Junior Litigation Attorney

Most days can involve drafting motions, conducting discovery, preparing for and attending depositions, supporting trial preparation, and attending court for status conferences and motion hearings. You're often carrying significant casework even at junior levels — civil litigation, criminal practice, plaintiff-side contingency work, and defense practice each carry distinct daily rhythms.

The hardest parts often involve the variance between firm types and practice settings. BigLaw litigation runs intense hours; plaintiffs' firms run on contingency-fee economics with selective case-picking; defense firms run on hourly billing; public-interest and government litigation trade comp for mission. Billable-hour pressures, case-selection criteria, and client politics shape daily work differently.

People who tend to thrive here are comfortable with adversarial advocacy, resilient under deadline pressure, and willing to build trial craft through real cases. If you want pure transactional work or quieter dockets, litigation can feel demanding. If you find satisfaction in building toward becoming the lawyer who actually tries cases, the entry-level role launches careers across many litigation specialties.