First-time novelist spins entertaining insider's tale of working in 'big law'

To anyone who asks, Lindsay Cameron quickly explains “BIGLAW” is a work of fiction, not a memoir. But she notes her new book captures characters and circumstances that are based on her own experiences at a top New York City law firm with considerable poetic license thrown in.

The fast-paced novel, released by Ankerwycke Publishing last month, details with frightening accuracy the treacherous path to partnership that associates face in a major law firm. Cameron, a lawyer and first-time novelist, exposes the often-ruthless rigors of the nation’s top law firms through the experience of a second-year associate and overachiever, MacKenzie Corbett, who strives to reach the next level in her legal career while navigating multi-billion dollar corporate mergers.

Through Corbett, the author lays bare the price of becoming a partner, and the toll it takes on an associate’s personal life, free time, sleep and life perspective. But “big law” — the term typically connotes a major law firm that starts its first-year law graduates at around $160,000 a year or more — also creates an environment that builds strong bonds among associates who, sometimes for months, live side-by-side in the legal trenches, sharing carried-in meals and enduring countless all-nighters.

Author Cameron did this for much of her six years as a corporate attorney at large law firms. Born in San Jose, Calif., and raised in the eastern United States and Canada, she worked on both sides of the border, including for one of New York’s most profitable firms. She currently resides in New York City with her husband, whom she met at a “big law” firm, and their two children.