We both had a chance to read Jeremy Blachman’s Anonymous Lawyer earlier this month, and we both agreed that it was surprisingly good. I say “surprisingly” not because I don’t like the Anonymous Lawyer blog, but because was able to create a conflict with a definable story arc while sticking to the core theme of the blog (a hiring partner at a large firm blogging about firm life).
The entire book is told through blog posts and email exchanges, and this is done very effectively. The blog posts in the book take on the same over-the-top tone that the posts on his blog do; you know he is exaggerating, but you are never sure by how much, while the emails serve the purpose to move the story along and humanizing him (to a small degree). Critics of the blog (and undoubtedly the book) are typically defenders of the big firm lifestyle, who dismiss the blog and the book as a wholly inaccurate portrayal of BigLaw. That criticism might be valid, but the fact that so many other who work in BigLaw agree that Anonymous Lawyer is eerily like their real life jobs makes me wonder if it isn’t all just a matter of perception. Some have accused Russ and I of being anti-BigLaw; this really isn’t the case. Most people who I have met who want a firm job know exactly what they are getting themselves into, and I admire that. Others think they do, but find a reality much different from their expectations. The truth, like with most things, probably lies in the middle. I have always said that people who want a big firm job deserve exactly what they get, whether that is a satisfaction from having a career at the top of the industry and a very high salary, or depression and disappointment from getting involved in a lifestyle that they couldn’t handle.
An underlying theme that I gathered from the book is that Anonymous Lawyer is a deeply depressed individual who has tried to fill emotional voids with career achievements and the accompanying prestige. But it doesn’t always work out this way. One of my favorite parts of the book had a blog post about his upcoming high school reunion, and how he was looking forward to showing all the people from high school how successful and powerful he was. The next blog post expressed deep disappointment about how none of his classmates had heard of the firm or even knew what a partner did, and generally didn’t really care either. Jeremy did a great job of exploring how within the legal community, title and prestige mean everything but that outside of the legal community, those things are meaningless to the non-lawyer, and those who think otherwise are just heroes in their own minds. Ultimately, the book comes to a point where the reader is left rooting for Anonymous Lawyer to succeed, despite how unlikable he is. The story is fast paced and easy to read, well-written and cleverly executed, and no matter what your take on the big firm life is, a must-read.
Buy it here
