Way to stick it to him, Lat. Zing!

Tom Hanks was born to play the role of Forrest Gump. Everything else is the price we pay for letting him do that.

Tom Hanks is gross.

Just because he's unattractive doesn't make him a good actor.

God, I hate this guy.

LOL - Lat's commentary is hilarious.

I wonder if he hates the lawyers who negotiate his eight-figure paychecks.

Funny - watching his boring-ass movies is like doing homework.

Hanks is a terrible actor.

Go fuck yourself, Tommy.

u'd think a oscar winning actor could come up with a more creative insult than "i hate..."

C'mon this is lame. Bashing Hanks like this is silly. He has a point about our line of work and didn't say anything terrible.

@2:29 PM

No. Actors just read what other people have written. The fact that anyone cares what actors think on any subject other than acting is sort of amazing.

Are you kidding me? Everyone who posts here would give their right arm to be Tom Hanks. Overrated? Talentless? Don't get me started.

whatever else you want to say about TH, thank god he finally cut his hair.

I suppose if you are an actor, doing whatever it is that they have to do to make eight figures woudl make every other job seem awful. Jerks.

"[He] didn't say anything terrible."

He said he hates us. And you. He especially hates you.

It does feel like doing homework for a living.

2:29: It's very annoying to have your entire profession discounted by some jackass who knows nothing about it. It's one thing to criticize ourselves, it's another thing entirely to have the likes of Hanks doing so.

Paul Giamatti as John Adams? Wha?????

Judging by some of the comments you people make on this board, it appears that you folks hate lawyers as much as Hanks does.

Ahh, I knew I read ATL for a reason. All this time, I've been waiting for a hating-on-tom-hanks thread. My secret desires are coming to fruition. Come on, people! Bring it on!

Lat, tomorrow please do a hating-on-rachel-ray thread. Thank you.

Dragged to see it by a date, the "Da Vinci Code" turned out to be the worst movie I saw from start to finish. It made me hate French people, conspiracy theorists and, most of all, Tom Hanks.

2:35: I had the same exact reaction.

All of you would kill to have Tom Hanks' talent, so shut it.

1. I agree it's annoying to have the entire profession degraded by a flip comment and that be OKAY. But then, that somewhat shows we're on top, right? I mean, if he'd said janitors had a crappy job, some pro-menial laborer organization would jump up and down and call him an elitest and demand an apology for offensive statements. But it's OKAY to hate lawyers, because in most folks, that's just closeted jealousy. How many people have told you a lawyer joke and then said, "You know, once upon a time, I wanted to be a lawyer, but...."

2. Hating lawyers somewhat reminds me of people that hate guns. It suggests that it is lawyers that make society litigious, as opposed to lawyers being the tool used by the litigious. Which came first--supply or demand?

3. Who wouldn't do home work for a living at 25 years old for $160,000....? I mean, yeah, it's not the starring role for millions, but it's not a bad gig. There's worse....

4. I did like Charlie Wilson's War. Forrest Gump was brilliant and Philadelphia wasn't bad. Was he in Big? That was good. Castaway was dreadful, but he wasn't bad in it considering.

5. "I hate actors." So there, now we're even.

Is it any wonder a man made famous by playing functional retards recoils from doing homework?

Forrest Gump: stupid is as stupid does

Joe v. Volcano: idiot convinced to leap into volcano through patently absurd medical diagnosis

Bachelor party: boorish groom-to-be offends everyone in a string of increasingly brainless gags accompanied by some of the worst acting ever seen on film

Cast Away: Man befriends (and is out-acted by) a volleyball

The Money Pit: undoubtedly various studios would use apply this moniker to some of Hanks' projects. Polar Express or Bonfire of the Vanities anyone?

2:40 summed it up well. But I'm a bit concerned for he/she that he/she spent that much thought and time composing his/her comment for a Tom Hanks thread.

Hey, "give your right arm" at 2:33--there are definitely people I would switch places with, but by his own admission Hanks has slept with fewer than 10 women in his life. For a rich actor, that is inexcusable.

That said, I bet being HIS lawyer is a pretty great job. 5% of a lot is a lot.

Since he's a man of strong convictions, I'm sure the next time Hanks gets sued he'll hire a farmer or a hairstylist to represent him. Because lawyers? Boo.

typical lawyer responses to a slight. so defensive. i'd venture to guess the people on here hate themselves about as much as Tom Hanks hates them. Plus he's got way more bank.

If I remember correctly, Tom Hanks’ character in Catch Me if You Can passed the Louisiana bar and did a brief stint with the prosecutor’s office.

2:40: You had me until "Forrest Gump was brilliant." Sheesh.

Hey, "give your right arm" at 2:33--there are definitely people I would switch places with, but by his own admission Hanks has slept with fewer than 10 women in his life. For a rich actor, that is inexcusable.

That said, I bet being HIS lawyer is a pretty great job. 5% of a lot is a lot.

Since he's a man of strong convictions, I'm sure the next time Hanks gets sued he'll hire a farmer or a hairstylist to represent him. Because lawyers? Boo.

Frank Abagnale was played by Leo Dicaprio. Hanks reprised his supporting role as sharp-talking suit. See also That Thing You Do! which was essentially one song played on an endless loop with some people dressed in 60's clothes just for effect. One hit wonder climbs charts but ends in tragedy -- oh, the originality!

Less than 10? JT slept with 10 women by the end of high 7th grade summer. By the end of HS, JT slammed another 25, Lance Bass and 2 hot-tub jets.

All of you people need to get over yourself. He insulted your profession and now your all acting like immature kids and not giving him any credit as an actor.

Tom Hanks has been in many good movies and has acted well in a lot of them. Saving Private Ryan, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, BIG.

I hate lawyers too.

This whole thread is petty and ridiculous. Tom Hanks may not be god's gift to acting, but he's by no means terrible. I mean, sure he's done some stinkers, but Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Philadelphia, Castaway ... all excellent movies.

So what if he hates lawyers? If you weren't one, you would to.

All of you people need to get over yourself. He insulted your profession and now your all acting like immature kids and not giving him any credit as an actor.

Tom Hanks has been in many good movies and has acted well in a lot of them. Saving Private Ryan, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, BIG.

Hanks hit it right on the mark.

Tom Hanks is actually a former Senator and darkhorse Republican presidential candidate. In addition to playing the Manhattan DA on the hit TV Show Law & Order, he is also a lawyer in real life. His wife, however, is not a lawyer.

"2:36 is right"--based on the phrase "way more bank," I'm guessing you are far too "street" to comment about the legal profession.

Frank@2:45--that was DiCaprio's character.

2:46 - so the idea of being famous beyond your wildest dreams, making $10 mil every six months, and being a Hollywood power broker doesn't interest you at all? You prefer your (our) 60-hour weeks, complete anonymity, replacability and 160K a year? Don't worry. I know you were just kidding.

I was babysitting my little brother for a weekend and he did something really wretched, so I made him watch that entire Cast Away movie.

Before his movie career took off, Hanks got his big break as an actor by playing the role of Claire Huxtable, Cliff’s attorney wife on The Cosby Show. I’m surprised you didn’t know this.

"I... have made... FIRE!"

(in my pants)

Tom Hanks has an enormous forehead.

"Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Philadelphia, Castaway ... all excellent movies."

You cannot be serious. The middle two I'll give you, the bookends I won't.

Being a Lawyer does suck. We do have to study all the time...we fight with people, all the time, not only the Courts and opposition Counsel but very often our own clients.

This often is a shitty profession.

On the other hand, when things go really well in a Courtroom, it's better than sex.

So take that Tom.

2:54--fame and money don't mean shit if you don't have the capacity to enjoy them--see, e.g. Kurt Cobain, Britney Spears, Heath Ledger, Adolf Hitler. I hadn't pegged Hanks as a cranky baby, but going out of his way to insult an entire profession might indicate that he isn't all that high on life.

So yes, Tom Hanks is Hitler. Deal with it.

if he feels sorry for us, how can he simultaneously hate us? is he truly the sociopath that US Weekly says he is?

FORREST GUMP RULES!!!!!!!!

That might be the ugliest tie that I have ever seen.

I hate actors. That's like pretending to be someone you're not for a living.

2:58 - you know what they say about guys with big foreheads...

he said the same thing when he was on "inside the actor's studio"

I liked doing homework back when I did it for free.

I'll punch him squa in the nuts.

Doing homework for a living? Way to make fun of the jobs many people have - at least, those of us who have to work for a living.

I'm not going to fling poo at his acting skills (I think he is quite good), but, wow, what an ass.

I couldn't care less what he thinks about lawyers, but one thing this post highlights is absolutely correct: Tom Hanks is extremely overrated. Does he suck? No, definitely not. But as an actor he's simply mediocre. He seems to be a nice guy in real life, but the success of his movies has had more to do with advertising/promotion (and, to be more generous, the writing and editing) than with anything he brings to the screen.

I mean, can you honestly imagine aspiring actors looking to him as an influence? Even someone like Giamatti, while not having met with the popular success that Hanks has, brings some unique and fresh elements to acting--and he's not even particularly good.

20 years after he's dead, Hanks's only legacy will be the good fortune of having been cast in a handful of movies that were brilliant in spite of him.

he's right lawyering is like homework.

but why the hate, tom?

best movie of all time - The Terminal.

Don't get me started on Rachel Ray.

I thought we were Busom Buddies, Tom.

I thought he was brilliant in the vastly underrated "Nothing in Common" with Jackie Gleason as his dad.

forrest gump getting best picture might have been worse than rocky getting best picture. forrest gump beat shawshank (!!!1!1!), pulp fiction, quiz show, etc, etc.

president adams is NOT drinking any FUCKING MERLOT.

our jobs are like homework? Tom, most people's jobs are "work." That's why their called jobs. We can't all talk to a goddamn volleyball for a living, you receding hairline fuck.

I hate me too.

Gee, Tom is right. My job sucks. Maybe I should go into acting. Everyone knows all actors are happy and love their lives. Not just the top 1% of them, ALL of them!!

Oh wait. I guess it's easy for every other job to look sucky when you make millions a year for playing make-believe for a couple months and signing a few autographs. If I had Tom Hanks' job, I would think everyone else's job sucked, too.

i meant "they're" not their

3:25(1)---Exactly. Almost everyone works hard to make a living at a job that is basically like doing homework (if they are lucky; manual labor is even harder).

For some idiot actor to question why people choose jobs that are "like doing homework" is unacceptable. And I agree that his success is inexplicable and merely reflects badly on our collective tastes in entertainment.

Tom Hanks SAVED MY LIFE!

Joe v. Volcano to 190!

Seriously Tom, anything that requires a brain to accomplish is like 'homework.' You suck, and your son (Orange County) sucks.

Isn't it time you died of a cocaine overdose already, you worthless Hollywood prick?

who doesn't hate lawyers? I hate some lawyers, and I am not a lawyer yet. But, I also have LOTSALOVE for our profession. As my torts professor told us (when he wasn't asking what out mom would say to answer the question) "Lawyers rule the world!" and "we are in the best profession in the world."

By the way, Road to Perdition was AWESOME!

You know what I hate? Sucking Tom Cruise's dick!

Maybe it's just me, but I still think JT's comments are pretty damn funny. FRAT STUD, on the other hand, is lame.

Hey, JT, got any hot tub jets to spare?

His face is bloated like Rosie O'Donnells pimply ass... How come everytime some actor makes a comment, or kills himself, or OD's it makes news? My 160k could not buy a single pubic hair on most of these actors... but WE make news for being overpaid. I will like to see Tom Hanks die of AIDS in REAL LIFE (on camera)!

P.S. I loved Tom Hanks in BIG!!!

We lawyers shouldn't care what Tom Hanks or AM New York have to say.

But then again, he shouldn't unnecessarily attack a whole profession, especially when it's more necessary to society than his own. And why does doing homework for a living result in hate? It seems a little disjointed. Conclusion: Tom Hanks is an idiot.

3:44 is your Torts Professor Saul Levmore?

"Like doing homework for a living"? That is your best lawyer joke?! You are a COMEDIAN for god's sake... drop the F-word and the N-bomb in there... spice things up a la Michael Richards!

I guess when you're a huge movie star, all of our little regular lives must seem pretty dull and pointless.

Tom Hanks hates lawyers until he needs one. Then he opens up his wallet just like everyone else.

lol@3:48

I don't know if lawyers are more necessary than Actors?! Actors can play lawyers (pretty damn good). But Lawyers can't do fuck-all else? I for one would prefer a society of Actors, with no lawyers, like the Village or Chelsea, to Lawyers and no Actors... like Westchester. Futhermore, AIDS is not a laughing matter. I would rather be a gay-lawyer-with-AIDS than a Tom Hanks... oh wait

3:39: That made my day.

I hate all actors and their stupid opinions. But I sure the porn. How come porn stars never get to say anything dumb and have it be in the news? I think porn stars would have a lot more to contribute than Mr. Hanks.

After racking my brain for countless unbilled hours, I figured out why most common folk (like, you know, Tom Hanks, Mr. Everyman) don't like lawyers. We are, and forever will be, nothing more than walking, talking, tubes of K-Y Gel. Oh sure, everyone, from criminals to Fortune 500 execs (not mutually exclusive categories, to be sure) need us to lube up the rough hand of justice and the invisible hand of capital. But after the sweet climax of a favorable verdict (or a particularly quirky MTD, obscure IRC provision, sweet-heart indemnity clause, etc., etc), when full benefits of lubrication have been reaped, the public is quick to hide us behind that tube of Preparation H.

you can HATE me all you want, but you know: all of you OWN Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail, Forrest Gump (and the soundtrack) and KNOW your significant other will drag you to see my next romantic "comedy"....suckers!

P.S. I hate Jews too.

This from IMDB. As a lawyer, I appreciate justice:

"Dislocated his shoulder when he fell through a rotting floor in a building in Germany while scouting locations with Steven Spielberg for the HBO series "Band of Brothers" (2001) (mini) (1999)."

Hanks wouldn't know a real job if it came up behind him and bit him on his buttocks.....

Yeah, I'd like to say, partly to talk about it, and partly to let the new guy in on the mood here a little bit. Uh.. Tom Hanks is.. the light of my life. Um.. I know I speak for the others.. uh, when I say he is.. so amazing.. you know? And, uh.. it's just.. I wish.. you know.. I wish I could know him more, you know? Because.. he.. he is one of a kind, you know?

Can we sue this guy? Class action defamation suit?

3:59.. I prefer my handjobs "dry"... thanks.

Tom Hanks only good movie was Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Taint misbehavin'!

Mel Gibson hates Tom Hanks, and Lawyers!

No, Saul Levmore, was not my Torts Prof.

See what happens when you have a bunch of affirmitive action in law schools and law firms -- even TOM HANKS doesn't like lawyers anymore! BAN AA

4:11- I hate Jews as well.

I don't really care about Tom Hanks's comments, but people, seriously, Philadelphia is a terrible movie. You can be excused if you haven't seen it in 10 years, but watch it again now. It's beyond over-the-top in the cartoonishness of its characters, and it is overacted to an extreme. Very much like watching "Dances with Wolves" now if you thought it was great when you were in middle school.

Tom Hanks to Waterworld!

Q: How does Steven Spielberg fake an orgasm?

A: He throws a tub of hot yogurt on Tom Hanks' back!!

Tom Hanks might claim to hate lawyers, but he's not shy about hiring them to sue when he's (allegedly) cheated out of tens of millions of dollars in profit participation:

http://www.etonline.com/celebrities/news/2007/08/49354/index.html

4:20,
Two performances still stand up in Philadelphia. Steenburger is great as the defense counsel to the firm, and Denzel is good. Hanks is pretty bad, and Robards and co. were playing stereotypes.

At least we're not accountants...then we'd have to do MATH HOMEWORK for a living!

(Yes, that's a joke...though truthfully, the thought of being an accountant does make me shudder. But I don't HATE them. I'm just glad I'm not one....)

These comments are surprisingly immature for members of a distinguished profession.

4:49 to 4:50!

4:49 = HUGE turner & hooch fan

the people criticizing tom hanks's acting skills in retribution for a offhand comment about lawyers are only slightly less ridiculous than the people sticking up for him

You know how I know Tom Hanks caught teh ghey?

His dick tastes like shit.

I would much rather be a lawyer than an actor.

3:49 -- good argument! Made even more convincing by the fact that you are about to order dinner to your office for the 20th straight night. Yes, we lawyers are important indeed!

4:49 -- So, this is the first time you've been on ATL? Come on.... We have to act civilized and professional in real life (or face the wrath of the courts--see client of the day). We're not held to that same standard here. That's why we're here. If we were held to such a standard, we'd give up and go back to our real lives where we can bill for acting civilized and professional.

One time I was jerking my hunk of man salami while watching Antonio Bandaras and Tommy Hanks in his Navy uniform at the Halloween party, and right before my happy ending, I suddenly developed tunnel vision on the black guy, the plaintiff's lawyer, I think it was Lawrence Fishburne, and I spasmed and blew thick ropes of jizzum al over my chest while looking at a black dude. I think guys used to do that all the time, but is it a big deal?

he peaked with Bosom Buddies.

okay fine, maybe Big.

5:35: That sounds kinda gay...

He's right.

Lawyers suck. Get over yourselves.

Tom Hanks is a Scientologist NUT!!! Hardly one to be raking on lawyers...

His face is bloated like a Jack Black's Taint...

Tom Hanks neck is starting to resemble Tom Sizemore.

Most disturbing part of Forrest Gump was watching Hanks pretend to be a high school student... what the HELL were oscar voters thinking?!

Tom Hanks to Karposi's Sarcoma...

The State Bar should investigate the posters and revoke some licenses. This is an impressive display of immaturity and incredibly poor judgement and. Law students posting should have offensive posts reported to the bar.

consider that most lawyers HAVE been doing homework every night for at least 20 years (age 6 to 26)... why not get paid!

his face his so bloated he can barely open his eyes -- it is pushing his hair back and neck down- -- stand back the man is going to explode!

Wiiilllllsssooonn!!! Wiiilllsssooonn!!

lawyers are awesome. You get over yourself 5:59. We rule the world and forever will. take a look at your government officials. What are the majority of their professions. Sorry 5:59 & Tommy Boy, you're going to have to live with it.

6:17 -- good argument -- made even more convincing by the fact you are about to order dinner to your office for the 10th straight night. Yes, lawyers do rule the world indeed -- they rule the world that is going on outside while they work.

I'm in class, but I do need some food.

and lawyers who are in the office all the time do not budget their hours very well throughout the weak.

6:29 - riiiiight. What are you talking about? Are you a lawyer or just some law student who's been fed a load of it from the law firm where you summered? No matter how well you "budget" you will spends tons of time at work, week in, week out. Get used to it.

only at big law.

Poor lotsalove. So young, so naive.

4:12 -- lucky :-P

my bosses work under 40 a week and they make decent money. Anyway, working 60-70 hours a week is not too much work.

Your "bosses?" You're not a lawyer.

lotsalove, more power to you. If you don't want to work in biglaw, good for you. Just don't make blanket statements about lawyers not budgeting their time well and spending time in the office, etc., when it's clear that you're just a 1L.

go fuck yourself hanks. this from the guy who ran around in drag for some lame-o tv series. and since he did a movie about WWII he'll pose in a leather bomber jacket on crouched on a beach talking about how we need a WWII memorial (that looks like something designed by Speer; irony much?). but it's tom hanks! He played a soldier so naturally he's qualified to speak on such things. the only thing worse than the Da Vinci Code was his fugged out hair. playing a retard probably was not much of a stretch.

Breaking news: someone said that he hates lawyers.

Um...everyone says they hate lawyers. Everyone.

I think Tom Hanks is a great actor. His role in "A League of Their Own" alone is enough to say he's great.

Two words for you: Joe vs. the Volcano. Great film.

Tom is just mad that he didn't get a part in Michael Clayton.

Is anyone else getting sick of law students posting here with their empassioned claims about working as a lawyer? It's not even the view from the cheap seats - it's the view from the parking lot. Jeebus, lotsalove, zip it until you've been admitted.

White girls with Asian guys hate Tom Hanks, too.

Obama hates Tom Hanks but is comforted by the knowledge that Tom Hanks will enjoy being butt-fucked by Obama's tax plan.

lotsalove, try to make universal statements about something with which you have experience. Judging by your comments, you've never practiced law and probably have yet to sit for the bar. I got news for you, the practice of law often requires long, unyielding hours, whether in biglaw, public interest or the govt., no matter how well one "budgets" one's time.

I'm guessing that not many of you read the WSJ blog, because the comments that people make about lawyers on there are 10x worse than what Tom Hanks said.

lawyers suck

the post was, that all lawyers do is stay in their offices and rule the world, from inside the office.
it is your fault if you decide to roll into work at 9:30 and have to stay till 8-9 at night 6 days a week. If you rolled into work at say 7ish and stayed till 8 or 9 4 days a week and then worked 8 hour days to days a week, that would equal about 70 hours a week with one day off a week. This should be enough to put in the billable hours that is needed. I don't know I am just a 2L with aspirations.

But, my posting was only to refute the thought that all we do (what I will do) is sit in an office all day, everyday, as the world passes me (us) by. I doubt this is really what happens. Yes, you can put in long hours sometimes, but with the hours some of you on here say you are putting in, you should be billing about 4,000 hours a year, not the dreaded 2,000-2,100.

there are 168 hours in a week, if you sleep 45 hours a week, and put in 75 % of your waking hours towards work (which is about 80 hours a week), you are still left with about 40 hours a week of free time. seems fine to me.

and 8:31, your logic is impeccable. Because you are not a lawyer, ipso facto you do not know how many hours lawyers put in at work. Therefore, you cannot discuss the amount of hours that lawyers work. Good job there buddy.

lostalove -- You have absolutely no idea what you are in for. Wait until some prick partner comes to you at 5pm on an August Friday and sandbags your weekend making you do some menial shit job that will take two days (because it "has to be done by Monday morning"). As you dial your pals to tell them you wont make it out to the beach house that weekend, remember what you wrote here today. The best part of the scenario? The prick partner wont even look at your hard work until sometime late in the week meaning he will fuck the following weekend for you (when you need to revise what you did the prior weekend).

lotsalove is retarded....
JUST
WAIT

very professional 8:14...just the type of lawyer I would love to work with!

more news for lotsalove: biglaw clients don't really give one fuck about what time you got into the office or what time you're planning on leaving. if they're paying top dollar for lawyers and something they consider important comes up at 7PM, you're going to be there until that important thing is taken care of and the client says no to your polite question at 1 AM: "Please let me know if you need anything further this evening."

right, 9:21...but I would assume, and this is only assuming, that if you work from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. one day, you probably wouldn't continue the same schedule the whole week. Would you work your regular hours the rest of the week or take a few hours off on another day? I would ASSUME the latter.

Unfortunately the guy has a point. Our job is indeed like doing homework all the time.
Damn you Hanks.

lotsalove, you're applying the naive logic of an outsider to a system that has no logic. If you work a few hours longer one day to have a "life" the next day, you're rolling the dice. There's no linear cause and effect to the billing system. You can't account for the capricious nature of a client or the whims of a partner. For instance, I worked until 1AM last Thu. On Fri, I left work at 7PM only to get an assignment at 8PM, which had to be completed by Mon. Working late on Thu had bearing on having a weekend.

A separate point - lotsalove is assuming every hour in the office is billable, which is wholly untrue. It differs at different law firms, but I'd guess that being able to bill 80% of office hours is above average. Consider the hours spent on CLE, firm committee meetings, practice group meetings, waiting in the hallway for some partner to get off the phone, entering time, client-development, transitioning between one billable task to the next, etc.

waiting in the hallway isn't billable? since when?

10:12 is absolutely right. every three or four months one of our clients wants to close a deal in two weeks and then has scattered "emergencies" on a regular basis in between. there's just no telling when any of that is going to hit, and 7AM to 1AM will be the norm rather than the exception during those times

I remember thinking the same thing as lotsalove. After being a summer associate, I even thought that my firm was “different.” Of course I was totally wrong. It’s a terrible job. The work is mind-numbing, it’s incredibly stressful and the hours are totally unpredictable. The only saving grace is the money, and even that only lasts for as long as you can force yourself to do a job you hate (it’s not like banking where you can retire after 10 years).

10:12 and onward,

Are you all unaware of the many career opportunities outside of your life-sucking biglaw? Is it possible that lotsalove is going into one of those careers? Or would realizing that there is a life outside of your "prestigious" firm be too much of a mental strain on your already over-worked and over-stressed bodies?

No talent, fugly hack should keep his irrelevant mouth shut.

The only good thing he ever did was play the uncle on Family Ties.

speaker of the truth is a poor

Aw, Tom's my busom buddy!

10:49 - first, I didn't say that my job was bad. At least once I day I do something that's intellectually and professionally rewarding. Second, if you want a job that's both intellectually and professionally rewarding you'll have to suck it up and work long often unpredictable hours. Third, it is possible that lotsalove is going into one of those other jobs. But if that's the case, s/he should refrain from making blanket statements about the legal community, especially when the majority of lawyers do in fact work arduous hours. Fourth, save your self-rightous attitude for your law school classmates. Talk to me when you're out of law school for a few years and we can debate the merits of biglaw prestige vs. working for the gov. (which, incidentally, I used to do) or public interest.

speaker of the truth is a 37 year-old personal injury lawyer in middle america who averages over $1M a year.

thus, when cost of living is considered, speaker of the truth makes well more than even the most highly compensated partners in the most "prestigious" firms in NYC.

so if speaker of the truth is a poor, what does that make you?

P.S. speaker of the truth works, on average, 45 hours a week. aren't you glad you went to harvard now?

The $1 million a year isn't worth the public scorn and personal embarrassment of being a PI lawyer. That's the truth.

i applaud speaker of the truth for being able to type all that on his blackberry while running behind that ambulance

i don't advertise. i guess i was the subject of some public scorn and/or personal embarassment when i recieved a multimillion dollar jury verdict against a doctor whose inebreiation caused the death of a young teenager. or maybe that was actually the public being happy that this hack lost his license. i don't know - i'm just a dumb PI lawyer with a ferarri, a 6000 square foot house, and most importantly, a beautiful 26 year old wife.

come back to me when you match that...if your stressful job doesn't kill you before you're 37.

One of top reasons for flight from firms is "long, unpredictable hours" -- your schedule is not your own. You will sit for days doing nothing, then have three things (unanticipated) dropped on you and bust your ass. Also, hours are not always easy to come by when you get tasks like "draft this letter, I need it in two hours"--you obviously cannot run up a bill on that task. Then you have to wait for partner to review (non-billable). Then you have CLE, meetings, interviews, admin, time recording. I worked at several firms, and summer's have NO IDEA what it is like -- I too said "my firm is different" -- but it is the nature of law. You cannot schedule "billable hours" into your work day. If you could, people would work 15 hour days for 3-4 days and take the rest of the week off! Wait until your practice group is slow, and you cannot scrounge hours, and sit at your desk reading and posting on ATL (this happens, eventually, in EVERY practice group). Then when you get used to coming in late, going to gym, eating lunch, seeing family, BAM -- massive deal closing, or litigation and you are billing 12 hours a day with no gym, no family, no weekends... and people can't understand why you aren't calling, mistress calls your wife looking for you, hair starts falling out, cancel vacation you planned during down time. By the way, the single best way to ensure billable hours is to schedule a vacation -- I usually just send (fake) emails stating my future vacations--which is my version of rainmaking -- as work will come flooding in. The money is great. The people you work with suck (for a variety of reasons). Support staff sucks. Clients are hit or miss. Prestige is great for about 2 days. "interesting deals" and work are what you tell others -- becuase there is no way you are going to beleive that line yourself. your wife stops caring what you are doing at work. the drinking increases. you start doing a line or two (coke) to get going in the morning after a long night drinking. you start doing lines to stay awake in warehouse in texas doing document review. you start doing lines off your clients cock. you make partner. you have first heart attack. bill hours from hospital room. settle sexual harrassment case with summer associate. go to asian massage parlors to assuage pain of divorce. see paycheck split in half -- further cut by sending kids (arguably not even your DNA) to boarding schools. you are no longer doing it for the money (you stil have school loans). your wardrobe has not been updated. you are no longer allowed to interview candidates (even from your alum). your teeth turn yellow and your skin begins to turn gray. clients love your dedication, associates fear you. second divorce (how you got second wife is completely unexplainable). head of practice group. exit stage left.

speaker -- are you hiring? please post phone/fax number. I am a beleiver!

11:27: best post i've seen in a while, bravo

"Doing homework for a living." Yeah, that really made me laugh. We are suckers.

BIGLAW is a teeny, tiny portion of the law-practicing population. Please don't make blanket statements about the practice of law if that's the only work you've done. The rest of us are just fine, thanks.

12:01 - oh, you don't work unpredicatble, often arduous hours? I see.

Listen to Tom Hanks kids, homework is bad and any occupation which causes you to study or work with paper is to be denounced. All of you should just try to make it big as actors. Society will function much better, I swear. There is nothing worthwhile done by attorneys and their 'homework' -- contracts, settling disputes, helping business work, making laws, governing, pursuing justice. Its all to be hated.

Tom Hanks should stick to memorizing and reciting lines. Who pays him to think?

11:15 - I don't believe you. HTH.

11:27 -- outstanding!!

12:07: No, not really. No weekends, very, very few late nights. It's just not the way my field works. Not saying it's a dream job - I don't make nearly as much as I did when I was in BIGLAW - but there are other ways to practice law.

2:29 - then I would say that you're in the minority. Most lawyers, not just big law types, work long and unpredictable hours.

all I'm saying is that it is not logically possible that lawyers are working 17 hour days everyday...at 80% of time billed (by the way I never stated or implied that a lawyer billed the whole time at the office) this would equal well over 4,000 billed hours in a year. No one on this site can say they work that many hours. I never said that a lawyer would not work long hours some times. BUT, it is not possible that someone is working 16 hour days every day of the week. For Biglaw lawyers, you can't do math very well. There is NO WAY any of you are working as many hours as you are intimating.

And Speaker of the Truth...you are correct. I am going to go into a job other than Biglaw. My Best friend is going into Biglaw. I will respect him the same and he will respect me the same as we do now. And I KNOW he won't be working more than 80 hours a week.

and working unpredictable hours does not mean you are always in the office.

"and lawyers who are in the office all the time do not budget their hours very well throughout the weak."

lotsalove, this is the post that started all the controversy. Despite your professions otherwise, I still think you're trying to explain away a rather thoughtless generalization. Read it. Admit that you don't know the first thing about being a lawyer. Perhaps that's why your comments have generated so much heat.

you're hilarious with your faulty logic 1:09. That is why all of your arguments continue to stray away from my post. I hope you use ad hominems all the time in your legal work.