Now that I’m a few years into biglaw, looking back I honestly wish my parents had done more to prepare me for this life, so I’m trying not to repeat that mistake with my kid. My eight-year-old told me last year he wants to go to law school like me and, obviously, I assumed he meant biglaw and not some chill “home for dinner” situation, so I started lightly conditioning him in ways that would’ve helped me before I started.
During coloring book time and Lego time he tracks his activities in six-minute increments on a Google Sheet, with separate codes for Coloring (billable), Lego Structuring (billable), and Bathroom/Snack (unbillable, please minimize). I even bought him a refurbished iPad 2 specifically because it freezes and lags, so he can get used to drafting important “work product” on hardware that feels like it’s powered by our Roomba battery. He started piano lessons last month and I told him I expect Bach and basic theory memorized by next week or it’s going to be “a concern” in his annual review, which I scheduled, rescheduled twice, and will open by telling him his “performance is generally strong, but he needs to start thinking more like a “midlevel-schooler” with zero further detail.
I’ve also voluntold him to chair the Family Snack Diversity Committee so he can show “initiative” and “leadership” on completely uncredited work: he has to poll stakeholders, prepare a short slide deck on goldfish vs. fruit snacks, and present it at a weekly family meeting, but I’ve made it clear that none of this counts toward his “billable” toy-earning targets, it’s strictly unbillable professional development. Occasionally I’ll walk into his room five minutes before bedtime and tell him something “urgent” just came up and he needs to stay available in case I have follow-up questions on his math homework, then never actually follow up, just so he can get used to the feeling of plans evaporating for no discernible reason.
It sounds intense, but honestly, if your kid is talking about law school in 2025, the most loving thing you can do is make sure they’re ready to log time, meet impossible expectations, and say “happy to help” when they’re voluntold for work that doesn’t count.
Any suggestions?