Contract attorneys.

No, this isn't like contracting MLB teams, though some might think that was a fine idea. And it's not how The Mob gets rid of shysters it doesn't like. Instead, a "contract attorney" is what I now am. A temp lawyer, if you prefer. Someone hired by a law firm to do the scut work that they can't even get their own associates to do.

So I'm now doing document review and preparation for discovery in a pair of related investigations - criminal and civil - against a big company accused of doing accounting irregularities affecting stock prices a couple of years ago. (The official line is that everything met generally accepted accounting principles, so it was okay and there was nothing wrong.) The project is a couple of years old, and is expected to go on for another couple of years: that's an idea of how many documents (and by "documents," we also mean emails, PowerPoint presentations, weekly status reports, and notes written on the back of napkins) there are - someplace between tens of millions and squillions. I'm not alone on the project - 25 of us contract attorneys started the same day, on a project that probably had another 25 then working on it, in addition to the "real" lawyers at the firm (partners and associates).

Of course, one of the reasons they brought on 25 on the same day is that they've got a high rate of turnover. Not all that surprising with temps, I suppose. But in addition, it is mindnumbingly dull. I believe I've stayed awake all afternoon exactly once so far, and I think that's about average for my group.

But it pays the mortgage while I look for a job I'm actually interested in, so that's a good thing.