Attorney 

(Male, Age 28) from Chicago, IL

This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Male aged 28 who works as a Attorney in Chicago, IL. 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 Attorney
Salary $80,000
Other Compensation None Set
Hours/Week
Company Size (not answered)
Location Chicago, IL
Years Experience 3 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 on large class action lawsuits as an attorney

Describe your job role and responsibilities.
I review documents to determine the relevance to the litigation.

Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
401k, transportation, health care employee paid ( i pay for it all)

Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
Well

Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes. For the most part, I like this. I am part of team. We all work together. It is good to share responsibility.

Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes

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.

Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 1
Benefits: 6
Hours: 2
Co-Workers: 4
Supervisors: 3
Job Title: 7
Level of Responsibility: 5
The Actual Work: 6

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 Arrive at work. Get started on reviewing documents. Unfortunately, I can not tell you much about the case b/c of attorney/client privilege.
8am to 9am Review documents.
9am to 10am Meeting with supervising attorney to go over the status of the case. The meeting lasts an hour. We discuss, with other attorneys present, what we are learning about the issues.
10am to 11am Back to work reviewing documents
11am to 12pm At about 11:30 I fielded a phone call from a friend of a friend who is having a contract dispute. I agree to help her with her case for no fee (as a courtesy). She explains what has happened and what she hopes to accomplish. The call lasts until 12:15.
12pm to 1pm At 12:15, I went to lunch with a colleague/friend and the liason to a small non-profit legal group CARPLS. They sell me on the organization and I agree to join up. The lunch lasts until 1:20 or so.
1pm to 2pm At 1:30 I arrive back at the office and get back to work coding documents.
2pm to 3pm Still coding documents. At about 2:00, I answer a phone call from a colleague working on the case. We discuss his issue for about 5 minutes.
3pm to 4pm Still coding documents
4pm to 5pm I work on the demand letter for the friend of a friend. I am drafting the demand letter as I hope that dispute can avoid court. It takes me about 45 minutes to draft the letter
5pm to 6pm Back to coding documents. At 5:30 I meet with the supervising attorney b/c I wanted her opinion on something. We speak for about 15 minutes
6pm to 7pm I left at 6. No need to bring work home.
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?
referral

What was the application process?
I submitted resume and met with the agency. Then, when a firm staffs the project, they interviewed me as well.

Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes. 1 interview with the agency who staffs me. Then, another interview with a partner or associate discussing the case.

If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
Experience level, thoughts about my type of practice, hours

Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes

Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
I’m a lawyer…so law school. Training on the computer systems. Training on the case.

Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes

If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
No

If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
First, go to law school. Then, move to either NYC, Chicago, DC, or SF. Find it difficult to find a “typical” law job and accept a position like mine after visiting a staffing agency.

What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Analytical because of the legal nature of the work. Diligence–there is a lot of work to do that may not be that exciting.

Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Yes, JD

What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Don’t do it for too long. Find a normal law job b/c you may get pigeon holed.

Long-term career plans

Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
No. There is no room for growth or challenge. I have not developed many skills on this job. If I wanted to move to another city, I would probably need to figure out what else I could do for a career.

What are your current career goals?
Not really sure anymore. I think that is why I am doing what I am currently doing. I would like to own my business. I am not sure what that business would be.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
I always thought I would be more of a decision maker than a worker bee. Maybe down the road that will be true.

Prior work history

Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:

Title Length Salary Description
Prior Job 1 Contract Attorney 22 months 35 an hour + time and a half over 40 hours Worked on class action lawsuit
Prior Job 2 Contract Attorney 4 months 35 an hour + time and a half over 40 hours Worked on class action lawsuit

Educational background

Please list your educational background:

High School GPA:3.5

GPA School Degree
College (Undergraduate)
or Technical/Vocational
3.5 Miami University Ohio Political Science (Bachelor of Arts)
Graduate or Professional
(Masters or Doctorate)
3 The Ohio State Moritz College of law Juris Doctor

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