· 0 ·The Associate
✦
· 0 ·
The Associate
in the place of the fool
upright
You're billing three hundred and fifty an hour and you graduated four months ago.
reversed
The partner said 'handle it.' You still don't know what 'it' is.
· I ·The Billable Hour
✦
· I ·
The Billable Hour
in the place of the magician
upright
You can turn six minutes of thinking into a number, and that number into a beach house.
reversed
You bill 0.1 to open the email that says “no action needed.”
· II ·The Paralegal
✦
· II ·
The Paralegal
in the place of the high priestess
upright
You actually know where everything is, how the judge likes it, and what the partner meant.
reversed
The firm finds out the case was run entirely by someone making a fifth of the salary.
· III ·The Rainmaker
✦
· III ·
The Rainmaker
in the place of the empress
upright
You don't practice law anymore; you take people to golf and the revenue follows you home.
reversed
You haven't opened a statute since the Clinton administration.
· IV ·The Managing Partner
✦
· IV ·
The Managing Partner
in the place of the emperor
upright
Your name is on the door and on every memo about reducing printing costs.
reversed
You raised everyone's hours and called it a “culture of ownership.”
· V ·The General Counsel
✦
· V ·
The General Counsel
in the place of the hierophant
upright
You are the one person in the building allowed to say “absolutely not” to the CEO.
reversed
Your entire legal opinion was “it depends,” and they paid you anyway.
· VI ·The Retainer
✦
· VI ·
The Retainer
in the place of the lovers
upright
A beautiful agreement where they hand you money before either of you has done anything.
reversed
You burned through it in nine days and the case is “just getting interesting.”
· VII ·The Deposition
✦
· VII ·
The Deposition
in the place of the chariot
upright
Seven hours of asking the same question until the truth gets tired.
reversed
You objected to form so many times the court reporter started rolling her eyes.
· VIII ·Opposing Counsel
✦
· VIII ·
Opposing Counsel
in the place of justice
upright
A worthy adversary who makes you sharper, whom you genuinely respect across the aisle.
reversed
“Per my last email.”
· IX ·The Administrator
✦
· IX ·
The Administrator
in the place of the hermit
upright
You have the building keys, the notary stamp, and the one printer that works. The firm runs on you.
reversed
They scheduled the all-hands and didn't tell you.
· X ·The Settlement
✦
· X ·
The Settlement
in the place of wheel of fortune
upright
Everyone walks away equally unhappy, which is how you know it was fair.
reversed
You settled on the courthouse steps because nobody actually wanted a trial.
· XI ·The Judge
✦
· XI ·
The Judge
in the place of strength
upright
The room goes silent. The gavel hasn't moved and you've already decided.
reversed
You are asleep behind the briefs. No one has told you yet.
· XII ·I'll Call You Right Back
✦
· XII ·
I'll Call You Right Back
in the place of the hanged man
upright
Suspended between the call you were on and the one that actually mattered, at perfect peace with both.
reversed
It has been six weeks.
· XIII ·The Conflict Check
✦
· XIII ·
The Conflict Check
in the place of death
upright
A clean, necessary ending: the firm cannot take the case, and you are free.
reversed
You already did fourteen hours of work before anyone ran it.
· XIV ·It Depends
✦
· XIV ·
It Depends
in the place of temperance
upright
The most honest answer in the profession, balancing every fact against every other fact.
reversed
You said it to avoid having read the file.
· XV ·The NDA
✦
· XV ·
The NDA
in the place of the devil
upright
A tidy little contract that makes a very loud problem very quiet.
reversed
You signed one so broad you can't legally admit you have a job.
· XVI ·The Sanctions Order
✦
· XVI ·
The Sanctions Order
in the place of the tower
upright
Everything you built on that one aggressive theory comes down in a single footnote.
reversed
You hit “reply all” on the privileged thread.
· XVII ·A Contingency Fee
✦
· XVII ·
A Contingency Fee
in the place of the star
upright
Thirty-three percent of something that hasn't happened yet, poured toward a courthouse on the horizon.
reversed
The case settled for zero. You drove two hours for this.
· XVIII ·The Redline
✦
· XVIII ·
The Redline
in the place of the moon
upright
A document so marked up nobody is certain what the deal even is anymore.
reversed
They accepted all changes and now you can't prove what you agreed to.
· XIX ·Making Partner
✦
· XIX ·
Making Partner
in the place of the sun
upright
Twelve years of your life, and now you get to buy in with money you don't have.
reversed
Congratulations, the grind was the prize.
· XX ·The Verdict
✦
· XX ·
The Verdict
in the place of judgement
upright
The jury files back in, the foreman stands, and every billable hour finally means something.
reversed
The client read it as “we should have settled,” which you told them in March.
· XXI ·The Bar Number
✦
· XXI ·
The Bar Number
in the place of the world
upright
You did it: sworn in, licensed, a real attorney, the whole world of practice open before you.
reversed
Now you find out the actual job is email.