An Interview with Opinionistas
Issue date: 9/22/05 Section: Opinion
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Want to know what life is really like inside a big, New York law firm? Most of the associates and partners you meet, even as a Summer Associate, are probably not going to give their honest opinion. For that, the best place to go is the blogosphere and one of the best (and most widely read) blogs going is Opinionistas (opinionistas.blogspot.com). It's a hilarious and cynically insightful running commentary on the life of a young Manhattan lawyeress, exposing the seamy underbelly of her massive firm. The site received over 300,000 hits in the first few months of its existence and currently has over 250 links from other blogs (according to Technorati, a blog tracking service). Contrary to rumor, she is not an alter-ego for The Record's own Jeremy Blachman (of anonymouslawyer fame) and her blog is all true, although it is anonymous (and devoid of any identifying details to protect her identity and job) and draws from experiences she has had at several law firms in various capacities over the course of the past few years, other than her present one. Recently, The Record caught up with the woman herself at a downtown Manhattan coffee house to ask a few questions about blogs and the law.
Anonymous_HLS_2007: How did this whole thing start?
O: I've been an insomniac since my senior year in college, and I started seeing all these sleep specialists. One of the things about a firm job is that they give you great healthcare. You can see any doctor you want in the city because they want to keep you healthy and working at all times. One of them asked me, "Well, are you writing a journal? Do you like writing? It might help, you should keep a journal or a blog or something," and a little lightbulb went off. So I went home and in about five minutes had the site up and running. I'm sure there are a lot of other bankers and lawyers out there who would benefit from purging in a journal at the end of the day. Ironically, I write the blog when I get home at night and early in the morning before work, so I get around the same amount of sleep now as I did before. But I'm a lot happier.
Anonymous_HLS_2007: Take yourself back even further: how did you get started as BigLaw associate?
O: In New York, we're big players, or so we think. Lawyers, bankers, consultants want the big money and the long hours and we say "screw you if you can't take it." I love that attitude, to be honest. That's why I came here and won't consider leaving, but, at the same time, it's gotten to the point of ridiculousness. The firm attitude becomes a form of mind control. You find yourself sitting at work saying "I'm exhausted. I haven't slept in three days, but no, no I can't go home because I'm afraid of what'll happen. I must do whatever it takes to keep this job, or else I'll be a failure since I've been working toward this my entire adult life."