The Opinionista

Last night, while procrastinating my own legal work at my endlessly nutty law firm, I happened upon a terrific outlet for my stress. While looking at Gawker.com, I saw a brief mention of Opinionista - a 27 year old NYC lawyer, much like myself who was living the dream. She'd resigned from her firm after her blog about the perplexing, troubling and always surprising world of law firm life became wildly successful, and she was writing a book about it all. She'd already received mentions for her blog in the New York Times and the Observer, not to mention several references to her work on Gawker.com. The Observer discovered her identity and "outed" her by interviewing her in an article published today. Through the articles written about Opinionista, I learned she lives in a Soho duplex with her very successful boyfriend. So, quitting her job as a well-paid firm associate was probably not as risky as it would be for the rest of us. Still, a rush ran through my body as I read her blog posts, which mirrored entries in my personal diary, if I had one. She took the stress and anxiety of her daily existence, that caused her persistent insomnia, and channeled it into her blog. The blog and its subsequent success freed her of the golden handcuffs references by professors in their cautionary tales of big firm life. My hero. Rock on, Opinionista. You've given me reason to continue blogging and you're right -- it is cathartic.