Monday, July 7, 2014

2014 at the halfway point

I can now see my year-to-date earnings for 2014 with some clarity. It appears I may bring in $70k this year.

That's where I'm at.

Is it good? That depends, right? The famous law school answer. What is "good"? Let me say I'm not sure what "good" is or should be, but whatever this is, it could be far worse.

For some folks, it is far worse.

I'm making it. That's good enough.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Still here

Short update time. Just banging away. Nothing important to share.

I try to read the scamblogs every few weeks. I'm too busy to do so daily or even weekly. The news is as one would expect, I suppose. Change takes time.

There are only a few people from my law school class that I know anything about. Some are really struggling. Others are making it.

A few weeks ago I spoke with an individual with $200k in student loans. This individual did not attend my law school, the highest I had heard from my graduating class was in the $150 range. Bad news, to be sure, but $200k is a whole other level of crazy. I inquired if this individual was on IBR. The response was affirmative.

I honestly didn't know what to say. Offer condolences? Offer a hug? Run?

I keep meeting people that are just buried in debt. Buried.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Document Review Job Posting

I got an email from my proud alma mater this week. I'll give you the high points in bullet point form:
  • Document Review Attorney
  • If you are employed with us, you are considered a staff attorney so there are no benefits or paid time off. 
  • The hourly rate will be between $20 and $27 flat fee with no overtime depending on the project while most pay around $25. 
  • On average, individuals work Monday-Friday 45-55 hours per week. 
  • Weekends may be required but you will be told in advance or asked to volunteer. 
  • The facility is open from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM and we expect you to work your hours between that time frame.
That sounds like ten miles of bad road...

To be honest, I did some work last year for $25 an hour. Sometime you just gotta take what you can get. 

Best of luck to all of you.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Sun's out, guns out

Reflection time. Sorting out my 2013 taxes means I get to see, in hard numbers, all my income from the past year. All from being a "lawyer."

It looks like it totals just around $60k for the year (it was actually closer to $50k, see update below). I don't have it all in front of me as I really didn't plan on posting anything this morning. Instead, it just kinda occurred to me that it was time to check in on the 'ol Cruxy website as the day went on. If I'm way off, I'll correct the number later. It is likely very close to my total gross income for 2013. I had four different employers last year, three part time gigs and one that was kinda full time, but kinda varied on occasion. Basically, it was a shit show and totally unpredictable. Many of you reading this will know exactly what I'm talking about.

All in all, not too bad. Models and bottles, 24/7? Not hardly. But, I am covering my expenses, paying those things that must be paid, and generally just living my life. So, I've got that going for me. That's nice... (hat tip to Bill Murray).

I will have ticked off six months with my new employer in April, the "small firm" I mentioned back in November. I'll take a look at what I've billed, what I've been paid, what it looks like going forward, how many clients owe me money, etc., next month.

Yeah, people don't pay you in this business. Good times.

The gig seems OK so far. I get on with everyone well. The work is consistent, sometimes overwhelming, and challenging. I've actually turned down clients recently. I feel confident saying this the first stable job I've had since becoming a lawyer.

Honestly, I've meet some nice folks over the last year. About 15 - 20% are nice, honest, decent, and hardworking human beings. The remaining 80 - 85% are the bastards. Full stop.

Best of luck to all of you.

Update: I actually made about $50k in 2013, not the $60k I wrote above. That's a difference of about 16%, thus enough that I thought I should update the figures provided. Ouch.