Happy Labor Day!
(And Happy Blogiversary to ATL)
It seems that a few of you are reading today — but not many. No surprise there; it’s a holiday. Happy Labor Day!
Here’s a bit about the holiday, from the Department of Labor:
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
And that includes Biglaw associates, a sizable chunk of the Above the Law readership. Granted, they’re not a unionized bunch. But with the help of ATL, as well as many other blogs and message boards, associates now have ways of organizing to improve their compensation and working conditions (and to protect themselves against adverse actions, like layoffs).
Speaking of Above the Law, Saturday the 30th was the second anniversary of ATL’s public launch. Happy Birthday to us!
We extend our deepest gratitude to you, our loyal readers, for the site’s continued success (in terms of traffic, revenue, media mentions, and other metrics). We’re grateful to you for your frequent visits to ATL, including all the comments and browser refreshing; your spreading the word about the site, by mentioning ATL to your friends, colleagues, or classmates; and your sharing information and tips with us, by email and in comments.
So once again, Happy Labor Day! If you’re away from your computer, we hope you’re enjoying the holiday. If you’re stuck in the office, you have our sympathies — and we hope you get out of there soon.
The History of Labor Day [U.S. Department of Labor]
Labor Day [Wikipedia]
Earlier: Happy Birthday to ATL — and Happy Labor Day to All!
Letter from the Editor: Welcome to Above the Law
(33) Comments
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lat sucks
Lat, I don't mind copy editing for you. I obviously have nothing better to do. Hit me up.
Lat rocks.
1:16 - They are blogs, not briefs. Compared to most other blogs I read, ATL has relatively few typos. (I don't see any in this post.)
thanks ATL for putting greedy associates out of its misery and providing us a single go-to site for BIGLAW news
The labor movement ruined America.
Lat rocks.
-not 3
i have left biglaw and am now in smalllaw, where i make half the money, but have nevertheless billed about 20 hours so far this weekend, mostly doing mindless crap. sigh.
1:28,
Lat went back and corrected the glaring typo, obviously sensing that he had placed his journalistic livelihood in serious jeopardy.
Some stylistic problems remain, in my opinion, along with the ongoing insistence on substituting double hyphens for em dashes and en dashes – but hey, it's his funeral.
Bah, commie holiday--anyone else glad to be at work?
Happy birthday, ATL!
- Working from home. 10 is a tool.
9: Are you serious? If you aren't, then that's pretty funny stuff. If you are, oh how sad! Stylistic probs remain? The people who come on here and correct typos and grammatical errors are the same as those that are great associates at law firms but never have a shot at making partner.
Great to hear from Lat -- How come newb Elie has the day off and Lat is putting in entries as the now-promoted veteran? Can't imagine being the "new kid in school" and not at least contributing...
9 corrects typos and grammar in additon to making excellent judgment and policy calls 12. You think his life is limited because you're generalizing from yours. Get out more, take more risks, and clean up your writing, or you're going nowhere (including partner). Kudos 9 - keep it up.
You mean you people aren't in the office billing time today like I am? WTF? You're not in a union. Get your ass to work.
15 - Sucks to be you. You have to put in face time even on a federal holiday. Work from home if you have to work.
For many lawyers, Labor Day is a time to stop and reflect on the terrible career choice made years ago and to renew a resolve to exit this collapsing profession as soon as possible to find a meaningful life doing something else, anything else, for a living. Around barbeques and fire pits across the nation, tired broken lawyers gather with regular people and hear them speak of the excitement in their lives, their happiness and the contributions they make to society day in and day out. With each passing year, the firemen, policemen, banker and teacher come closer to near full salary retirement with lifetime health benefits courtesy of well intentioned and powerful trade unions and guilds. Sadly, the lawyer looks forward only to endless paper, meaningless work, a profession full of broken people competing in an overcrowded market, a dwindling paycheck ravaged by taxes to pay for the retirements of the people he is standing next to at the barbeque and the weakest trade association ever conceived, the ABA. On this Labor Day, we at endofesq raise a tall one to the lawyer at the barbeque and say Cheers!, smart guy.
Actually, I'll probably make a beer-toast tonight with my neighbors to a profession where you don't face getting shot or trapped in a burning building, don't work the 11-7 shift, and make 3-4X as much money. I'm pretty happy with my deal.
Damn. 17, you went full retard. Everyone knows you never go full retard and please STOP pandering your weak ass website.
9 - do i know u? D.C?
19, I salute your reference.
Someone please provide evidence to support the truth of this proposition: "But with the help of ATL, as well as many other blogs and message boards, associates now have ways of organizing to improve their compensation and working conditions (and to protect themselves against adverse actions, like layoffs)." ?
How have websites allowed associates to organize? Greater transparency in salary, bonus and benefits information online has not really changed the game. See the lockstep salary raises across firms in the late 90s and early 2000s before ATL and its ilk.
22 = douchebag. Please ignore him, he is clearly not a believer. Thanks.
@ 17 -- You know not what you speak. I am sorry your paralegal career at CWT did not work out.
22 here. 23, say what? moron.
I second the fact that 22 is an ass. Lat, thanks for the entertaining blog.
22 is dead on accurate. let the law students continue to believe.
endofesq is made by ttt grads from texas. I guess I would be pessimistic and generally devoid of self worth too.
to post 22 (6:01 pm) - first, you are just wrong. in theory and in practice, as a basic matter of econ, more info is almost always better than less. No matter how good or bad things are, they would likely be worse without the sharing of info. Second, in late 90s, early 2000s, was the internet phenomenon that started this all - the original greedy associates board (first on yahoo, and then eventually on infirmation). this clearly was a factor in the movement of salaries. also, as a basic function of transparency, we became aware of prior "bad acts" of firms in the past regarding layoffs couched as performance reviews, etc- dewey, shearman, etc.
20, this is 9. Are you also GULC 2009?
Both of you can go fuck yourselves.
-9
Just like to say that the chef in the photo is grilling, not barbecuing. Would also make the caption better. That is all.
In Bratislava,, we observe Labor Day on May 1.
HTH