24 Hours with 24 Lawyers: Profiles of Traditional and Non-Traditional Careers

by Jasper Kim

Are you thinking of attending law school or switching legal careers? About to graduate and wondering which path to take? Are you curious about what lawyers in different fields do in a typical day? Then spend twenty-four hours with twenty-four lawyers through this innovative book, 24 Hours with 24 Lawyers. Whether you want to be a full-time corporate lawyer, work as a legal consultant while pursuing your music career, or anything in between, this book gives you a unique “all-access pass” into the real-world, real-time personal and professional lives of twenty-four law school graduates. These working professionals each present you with a “profile” chronicling a typical twenty-four-hour day in their traditional and non-traditional careers. You will read actual twenty-fourhour accounts from the perspective of a venture capitalist, Wall Street lawyer, lobbyist, entertainment lawyer, IP attorney, sports broadcaster, JAG officer, prosecutor, criminal defense lawyer, mediator, and politician, just to name a few. From the time they wake up in the morning to the time they go to bed, each professional illustrates what their position entails on a day-to-day basis and will give you invaluable, informative, and honest insight above and beyond what many brochures, guest lectures, career workshops, or law firm website descriptions can provide. After reading 24 Hours with 24 Lawyers, you’ll be better prepared to determine which career profile may suit you best before accepting a new job or investing in a legal education.About the AuthorJasper Kim has worked in various traditional and non-traditional careers—as a lawyer, banker, consultant, author, columnist, and academic—since graduating from law school. He is department chair and associate professor at Ewha Womans University, where he was director of the university's Global Career Management Center, and is adjunct faculty at Pepperdine University's School of Law. He was previously a lawyer and investment banker with Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital, and is now a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, CNBC TV, BBC TV, and Bloomberg TV. Mr. Kim has been selected as a 2011 Visiting Scholar at Harvard University.

Genres: Law, Nonfiction, Legal

379 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2011

Reviews

[Russ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish this were a series! Imagine 24 Hours with 24 Doctors, or 24 Hours with 24 Engineers. Further imagine if students were required to read such books before committing to a college major, four-year degree program (or for that matter, military enlistment). It would help a lot of people understand what their preferred profession might really be like once they're in the field.

This book may help reaffirm that the legal profession is right for you, and if so, it could help you decide what type of law to practice or what type/size of firm you want be a part of (small town, family practice, international corporate firm, etc). It won't help you pick a law school.

Or this book may force you to reconsider whether law school & the legal profession is for you. It's one thing to hear vague assertions "lawyers work long hours." It's another thing to read what exactly that means in profile after profile written by lawyers themselves. They describe their full days, so it's easy to imagine yourself waking up when they wake up, sometimes sacrificing their family and personal health to get the job done (which often involves tedious review and creation of documents), and staying up as late as they do.

Overall I found the portraits to be plausible, compelling, and informative. Save yourself years of studies and thousands of dollars in tuition and foregone wages by reading books like this!

[Dylan Kuncken · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was extremely useful to me for where I am at right now since I am still familiarizing myself with the legal field. It goes through 24 different profiles of law school graduates, and goes over a day in their life. I like that it has extreme diversity. It even gives days of people who graduated, but aren’t even lawyers, to illustrate how much you can do with this degree. While I appreciate that, and took away a lot from each profile, this was so hard to read. The first 10 are so we’re super intriguing, and felt relevant. It became a drag over time, and there were certain profiles I just did not give two shits about. Another issue I had, was that some people just sucked at writing their profile. One of the guys talked more about his personal life and his struggling marriage than his day in his legal profession. Wasn’t there to read that. However, with all of that being said, I love the idea of this book, and the execution was strong overall. Id recommend it to others who have interest in the legal field, but they must be aware it’ll feel like a chore to read towards the end.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The selection of attorneys seems random at best (although the author's law school alma mater Rutgers is disappointingly overrepresented). Not only that, but some of the attorneys seemed more interested in delving into their personal lives than sharing their professional lives (I'm looking at you, attorney who spent a good portion of his 24 hours at marriage counseling). In addition, its audience seems to be people who already have some law school under their belt and so will understand the legal terms included. Oddly, Kim does not feel the need to explain these legal terms but felt it necessary to define seemingly universal things such as Craigslist and Sesame Street. Although the book suffers from these problems, I have no doubt that it gave a realistic picture of the life of each lawyer, though I wish more lawyers had been profiled.

[Casey S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an outstanding resource for anyone considering a career in law. I recommend it - even if you're not interested in law, it still provides helpful insight into other peoples' lives and schedules.

Jasper Kim presents 24 profiles of law school graduates and what they do in a day. Kim has selected a wide spectrum of people from all walks of life and various career paths, which paints a wide spectrum of what a law degree can offer. The book covers careers that are from large and small law firms, private and public sectors, and career paths not centered around practicing law (a musician, a politician). The diversity of careers shown exemplifies how the skills from law school can be applied in many different ways.

Before reading this book, I knew what most lawyers would do for their jobs, but I still wondered what they DO in a day. The contributors answered this by going through the main beats of their day, describing the various tasks and objectives they face. Many also take a step further and provide simple explanations of legal terms, transactions, and documents they work with.
I also appreciated the honest inclusion of personal lives and obligations, such as celebrations with friends, spending time with family, or interviews with the media. This not only educates the reader on work-life balance in practice, but it also makes each contributor relatable - these are real people who need coffee and have trouble organizing their desks. It was interesting to read about what made some contributors happy with their lives, and how others felt stressed with work or their personal relationships.

One thing this book could improve on is elaborating more on the provided content. Some schedules include things that were not part of a normal routine (a monthly meeting, a birthday party) -though this demonstrates how life isn't a set track and impromptu events pop up, some contributors don't add what they would normally do. This might be a nitpick, but I would like to know what some of these people would do in the time not spent on "extracurriculars".
Each chapter ends with a "Final Thoughts" section from each contributor, in which they provide some final advice or opinion on their line of work. I appreciated the contributors' insights on their own lives, which is why I felt some could have written more.
Either the author or the editor should have followed up with some contributors for more material to provide a more complete profile (although after reading the book, I don't know how these busy people would find the time to do so!).

On that note, there are more than a few grammatical errors in the book. Although I read a first printing copy, the amount of errors definitely should have been noticed before publishing.

All in all, this is a very informative book that many would find useful. I highly recommend it.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I skimmed the last third, but I'm going to count this as "read." Interesting premise - 24 lawyers in various and diverse fields take you through a typical day. Fairly helpful, although some of the writers could have interpreted the task less literally and skipped the descriptions of how they choose what to eat for breakfast.

[W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off strong… but I think the author loosely organized the book to be best to worst (plus a few “fun” ones at the end). Each chapter suffers or succeeds purely based on how interesting of a writer the lawyer is. #3 is, by far, the best one.

Some key takeaways:
- The world has changed a lot since 2011… from Zoom, to Slack, to GPT, to better iPhones, to Instagram, etc. 14 years really shouldn’t be enough to generate this many anachronisms… 😮‍💨🤖😵‍💫
- Litigation / Adversarial law is fast paced and exciting, but it’s go go go and long hours—obviously, because otherwise you’d lose.
- If AI replaces lawyers, one upside will be that millions of people are saved from “Billable-Hour Hell”
- In general, it’s fascinating to read peoples’ own attempts at making sense of their lives. I wonder how edited this was?

Examples:

1 — BigLaw lawyer in Hong Kong wakes up at 8am and works until 11pm before taking a 3 hour red eye flight to attend a morning meeting in Korea…

2 — Second is a public prosecutor in the sex crimes office. This guy is much cooler than the first lawyer and has a sense of humor.

3 — Third is a defense attorney—ironically, defending someone accused of a sex crime—doing mental gymnastics while strategizing for the trial; then the trial. This narrator internal dialogue was novelistic.

…

5 — A IP lawyer, totally depressed—“I don’t notice the view or my office much these days”—noticing grey hairs in the mirror and seemingly full of regret.

…

Etc.

[Christie Bane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a surprisingly interesting book, well at least it is if you’re interested in the various faces of the practice of law. I almost went to law school once, and even though it’s now pretty much in the “dreams that will never come true” dustbin of life, I still have an interest in it. If only I had known about this book back when I was pursuing law school! I would’ve been a much better-educated wanna-be lawyer.

Each chapter literally covers 24 hours in a lawyer’s life. The lawyers have all sorts of different practices — patent law, IP law, military, DUI defense, general practice, etc. The things that stood out to me are how little time the lawyers have to themselves and how much coffee they drink. Also, their professional lives are full of stress. Details, demands, and last-minute changes to everything fill up their whole days. They don’t get a lot of free time or family time. Would I have wanted that? Who knows. But it was a very interesting look into a profession. Someone should write these books for other professions too — they would be very useful!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea behind this book is interesting and depicts the busy schedules of attorneys by showcasing their off-hours trials. If you want to learn about the best type of attorney to become in order to maintain some work-life balance, this is the book to read. However, much of the book depicted family life more than working life. I thought it was in bad taste to showcase a busy attorney texting and checking his emails while driving, (as if this acceptable). Ironically, this is the DUI defense attorney. IMO, there is not much of a difference between a drunk driver and a distracted driver in terms of safety for others on the orad. There were a few interesting tidbits here and there, but generally, not enough meaty details were given to make this interesting in a meaningful way. The law professor giving a TV interview was a good reminder to stick to key talking points, but not giving any insights into the questions asked was disappointing. If they author was worried about doxxing the attorney, perhaps dummy questions could have been given.

[Cindy Mejia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly an insightful look into the day-to-day routine and tasks of attorneys within a variety of legal fields. I would HIGHLY recommend this read for anyone who is going to law school or is out of law school and wants to get a sense of what it may be like to focus on certain areas of law. These lawyers don't sugarcoat their day-to-day work and if anything provide a unique perspective on what they do, followed by genuine recommendations on the pros/cons and general advice you may wish to consider if you wish to pursue a specific type of law.

[Clarisse Solis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Law is such a broad field. Even in the field of law, you have different paths and directions you can take. As someone who is interested in the field of law, but has no one to talk to or consult about the legal field, this book definitely gave me the guidance that I needed. It gave me an insight on the daily work of different legal practitioners, which allowed me to also identify areas or work that best suite me. Ergo, I could definitely say that this has been one of the most insightful books that I have read, and in a way it solidified my desire to go to law school.

[Bailey Noffsinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book certainly has a targeted audience, and a very clear and succinct goal in it's narrative. With those in mind: Kim reaches his intended audience quite clearly and achieves his goal very well. If you are an individual at all interested in a legal career and are curious as to the various professions that can stem from a legal education, this book will answer nearly all of your questions, and even answer some questions that you did not realize that you had.

[Emily Tifft · Rating 4 out of 5]

The careers selected are a little obscure, but I found this nevertheless to be a good resource for those interested in law. The book gives an overview of what various types of lawyers do all day. Even though some of the accounts might have been a bit glamorized by the authors, it’s a good baseline to get some insights and form basic opinions on whether a certain type of law might be a good fit for you.

[Natalie Gullo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating peek into Life in the Law

Very useful for what I needed it to be. Sometimes dry and repetitive, but that’s a risk with 24 contributors. Sparked my interest in specific areas going in to law school.

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly interesting look at the daily life of a small selection of lawyers. Definitely confirms the stereotype of lawyers as self-centered. Also, most of the writing was mediocre at best. Still, good food for thought.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful look into a variety of legal professions. Will be recommending to future lawyers.

[Maya Gandhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and generally helpful premise but feels thoroughly unedited and is riddled with typos/factual errors. If it’s an edited anthology, it has to be...edited.

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

So interesting, so well done. Read the whole thing during 2 hostess shifts! Learned a lot

[Hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 good stuff

[Fick · Rating 2 out of 5]

An intriguing concept but overall just a somewhat receptively boring read. Most of the lawyer's schedules can be summed up in two words: long and monotonous. The books holds a mainly optimistic view on the law, but the lengthy schedules and reported little sleep that each lawyer reports can be deterring for students considering law.

[Tony Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a superb cross-section of the legal profession and its many facets. It's certainly intriguing to see how much law can help provide entry into so many different careers. Highly recommended for those who have even just a passing interest in the intersection of law and career.

[Rui · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a quick read.
Have you ever skimmed some manuals on how to do things? This book does exactly what the title says. The profiles make me feel like it's a compile of several manual chapters.
Take-aways:
1. All law workers hate their children because they will wake them up at 5:30 am or make them late for work.
2. Almost everyone works from 8am to 7pm, dinner with or without clients, go back to work until midnight.
3. All these profiles are pretty much the head or the senior partners, except for a few "losers" in the end who finished their degree and do something else. But how do they get there? You tell me.

[Christalyse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the perfect book to read before starting law school. It gives a colorful and concise look at a day with 24 different lawyers from sunrise to sunset. I learned about different aspects of law I probably would never have known about. Must read for law students!