Why don’t our Comment of the Week winners step forward to claim their prizes? It makes us really sad (especially since we have to wade through an entire week’s worth of posts to pick out the best comments). Come on, with starting salaries as low as $145K, you don’t exactly have to be a 47 Percenter to appreciate a free t-shirt.
All complaining aside, we hope that this week’s winner will email us to collect what he’s due, because his comparison between Biglaw and parenting was spot on….
We now know that the going rate for being a surrogate mother is $40,000. It’s not exactly Biglaw money, but if you don’t mind being pregnant and you’ve got no other options, it’s a great way to earn some extra cash. And on the bright side, you can have another job to increase your take-home pay; this one is only “part time” — because in the grand scheme of things, carrying someone else’s baby isn’t really that big of a deal. /sarcasm
Being a parent, on the other hand, is a full-time job that’s very similar to the one that many of our readers know and love (or sometimes loathe), according to Ateaist, one of our many well-liked commenters:
Being a parent is a lot like being in Biglaw – there is someone in your life whom you must serve unselflessly each day 24/7; that person will scream at you constantly, and at the end of the day you’re left to clean up his or her shit.
Parents actually have a one-up over Biglaw associates on that last point. Actual babies wear diapers, whereas Biglaw babies… well, they just kind of sh*t everywhere, and then scream at you some more if you don’t properly powder their oh-so-prestigious bottoms.
Ateaist, if you catch a break from cleaning up someone else’s crap, email us, and we’ll send you your shirt.
The evolution of relationships between the genders continues. Currently, in law firms, there is an interesting conundrum; balancing the desire for a gender-blind workplace where “the best lawyer gets the work and advances” and the reality of navigating the complicated maze created by the fact that, in general, men and women do possess differences in their work styles. These variations impact who they work with, how they work, how they build professional connections and how organizations ultimately leverage, reward and recognize the talents of all.
Henry Ford sat on his workbench and sighed. A year earlier, he had personally built 13,000 Model Ts with his own hands. Fashioning lugnuts and tie rods by hand, Ford was loath to ask for help. Sure, there were things about the car that he didn’t quite understand. This explains the lack of reliable navigation systems in the Model T. But Ford persevered because he knew that unless he did everything, he could not reliably call these cars his own.
“Unless my own personal toil is responsible for it, it may as well be called a Hyundai,” Ford remarked at the time.
The preceding may sound unfamiliar because it is categorically untrue. And also monumentally stupid. Henry Ford didn’t build all those cars by hand. He had help and plenty of it. Almost exactly one hundred years ago, Henry Ford opened up the most technologically advanced assembly line the world had ever seen. Built on the premise that work can be chopped up into digestible pieces and completed by many men better than one, the line ushered in an age of unparalleled productivity.
Today, an attorney refers business because he can’t do everything the client asks of him.
There are three reasons why this is way dumber than a made-up Henry Ford story…
Ed. note: The Asia Chronicles column is authored by Kinney Recruiting. Kinney has made more placements of U.S. associates, counsels and partners in Asia than any other recruiting firm in each of the past six years. You can reach them by email: [email protected].
Since late last year, things have been booming in Hong Kong / China in cap markets, especially Hong Kong IPOs. M&A deal flow has recently been getting a bit stronger as well. Although one can’t predict such things with any certainty, all signs are pointing to a banner entire 2014 for the top end US corporate and cap markets practices in Hong Kong / China. This is not really new news, as its been the feeling most in the market have had for a few months now and things continue to look good.
The head of our Asia practice, Evan Jowers, has been in Hong Kong for about 10 days a month (with trips every other month to both Shanghai and Bejing) for the past 7 months, and spending most of his time there meeting with senior US hiring partners at just about all the major US and UK firms there, as well as prospective candidates at all associate levels and partner levels, and when in the US, Evan works Asia hours and is regularly on the phone with such persons, as our the other members of our Asia team. Our Yuliya Vinokurova is in Hong Kong every other month and Robert is there about 5 times a year as well. While we have a solid Asia team of recruiters, Evan Jowers will spend at least some time with all of our candidates for Asia position. We have had long standing relationships, and good friendships in some cases, with hiring partners and other senior US partners in Asia for 8 years now.
Comment of the Week: The Babies of Biglaw
By Staci ZaretskyAll complaining aside, we hope that this week’s winner will email us to collect what he’s due, because his comparison between Biglaw and parenting was spot on….
We now know that the going rate for being a surrogate mother is $40,000. It’s not exactly Biglaw money, but if you don’t mind being pregnant and you’ve got no other options, it’s a great way to earn some extra cash. And on the bright side, you can have another job to increase your take-home pay; this one is only “part time” — because in the grand scheme of things, carrying someone else’s baby isn’t really that big of a deal. /sarcasm
Being a parent, on the other hand, is a full-time job that’s very similar to the one that many of our readers know and love (or sometimes loathe), according to Ateaist, one of our many well-liked commenters:
Parents actually have a one-up over Biglaw associates on that last point. Actual babies wear diapers, whereas Biglaw babies… well, they just kind of sh*t everywhere, and then scream at you some more if you don’t properly powder their oh-so-prestigious bottoms.
Ateaist, if you catch a break from cleaning up someone else’s crap, email us, and we’ll send you your shirt.
Earlier: Terrible Job Potpourri: Your Womb Is More Useful Than Your Law Degree