prior Job 2 | Title attorney | 2 months | 56000 | I worked as a Title Attorney at a title company where I had worked during my summers in college. I reviewed title documents and policies. |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:3.85
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
3.5 | University of Michigan | BA, Political Science/English |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
3.3 | University of Maryland School of Law | JD, Law |
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