Tag Archives: money

My Updates

I know I have been derelict in writing this blog, but that is not because I have nothing to say. On the contrary, I have much to update. I actually been reflecting about this blog – and my journey – a lot lately.

A year ago this time, I registered the domain name, everysixminutes.com,… Continue reading →

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Sacrificing the Little Things in Life

Shortly after writing my last blog post about riding the emotional rollercoaster of becoming a small business owner, I came across a quote from the great football coach Vince Lombardi that have given me great inspiration.

“A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.”… Continue reading →

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Sour Grapes for $20,000?

The BigLaw bonus extravaganza is back. BigLaw associates will receive an unexpected spring bonus this year in addition to the normal annual bonus. This is icing on a rather dry cake; the 2010 annual bonus was less than half of what was handed out during the boom time of 2007.

I fondly remember the excitement back in 2007, when firms were clamoring to match and even outdo each other on the bonus front.… Continue reading →

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Quitting BigLaw – Part IV: Change in Priorities

What better way to wrap up my Quitting BigLaw series and kickstart my Q2 review than to examine how my priorities have changed since quitting by rating the importance of various attributes of a hypothetical future career? For those who know me, my favorite pastime involves running through hypotheticals and rating things on a scale of 1 to 10.… Continue reading →

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Quitting BigLaw: Part I – Why Is It So Hard?

As mentioned in my last entry, I am going to write about what it takes for associates who are thinking about quitting BigLaw to actually do so. I am going address this topic in four parts: BigLaw life and why is it so hard to quit; the three questions every BigLaw associate should ask him or herself; some practical tips to consider before quitting; and where I am now (a final added part that will feed nicely into my next quarterly review).… Continue reading →

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Q1 Report: Financial

Out of the four emotional niggles I had about quitting BigLaw, I thought at the outset that the most difficult would be not making money. I do feel the momentary pang on the 15th and 30th of every month when certain direct deposits do not appear, but overall I don’t think I have obsessed about this niggle as much as I thought I would.… Continue reading →

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Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Part V – Money, Money, Money


In the last post of this series about my decision to leave law, I talked in detail about the emotional niggles of forfeiture of sweat equity, loss of prestige, and negative perceptions from others. This post is dedicated to the niggle of not making money. Numerous spreadsheets and countless internal debates went into wrestling with this niggle.… Continue reading →

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Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Part III – The Risk Factors of Quitting Law

Part I and Part II of this series covered how I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to stay in law. So, what’s next?

I knew I wasn’t going to be able to explore what I wanted to do while continuing to work as a BigLaw associate. If you are drunk and want to get sober, the first step is to stop downing the shots, then to detox (an uncomfortable but necessary step which I’m in right now), and finally to gain the clarity to look objectively at the future.… Continue reading →

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