I’M A LAWYER, IT’S 4AM, I’M ON CALL: A TALE OF NO SLEEP

I practiced commercial and residential real estate law in Manhattan for six years. My experience ranged from private practice, to working at a small firm representing individuals and small companies, to working at one of the largest law firms in the world on billion dollar corporate deals with real estate components. A typical weekday work schedule at the big firm was 9:00am to 9:00pm, plus more time on weekends. When it got very busy, I was on call 24/7. Not exactly good for your mental health.

Here’s one experience I want to share with you. When I was at the big firm, there was a partner who had been working 24 hours a day for two days straight ...

... I was summoned into his office at around 9:00pm. The exchange went like this:
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• Partner: I need your help with something.
• Me: Sure. What do you need?
• Partner: I’ve been awake for 48 hours working on this deal. I’ll likely be working at least another 24 hours. The other partners are busy with their deals, so this one’s mine. Most of the time I need help from an associate, but not all of the time. So far associates have been working four hour shifts. You’re assigned to 4:00am. You’ll get a call a half hour before from the associate you’re relieving to let you know whether you need to come in. OK?
• Me: OK.

At 3:30am I got the call and jumped up.

• Associate: Rich?
• Me: Yeah?
• Associate: You don’t need to come in. He fell asleep on his desk.

The point of telling you this experience is to hopefully make you laugh, but more importantly convey to you that I’ve been there, and now I can be there for you. Check out Help For Lawyers for more details. You can feel better. I can help.