Like most kids, my brother and I had hamsters when we were little kids. Mine liked to escape into my parents' closet a lot, but they both really enjoyed running on their little wheels (or at least we thought they liked it, they were probably cursing us from the sheer boredom). What does this have to do with anything you ask? The other day I was talking to a coworker, a newer associate like myself, about the never ending tasks. You trudge through a response to a motion to dismiss, only to have to start drafting discovery requests and then start right in on the next motion response for another case. Being an associate attorney, well hell, any attorney, is exactly like being that hamster. No matter how hard you run or how hard you work, you're still in the same place you started at the end of the day. You never really do accomplish anything. You don't get to wipe your brow after a hard week and feel a sigh of relief and a sense of accomplishment. There's no time for that. Instead, when you finish a big project, maybe one you're even really proud of, you have about enough time to take a quick breath, a bathroom break and get another cup of crappy coffee with fake creamer before you have to read more cases, write more memos, and talk to more clients. And just like the hamster, you're on that wheel alone. No one to talk to, no one to commiserate with, no one to work as a team with you. It's just you and the wheel, 50+ hrs a week.
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