You know you work in a law firm if...

Inspired from an email forward from R's secretary:

1. Your resume is on a diskette in your pocket.

2. It's dark when you drive to and from work.

3. When your boss says, " We have a brief we need to file tomorrow - I need you here early." It means: "Come in early, wait all day, skip lunch and plan to stay late because I won't give you the first draft until 3:30 pm and we really have until the last Federal Express leaves the airport to get it out."

4. You can name the contents of the vending machine in order from top to bottom.

5. Your office closes for a holiday and all you can think about is the hours you'll have to make up for taking that day off.

6. The fire alarm goes off in the building, and no one in your office moves.

7. Your biggest loss from a system crash is that you lose your best jokes.

8. Salaries of the Partners are higher than all the Third World countries' annual budgets combined.

9. Free food left over from meetings is your main staple.

10. You're already late on the work task you "just" got.

11. You get just about all of the above.

The Blackberry Leash

In reading this article from WSJ's The Juggle, I thought about those weekend requests for work and how difficult it can be to say no. It sounds easy enough, just tell the partner you already have plans. Sometimes that's not difficult, but other times we have to worry about how it might affect his job. With the economy falling, and layoffs in the news, it's easy to feel like one wrong answer could be the end of your job.

In the comments I saw several people referring to a requirement by their firms for a Blackberry. This wasn't really a requirement at our firm as much as an expectation --You don't have a Blackberry?!-- And I have to agree with the commenter that referred to it as a Crackberry. It is like a drug that has a hold on you at all times. Every time he hears the buzz, that thing comes out of it's holster and there's always the wonder what kind of bad news this could be. However, for me it feels more like a leash. Even when you feel like you've got the freedom to roam and go home "early" there's always the chance that you'll get yanked back to your owner.

R is in a good place right now as far as hours go, in fact this last week has been great. He has been home before dinner several times and I am appreciating every minute, but trying not to get used to it.