Question of the Week
If You Had 12 Months of Paid Free Time, What Would You Do?
Posted Apr 22, 2009 2:34 PM CST
By Molly McDonough
News keeps coming about deferred start dates for incoming associate classes and offers from some firms to take a year off, with pay, to do something in the nonprofit world or to just take a break.
And Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has a no-strings-attached offer out to its associates guaranteeing that their jobs will be waiting for them if they opt to take a paid one-year sabbatical, according to the New York Times.
Besides making us envious, this made us wonder about how you'd react to such an offer.
So tell us ...
If you had a year of paid time off and could do anything you wanted, what would you do? Where would you go? Or, if you're one of those who have accepted this chance, share your plans.
Read last week's responses to this challenge: "Choose Your Grammar Battle, and Take a Side"
Featured answer:
Posted by DRF: "My concern is perhaps more a usage issue than a grammar issue, and it focuses on legal writing. After 20 years, it still astounds me how many lawyers (and judges) capitalize words that would never be capitalized in other writing contexts. I suspect it's the result of confusion arising from the fact that, in legal writing, we sometimes create defined terms such that ordinary nouns are later capitalized when they would not ordinarily otherwise be capitalized. Thus, there are lawyers and judges who simply presume that words such as 'complaint,' 'order' and 'motion' should always be capitalized regardless of whether they are defined terms. It demonstrates poor writing, and it's horribly distracting. This Capitalist nonsense must end."
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Comments
B. McLeod
Apr 22, 2009 2:52 PM CST
I would spend the year working on home improvements, upgrading my guitar skills, and designing the most elaborate entry ever seen for submission in next year’s ABA Peeps-in-Law diorama contest.
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Edward A. Adams
Apr 22, 2009 4:00 PM CST
I would visit the islands of the South Pacific—Bali, Fiji, Vanuatu, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, etc. Remote and incredibly beautiful (at least from all the pictures I’ve seen) both above and below the water line.
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DR
Apr 23, 2009 7:27 AM CST
I would love to finally have some time to start a travelling puppet troupe and go on the road with shows focused on children’s literature, political satire and tragedy. Time is such a beautiful thing. :)
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CTLawyer
Apr 23, 2009 10:23 AM CST
I would immediately volunteer to work for the Innocence Project. I can think of no better way to spend a year, helping those falsely accused especially in death penalty cases.
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associate
Apr 23, 2009 3:51 PM CST
As a wise man named Peter once said, “...I would do nothing.”
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VALawyer
Apr 24, 2009 3:51 AM CST
I imagine anything that sounds too good to be true,... I think I would spent the time saying good bye to all the things I loved. The strings attached to that or the uncertainty would drive me crazy. It doesn’t sound economically feasible unless the payback (demands) are huge. Or the firms are deducting the up front payments, holding the recipients liable and then, in the long run creating accounts receivable. To go from 100% to nothing, to 100% just sounds unrealistic. If I won a lottery, I would travel for a while and then find something productive to keep me busy. I was once told that there is value is what you positively put into the mix.
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Buddy Burnett
Apr 24, 2009 6:01 AM CST
I would spend the first six weeks from mid June working on staff at the local Boy Scout camp. From there I would hit the BMW Motorcycle National Rally in East Tennessee, the American Motorcycle Association national meet and the BMW Riders’ Association Rally. And then I might take a motorcycle tour of the west until the weather turned bad. After that I would volunteer my skills to legal services of Nashville during the winter months for three or four days a week and work harder on my guitar picking skills. Shoot, I might take voice lessons and go hang out at Tootsies Orchid Lounge!
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Chris Connors
Apr 24, 2009 6:01 AM CST
Two chicks at the same time.
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silencedogood
Apr 24, 2009 6:21 AM CST
...besides two chicks at the same time?...
I would fly to Alaska and either buy or ship a heavy duty motorcycle there. Then I would ride it south all the way to Ushuaia, Argentina which is at the extreme tip of South America.
Then I would go to the Gallapagos Islands and Easter Island, next onto Egypt, Madagascar, India, and Tibet. Next to Mongolia for some horseback riding in the land of the Khans. I estimate this would take about 9 months.
I would spend the remaining time visiting friends and family while writing about my travels and looking for the possible new job I might need when Skadden lays off all the people who took this option. If they took me back, so much the better.
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Hadley V. Baxendale
Apr 24, 2009 6:43 AM CST
Go work at a small insurance defense firm, legal clinic or public defender’s, or clerk, even for free, for a state court judge, and get some real experience. But with that perspective, I bet I’d quit Biglaw after a year.
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Margo Lynn
Apr 24, 2009 6:49 AM CST
Maybe I’m too altruistic - I’d offer to work at least part-time in child protection or for another legal clinic that needs help and couldn’t afford it otherwise. And I’d use the other part of my time working for Habitat for Humanity and other organizations that help the community. Plus I’d try to get in some tutoring/reading time at a local after school program. And I’d save as much of it as I could, in case BigLaw doesn’t come through with a job in a year as promised - I’ve had that happen, too!
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alexander
Apr 24, 2009 6:56 AM CST
I would tag along with Edward Adams and “silencedogood,” they’ve go the right idea. Then I’d volunteer with the Peace Corps or Habitat for Humanity, to try to do something productive with my time.
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Lynn
Apr 24, 2009 7:00 AM CST
I would start a family (i.e., have children), and be prepared to be fired for it when I returned. While law firms like to pat themselves on the back for their “part time” programs, their “family friendly” environment and their “great tolerance” for the time away from work raising a functional family requires, the truth is that the vast majority still resent it and place a great deal of pressure on those who dare to do it. And, that is the main reason I left Big Law. I got tired of listening to lawyers “brag” about the “sacrifices” they make for the client. It’s not really their sacrifice. It’s their families’ sacrifice and the attorneys’ incalculable loss.
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Wannabe
Apr 24, 2009 7:28 AM CST
Take out a second mortgage, travel the world with my children, they would learn about the world in real time, and I’d WRITE about it.
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Abner Stanwick
Apr 24, 2009 7:36 AM CST
I would do nothing. Quite literally. I’d sit in my recliner and eat and drink so much while watching movies that I’d need my last few checks to get a new wardrobe because I had gotten so fat. Aaahhhh the American Dream.
* I hope the moderators get the Office Space references posted by others and don’t take them down!
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Sarah
Apr 24, 2009 7:37 AM CST
I would spend it with my son, watching him grow and change in his first year of life.
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Elaine Ekes
Apr 24, 2009 7:39 AM CST
I would spend the time with my children and husband. Children grow up in a blink of an eye. When you are older, you won’t say I wished I had done something great, you would say I wish I had spent more time with my family and close friends.
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Pete Freans
Apr 24, 2009 7:47 AM CST
I would temporarily engage in the most self-centered, narcissistic activity I can find and then add a rum.
I would then enter Dakar Rally, assuming it’s not cancelled due to threats of terrorist reprisals.
Once I emerge from the fog of those ethereal tasks, I would represent a homeless man, woman, or family in need of my services for free. I would focus my energy in provided counseling, placement, and any other issue they may have that is impeding them from living productive lives. Rather than juggle a huge caseload, I would rather focus on a few truly needy causes.
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Gareance Beavington
Apr 24, 2009 7:59 AM CST
Move to Utah, get a couple sister wives and settle down
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Nick
Apr 24, 2009 8:05 AM CST
Fish every fish in the motherfishing sea.
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JMH
Apr 24, 2009 8:08 AM CST
I would like to travel the world, but with a purpose, working for an organization like Lawyers Without Borders.
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J. Barnes
Apr 24, 2009 8:11 AM CST
I would spend a year in SE Asia, where a little dollar goes a long way! I would learn the art of Thai massage, the joys of Thai & Vietnamese cooking, develop my meditation skills, teach a few English classes and pick up the important phrases in each country along the way…all while soaking up the beautiful, equatorial sun!
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J.Barnes
Apr 24, 2009 8:12 AM CST
OR hike the entire Appalachian Trail, Georgia to Maine. :-)
*sigh*
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Andrea
Apr 24, 2009 8:16 AM CST
I already live in paradise (caribbean) but would like to see the Pacific islands like Edward Adams. I didnt realize that there were two of us with the exact same dream.
In my case, I would hire a captain for my boat, a cook, a masseuse, a trainer and diver. That way I can really relax and do the things I enjoy with no distraction.
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Karyn
Apr 24, 2009 8:34 AM CST
Unless I was recovering from an injury or illness, doing nothing seems like a waste to me. We have so little time in this life, once we discover who we really are. I would strive to make a difference not only in myself, but also in my family, community and world. To this end, I would write, when not relaxing or interacting with my loved ones.
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Tracy
Apr 24, 2009 8:44 AM CST
A year away from the office would give me time to be a full-time, instead of a part-time, mom to my boys. It would also give me the time to write the novel that keeps banging around inside my head begging to be written. I would also get around to opening a side business for creative cakes for food allergic kids. We lawyers push our creativity into our briefs. But when the briefs are taken away, the opportunities for other creative outlets open up. So I would focus on these other opportunities.
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DFesq
Apr 24, 2009 9:20 AM CST
I would workout inscessantly, focus on my martial arts training, and then day-trade stocks and options on my own account so I would not have to return to this profession at the end of the 12 months.
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Alan
Apr 24, 2009 9:30 AM CST
I would practice picking my banjo for about 6 hours a day, play every low-paying fun-sounding gig that I pass up now, and record that CD that has been in the works for so long. May I have more than a year please?
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PeteMoss
Apr 24, 2009 9:31 AM CST
I would work the year and satisfy the mortgage. Content that my familly has a roof over their heads, I would take a new job with less hours and less pay. This would give me twenty years of freedom.
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RCF
Apr 24, 2009 9:35 AM CST
A paid sabbatical would be such a bad idea for me…it might work for two months, but after that, I’d spend the rest of it in the insane asylum after being diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. My workplace would have had to change the locks and block my email. I’d need medication to stop the anxiety attacks brought on by wondering what was going on, what was going to get screwed up while I was gone, how many messes I’d walk back into, etc. etc. etc. It wouldn’t be a good thing.
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JME
Apr 24, 2009 9:53 AM CST
A year? Paid? Haven’t had that since I was President of the United States! Well, anyway, I’ve got a good friend who could really use some help on his farm. My home needs work (we finally resolved the basement flooding issue). Need to develop some decent puppet shows for our children’s program at church (yes, I really am a puppeteer). Sailing on our lake, fishing while saling, bit of deer and turkey hunting. (hey, did you know that vegetarians eat tofu that is harvested from fields where the farmers allow hunters to come in and kill the deer so they won’t eat the soybeans?)
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Ready2Rumble
Apr 24, 2009 9:59 AM CST
Either take a sweat equity position with a start-up that could not otherwise afford my services, or start a solo practice or small firm to service entrepreneurial startups.
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pocahantas
Apr 24, 2009 10:13 AM CST
I would volunteer for 6 months with a legal aid program, then spend the next 3 months in Paris, then the next 3 in the Caribbean.
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Pumpkin
Apr 24, 2009 11:16 AM CST
I would be a surf bum, surfing my brains out all day every day.
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Jorge Angell
Apr 24, 2009 11:21 AM CST
I would finish a novel I have been writing for the last 30 years!
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Andy the Lawyer
Apr 24, 2009 11:54 AM CST
3 months each on the beach in the Seychelles, Goa and Phuket, folowed by 3 months of lobbying for an additional 12 months off with pay. Repeat as necessary.
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Justice-loving
Apr 24, 2009 11:56 AM CST
I would dance and train everyday so I can perform all over the world. I would also volunteer for human rights organization. I would travel as much as I can. I would organize my home and take care of all the things that need to be taken care of with my home and family.
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Keith
Apr 24, 2009 2:59 PM CST
I would do free legal work for the National Youth Rights Association, which is a youth-led, civil rights organization (part ACLU part NAACP). Because most of the members are under 21, the organization has little money to hire staff. I would love to help young people fight for their civil rights.
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gross
Apr 25, 2009 11:42 AM CST
Some of these comments are so immature and disgusting. I would definately do some sort of community service to keep busy.
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B. McLeod
Apr 25, 2009 9:48 PM CST
That’s OK for a year, but then, it’s kind of “been there, done that.”
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Betsy Cavendish
Apr 27, 2009 7:30 AM CST
I hope some of those with this opportunity volunteer at an Appleseed Center for public interest. Many Appleseed Centers are in areas with low cost of living, but even persons who use their fellowship money in New York or Washington could make a real difference, getting at the root of problems that impair access to opportunity and justice. Build the fun into your lives day to day, but spend your days making a lasting contribution.
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Pumpkin
Apr 27, 2009 10:16 AM CST
#39 - You sound very self-righteous. Who are you to judge what immature is and what people can or can’t do with their free time? I respect what others like to do even if I in a million years wouldn’t do such myself.
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swayah
Apr 27, 2009 2:12 PM CST
If I worked for a large law firm that offered one year of paid time off, I would continue my volunteer work with Optimist International (Bringing out the Best in Kids) and with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training (Savings lives one mile at a time). Beyond that, I would use my new found spare time to help the Wounded Warrior Project’s Soldier Ride program and then to help re-establish the youth cycling program in Seychelles. And I’d still have time left over to enjoy the benefits of the Indian Ocean. And if I don’t ever get the big law firm job that makes the sabbatical offer, I’ll still keep this as a dream for my retirement.
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eatthepeeps
Apr 28, 2009 11:49 AM CST
I would get hired by Andrea as a cook on her South Pacific adventure with Edward, then for the last month I would sneak in B. McLeod’s house and eat the peeps, then go shopping with Abner for fat clothes. We can dream can’t we?
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KT
Apr 28, 2009 1:22 PM CST
SURF!
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sanja
May 1, 2009 9:43 AM CST
I would go back to get an LLM. Useless? Oh, get over it. School is school, and it is very enjoyable!
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m
May 6, 2009 1:21 PM CST
As a public interest attorney, I can only dream of being paid as much as a “deferred associate”! 60-75K a year would be wonderful! I could pay off my student loans, stay home with my son - watch him grow up, maybe have another child, travel and enjoy life for the first time in a long time!
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