I’m curious about the people who didn’t start Biglaw thinking they wanted to make partner, but ultimately stayed and did it.
When did you lock in?
To be clear, by “lock in” I don’t mean when you started taking the job seriously or became committed in your day-to-day work. From the outside, I’m sure most people would say I’m already committed. I’m talking about the internal shift—when you stopped viewing Biglaw as a temporary chapter and stopped mentally keeping one foot out the door.
I’m a fifth-year heading into my sixth year in a few months. Like a lot of people, I’ve spent plenty of time flirting with other paths over the years—in-house, government, startups, completely different careers, etc. But lately I’ve found myself at a bit of a mental fork in the road.
I generally enjoy the work. Not every day, obviously, but I still find it very interesting and occasionally even fun. The hours can be rough when they’re rough, but honestly I don’t think it’s been quite as miserable as some of the horror stories I heard before joining. I feel reasonably confident about where I stand at the firm and the practice group (while fully recognizing that means very little in the grand scheme of things).
At the same time, AI and the general air of uncertainty around the profession (and watching other people make other choices) have me wondering whether I should still be actively plotting some alternative path—or whether this is just what my career is going to be.
And if that’s the answer, that’s okay. I think part of me is wondering whether there comes a point where you stop treating Biglaw as a temporary phase and just commit to seeing how far you can take it.
So for those who eventually made partner: when did you stop questioning everything and decide to lock in?