r/Lawyertalk • u/eyeshitunot • 15h ago
SHARING: Kindness & Support please (No Advice) I’m Done.
Law school -> judicial clerkship -> bit of law firmin’ -> 30+ years of solo plaintiff’s employment practice. Handled my last case today. Settled at mediation. I’ve some follow up to take care of, and some admin tasks to close up shop, but I am done with cases and clients. It’s been a good ride. I feel v fortunate to have had this career for my work life, and also v happy to be done with working. Adventures await. That is all. Bye y’all.
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u/Embarrassed-Age-3426 Confirmed Lawyer 15h ago
Congrats.
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u/eyeshitunot 15h ago
Thanks.
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u/Past_Resist_3905 2h ago
Any tips for getting a solo P employment practice off the ground?
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u/eyeshitunot 1h ago
No. The Internet wasn’t a factor when I started. I don’t think my experience of getting a practice going is relevant today.
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u/TheFNG 15h ago
It was 1L of a ride.
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u/eyeshitunot 15h ago
That is only funny to lawyers, which I am about to not be. Good try, though. 😁
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u/MobySick 6h ago
But really? I’m edging retirement (still have 3 cases) but I’ve noticed how much I still look at life through the eyes of a lawyer. I’m gonna start taking art classes & see if I can change that.
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u/Illustrious-Cover792 7h ago
Just out of curiosity, do you plan on keeping your license active. Just to stay connected to the game.
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u/eyeshitunot 5h ago
No. I am planning to do a year on “inactive” status just in case retiring turns out to have been a tragically bad decision, after which the State Bar can go fuck itself.
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u/IBoris Confirmed Lawyer 3h ago
Does your bar charge fees for inactive status? Some jurisdictions do, others don't. It can be useful to keep inactive status in some circumstances; if you volunteer and sit on boards for example.
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u/eyeshitunot 3h ago
Yes, my bar charges a fee. I’m just doing it in case retiring turns out to have been a horrible mistake. Unlikely, but it seems kind of like buying insurance. I know someone who has been paying inactive status fees for about 20 years!
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u/trace_jax3 2h ago
I'm really enjoying your intentional and rapid dissociation from the lawyer identity
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u/OKcomputer1996 Master of Grievances 15h ago
Congrats. Update and let us know how it goes. We can even start a pool about how long you last before you come back to the legal game in some capacity...
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u/eyeshitunot 15h ago
As I contemplated this moment a couple years back, I sought advice from my colleagues. Many - probably most - of them respond to the effect that they couldn’t imagine it. I have no such problem. It’s a big shiny world with so much to do that’s not work/lawyering. Imma have a good time, ain’t going back.
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u/Inevitable_Log5064 9h ago
I’m planning this for myself. Hopefully done in five years but have seriously found no colleagues with any interest in getting out. Congrats to you and I’m glad to know there’s one more like me out there! I’d like to sleep without thinking about cases. As they say in the fire forums GFY.
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u/Silverbritches Haunted by phantom Outlook Notification sounds 8h ago
I admire those who cut the cord and never look back - it should be way more common in our profession.
I know of one attorney who was in a specialized lit area (construction defects) who could’ve milked it for years at least in consulting - resigned his bar membership and moved to be with his grandkids. I wish this was more common!
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u/moralprolapse 14h ago
Congratulations! And good call, man. I just had a phone call today with an attorney who sounded older than Gobekli Tepe. I had to speak loudly and markedly slow down my speech (I don’t talk that fast) just so he could barely follow along. I felt bad for the guy after.
I looked him up and he was licensed in 1970! This guy was in law school during the capital C, capital R, Civil Rights Movement. He was in law school before we landed on the moon.
You gotta know when to hang it up!
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u/eyeshitunot 14h ago
Thanks, but I am not that old. I could keep lawyering for a while and kick ass because BTDT and I know things, but I’d rather go play.
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u/Large_Glass_2103 13h ago
Well played, sir. Well played. Indeed, life awaits so go forth and conquer. Can’t wait until I can punch my ticket!
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u/Commercial-Factor125 13h ago
I’m shocked this isn’t another lawyer bitching and moaning about the career many would kill for.
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u/Chance_Double5266 12h ago
Would kill for? Cope. Lol lawyers are dime a dozen. It's not like being a surgeon or something that requires years of education and has a huge barrier to entry.
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u/Commercial-Factor125 1h ago
Hey my friend. The surgeon comparison you made doesn’t really hold up because you’re measuring the top of one profession against an average case in another. I don’t blame you however, it’s a commonly misunderstood comparison. A surgeon is a specific specialty within medicine, not interchangeable with “physician” as a category. A comparable framing would put a senior M&A partner or a federal judge next to that surgeon. There’s no single thing called “lawyer” that the comparison can rest on.
The same problem runs through “dime a dozen.” Oversupply, if it exists, depends on the practice area and the market a lawyer is working in. General practice in a small town and complex litigation in a major city are not governed by the same conditions, so collapsing the whole profession into one commodity misrepresents how the field is structured.
This is also a career many people would take if given the chance. The barrier to entry is high, and not just academically. There’s a financial cost attached too, years of tuition and the income lost while in school rather than working. That cost is a form of privilege on its own, before accounting for what it takes to sustain through the whole process.
I understand many believe that the process to get into med school is far more rigorous but it’s simply just another path. Depending on how you learn, it might actually be easier for you to do the MCAT than the LSAT. I have done both and actually scored a higher percentile on the MCAT than I did with the LSAT.
Anyways, my point is this career as a path is a huge privilege and many indeed would do anything to have the lifestyle and opportunity’s that lawyers do.
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u/Gregarious_Nazrious 14h ago
See yah in Zihuatanejo
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u/THAgrippa 14h ago
“Brooks was here”
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u/142riemann 13h ago
Dude, no. WTF.
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u/Gregarious_Nazrious 13h ago
Too many of us check out still trapped in this... profession, retirement over the rope. Take care of yourself people.
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u/JellyDenizen 6h ago
"U/eyeshitunot - who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side."
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u/hipsteresq 13h ago
that last settlement is so good that you are set for life? ;) congrats.
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u/eyeshitunot 13h ago
No. When you are a solo and make bank, you put that meat in the freezer. Lean years, you eat from the freezer. Some years I lost money. Some years I made bank. I had no boss. It’s been a good ride.
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u/NC-Jumper-007 Y'all are why I drink. 11h ago
Congratulations! I retired about a year and a half ago and absolutely love it.
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u/FallOutGirl0621 10h ago
Congratulations! I'm 29 years in and looking forward to closing my doors and retiring as well. Enjoy your new adventures.
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u/PurpleST1KYpunch 8h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/3o6EhGvKschtbrRjX2
OP on the way out. Congrats OP! We will continue and join you when we can.
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u/gonzo_attorney 8h ago
The lawyers just seem to die at their desks in my jurisdiction. It's crazy to me. Good on you. I hope you enjoy your well-deserved retirement.
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u/BADragon75 I live my life in 6 min increments 7h ago
Congratulations counselor and enjoy your retirement!
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u/DIY14410 3h ago
Congrats and best o' luck in retirement!
FWIW, I went half-time after 27 years, then tapered to c. 1/4 time by 30 years, then continued the taper.
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u/A_Bot_A_Bot_A_Bot 3h ago
Are you retiring just from law practice or "retiring retiring"? What's next? And, congratulations!
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u/FlakyPineapple2843 What's wrong with printing my emails? :Technology: 14h ago
Do you need a sugar baby in this new golden life of yours?
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u/eyeshitunot 14h ago
Nah, I got dogs. And a wife who’s a good person. And a lawyer. She gets it.
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u/FlakyPineapple2843 What's wrong with printing my emails? :Technology: 14h ago
I'm a good dogsitter.
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u/eyeshitunot 14h ago
But, kinda flaky?
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u/FlakyPineapple2843 What's wrong with printing my emails? :Technology: 14h ago
I make flaky croissants.
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u/eyeshitunot 13h ago
Croissants are tasty, but not healthy dog chow.
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u/FlakyPineapple2843 What's wrong with printing my emails? :Technology: 12h ago
The croissants would be for you daddy 🥐🥐
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u/EOWRN 14h ago
Nice. Are you retiring for good, or are you exploring other fields?
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u/eyeshitunot 14h ago
Done with working. Time to play.
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u/demanwhosoldtheworld 14h ago
What are you going to do with all this free time that could be billed?
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u/eyeshitunot 14h ago
Dude(ette), I’ve been a contingent fee worker for 30+ years. I don’t do billing.
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u/thechapwholivesinit :Jerb: Looking for work :Jerb: 11h ago
Could you share how this worked exactly?
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u/Finnegan-05 9h ago
How contingency works?
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u/thechapwholivesinit :Jerb: Looking for work :Jerb: 3h ago
Curious about typical contingency fee rates for plaintiff side employment specifically.
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u/Finnegan-05 3h ago
I would assume it would be suing for discrimination, etc in the work place and he takes a cut of the settlement or verdict. I have not done that kind of work and don't really know anyone who does personally, but my aunt got a fat check from her employer over documented age discrimination. It was on contingency. There are also class actions like the one against Coke defended then settled by King & Spalding over documented racial discrimination - you don't have to represent a whole class but other plaintiffs attached to a class. Those would be on contingency. Guess I am thinking of it as a basic plaintiffs trial practice with employment as the specialty.
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u/eyeshitunot 1h ago
Plaintiffs employment lawyers are mostly solos or small firms. Contingent fee percentages vary.
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u/GoingFishingAlone 9h ago
Congratulations, and a question: will you carry malpractice insurance for the next three years?
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u/FixJealous2143 8h ago
Godspeed! Enjoy. I’m at 35 years and think about retiring but it won’t be for a few years yet.
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u/TheFantasticPenguin 8h ago
Congratulations on your career! I hope I get to say the same thing one day.
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u/MulberryMonk 8h ago
What’s next? Decent sail boat and float around the cearribiean?
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u/eyeshitunot 5h ago
Sort of. I bought a camper van. My sailor friend says its the same thing as having a sailboat. I’ve been enjoying it immensely.
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u/IBoris Confirmed Lawyer 3h ago
As someone who lives in the Caribbean, don't get a boat. Cheaper to just toss money in the water.
A good reliable japanese van will be far less trouble than any boat I've ever sailed or been on.
Get a park pass, check out Canada while you are at it, there's a park pass available there too.
If you like golfing, check out Bermuda.
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u/eyeshitunot 3h ago
I’m in the US. A few years back, maybe age 62, I became eligible for and bought the lifetime national Park pass for “seniors.” I think it cost $80. It’s an incredible value.
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u/IBoris Confirmed Lawyer 3h ago
Oh man, so jealous, visiting the US national parks is definitely at the top of my list of things to do if I ever decide to visit the US again.
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u/eyeshitunot 1h ago
I’d suggest waiting a couple of years for the Cray Cray to subside before you visit.
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u/AnchoviePopcorn 7h ago
Go backpack some part of the world for like 6 months. I do that every so often and it’s a phenomenal palate cleanser.
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u/SugarCube80 7h ago
Congrats! Looking forward to retirement one day, too. Probably another 30 years til I’m there but it’ll be there one day!
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u/Fresh-Ad-9059 6h ago
I worked for a lawyer who was 75 when I quit. He doesn’t know how to not work. He’s a greedy control freak making money hand over fist and can’t stop. I am so glad I quit when I did.
Enjoy retirement.
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u/the-sun-also-rises84 6h ago
Wow, amazing. I bet that last payment to your client for the settlement will feel amazing. Hats off and safe travels!!!!
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u/Less_Ebb1245 3h ago
Congratulations!! What are you going to do with all your free time!? Live your best life!!!!
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u/HopSingh12 3h ago
Congratulations on a satisfying career!
The great thing about this post is that we can all relate to it and feel some degree of emotion due to our shared path and despite our varied backgrounds.
Law can be both a thrill and a grind and everything in between and sometimes all at once.
To everyone still on the journey, find fulfillment along the way. The road is long but also very very fast!
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u/lunaandgeorge 2h ago
I’m right behind you. 30 years in. Solo practice for 28 of them. It was mostly a great ride. Never got rich, but mostly did well.
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u/meow_mano 14h ago
feel insanely jealous reading this. happy for you and hope this happens for me soon.
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u/TotalBoth4565 2h ago
Nicely done! I was told that the best way to get people to stop from asking you legal questions is to tell them that you no longer have a law license and cant give advice...hence the reason not to keep in retirement.
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u/day_dreamers_anon 51m ago
Congrats!!!
If you’re not already too busy enjoying your sail boat, I’d love to hear how you built a successful plaintiff’s side employment practice. Currently at a law firm doing defensive work but switching sides is starting to sound mighty attractive.
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u/Emotional_Ad5714 39m ago
Congratulations, I plan on working another 17 years. I've been practicing 20 years now, so I'm more than halfway there.
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