From Priya Desai
29 • Boston, MA • Associate Attorney • Family & Custody Law
“I wanted to build peace agreements. But in this firm, peace isn’t billable.”
When I passed the bar, I had this idea that I’d be helping people rebuild their lives. That I’d walk into court with facts, fairness, and enough compassion to make the system work.
Instead, I’m drafting emergency motions at 2 a.m., redacting texts filled with threats, and watching parents spend $18,000 arguing over Christmas break logistics.
I’m learning fast that most of this job isn’t law. It’s chaos control. And in a high-volume firm, chaos is currency.
What nobody tells you as a new attorney is that you inherit the broken pieces: missed deadlines, angry clients, unprepared hearings. You smile, you grind, and you silently wonder if you’re still doing something good.
The first time I saw a client walk in with a Splitifi file, I was skeptical. Then I opened it. Everything was there—labeled, timestamped, emotionally neutral. No fire drills. No holes. Just clean signal through the legal noise.
Now I recommend it in intake meetings. Quietly. Not officially—my partners still think it’s “too self-serve.” But I’ve won hearings on the back of Splitifi timelines. And I’ve saved three clients from contempt by pulling up structured records I didn’t have to build myself.
This isn’t about replacing lawyers. It’s about protecting the parts of law that are still human. And for young attorneys like me—that might be the only way we stay in the field.
—Priya
