{"id":1850,"date":"2020-08-12T06:50:20","date_gmt":"2020-08-12T06:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.moralthemes.com\/lawman-pro\/?p=1850"},"modified":"2020-08-12T19:43:15","modified_gmt":"2020-08-12T19:43:15","slug":"how-to-succeed-as-a-first-year-attorney-at-a-big-law-firm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.moralthemes.com\/lawman-pro\/2020\/08\/12\/how-to-succeed-as-a-first-year-attorney-at-a-big-law-firm\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Succeed as a First-Year Attorney at a Big Law Firm"},"content":{"rendered":"
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So considering that, here are some tips that I would offer to bright-eyed law school grads who are ready to kill it in Big Law.<\/p>\n

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1. Consider Your Short and Long Term Plans<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s obvious, but you absolutely\u00a0have<\/em>\u00a0to sit down with yourself and think about your short and long term plans. Why are you working in Big Law? What are your goals?<\/p>\n

In fact, I\u2019d argue that you need to do this before you begin your first day as a junior associate. Big Law can provide you with an awesome paycheck, but the golden handcuffs can tighten once you begin upgrading your lifestyle.<\/p>\n

It can become harder and harder to leave, even if you don\u2019t necessarily enjoy what you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

By contrast, it\u2019s marginally easier to leave if you already recognize that you will only stay in Big Law for X number of years\u2014or until you pay off your law school debt\u2014before transitioning into something else.<\/p>\n

Ask yourself: do you want to become a partner at your firm or another firm? Do you see yourself staying in Big Law for just a couple years so you can become debt-free and then try something else? Or are you simply not sure about what you want to do?<\/p>\n

Whatever the answer, just be honest.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t like The Bachelor, where you absolutely have to be in Big Law for \u201cthe right reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever your motives, keep them in mind as you\u2019re starting off. If you\u2019re feeling frustrated or stressed in your first year, it\u2019ll be reassuring to know why you chose to work in Big Law in the first place. And who knows\u2014your outlook on Big Law may change once you get your feet wet.<\/p>\n

2. Handling the Day-to-Day Grind<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This topic could be an entire essay, but here are several strategies that helped me become a faster and better junior associate.<\/p>\n

Your strength is\u00a0attention to detail<\/em><\/strong>: Let\u2019s face it. Coming out of law school, most of us don\u2019t know much about the actual practice of law. Our first year is essentially an extended training period \u2014 even clients recognize this and are increasingly refusing to pay for first-year work.<\/p>\n

As you\u2019re learning how to actually be a lawyer, you need to become the master of details.<\/p>\n

This is something you can do right away: all it requires is patience and dedication.<\/p>\n

So if you\u2019re working on a current lawsuit, be the member of the team that knows the facts inside and out. The same goes if you\u2019re working on a deal as a corporate associate.<\/p>\n

I know, some of the work that you\u2019re completing can be extremely boring. It\u2019s even more of a challenge if you\u2019re pulling late hours and constantly feel fatigued. But at this early stage of your career, you\u2019ll get noticed and will bring value to the team by being the master of details.<\/p>\n

It also goes without saying, but all of your work should be absent of typos and should include all correct citations. And absolutely don\u2019t forget to Shepardize everything.<\/p>\n

More matters > fewer matters<\/strong>: The question that I and other first-year associates would often ask is\u00a0how many matters to take on<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This is a tough question. Sure, you can say no to a partner requesting your assistance on a project, but this will probably cause long-term damage. Partners and senior associates will see you as less reliable and less of a team player.<\/p>\n

My general advice is that\u00a0too much work is better than too little work<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You want to be put on matters that have a long shelf life and where you are given a good amount of responsibility. It\u2019s obviously difficult to project these factors, but that is the ultimate goal.<\/p>\n

At the beginning of my Big Law career, I was lucky in that I was the only associate working with two partners on a new lawsuit. The partners trusted me and gave me a good amount of responsibility, even letting me argue a minor procedural point in court. If possible, you should aim for these types of opportunities.<\/p>\n

Having said all of this, there may come a point where you\u2019re inundated with projects.<\/p>\n

For instance, a partner may barge into your office and say a project needs to be completed \u201cASAP,\u201d even though a different partner on another matter told you the same thing ten minutes earlier.<\/p>\n

If this is the case, you need to take action, and the most important thing here is\u00a0communication<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Describe your workload to both partners and the fact that you have conflicting, imminent deadlines. Be totally upfront with your ability (or inability) to complete the tasks on time. If necessary, the partners will have to work it out amongst themselves or seek out additional help.<\/p>\n

Mind your billable hours<\/strong>: As you begin at your firm, you should understand how many billable hours you\u2019ll need to receive your annual bonus. Once you know the total number, divide it by twelve so that you know how many billable hours you need per month.<\/p>\n

This will be especially helpful during your first year (since your bonus will be prorated depending on your firm\u2019s fiscal year), but it\u2019s useful to have a benchmark for every month going forward.<\/p>\n

You want to constantly audit yourself to see if you\u2019re on track. And yes, this means entering your time within 48 or 72 hours (your partners will thank you).<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not on track, you need to find work sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

While many of your peers will be scrambling to find billable work just weeks before the end of your firm\u2019s fiscal year, you can avoid this stress by ensuring that you\u2019re on track throughout the year. Better to be proactive and eclipse the threshold by a large margin than panic at the end of the year.<\/p>\n

But along with this, recognize that the work typically ebbs and flows. For as much as we want to smooth out our workflow, it doesn\u2019t work like that.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s often feast or famine.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re on a few matters that are temporarily at a lull, perhaps walk around your floor and notify your colleagues that you\u2019re willing to help.<\/p>\n

The worst case scenario is having little current work while everyone else is busy, yet partners don\u2019t need your assistance on their matters. If this is the case, you\u2019ll need to get on some project, any project, ASAP, even if it\u2019s a pro bono project.<\/p>\n

Treatises are your friend<\/strong>: Finally, I can\u2019t stress this enough: treatises can make your life drastically easier as you\u2019re completing research projects. I was old school and consulted actual books in my firm\u2019s library (also to minimize Lexis costs), but do whatever works best for you.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, there\u2019s too much to know in too little of time. Use treatises as a crutch in order to get up to speed on some of the most basic law in your practice area. From there, you\u2019ll be able to advance and find the law that is most applicable to your facts.<\/p>\n

3. Recognize that Mid-Level Associates, Senior Associates, and Partners are Your Clients<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Even though this is similar to my second point, I\u2019m making it a totally separate point.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that important.<\/p>\n

In your first year,\u00a0your clients are mid-level associates, senior associates, and partners<\/strong>. By pleasing them, you are pleasing your firm\u2019s clients by proxy.<\/p>\n

Speaking from experience, I didn\u2019t have much client contact in my first year. Sure, I attended conference calls with clients and would occasionally meet them in face-to-face meetings.<\/p>\n

But I spent most of my time communicating and working with associates and partners. They are the ones you need to impress every day.<\/p>\n

How do you do this? You impress them by completing solid work, managing their expectations, and maintaining open communication channels.<\/p>\n

You need to know the ins and outs of any case law that you\u2019ve pulled and how the law applies to your facts. It\u2019s also critical to present your conclusions in a concise and confident manner. Bonus points if you had any clinical experience in law school, as you can use that experience as a baseline when you\u2019re starting out.<\/p>\n

But what happens if you don\u2019t know what to do or if you\u2019re stuck?<\/p>\n

It can be extremely frustrating and it happens more often than you may think.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re stuck, you need to find help. Now I\u2019m not saying that you need to constantly email your supervising associate or partner if you come across a question on your matter. They are busy and you don\u2019t want to come across as being overly annoying.<\/p>\n

But if you\u2019re unclear about any aspect of your assigned project, you absolutely need to escalate your concerns to an associate or partner.<\/p>\n

Sit down with them, explain what you\u2019ve done so far, where you\u2019re stuck, and importantly,\u00a0how you think you can overcome the roadblock<\/strong>. Show your supervisor that you\u2019ve thought about ways to find your answer instead of simply going up to them and asking for further instructions.<\/p>\n

Also, ensure that you\u2019re bringing all of your questions at once to your supervisor rather than asking them piecemeal questions. It\u2019s more efficient and they will thank you for it.<\/p>\n

As an aside, it\u2019s also critical to be clear on how many billable hours that your partner expects on a discrete research project. If you\u2019re billing too much time, clients will complain, and it will cause headaches for your partner. Just reach out to partners if you feel like you\u2019re approaching a threshold but still need more time to research.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the operative word here is\u00a0communication<\/em>. Don\u2019t inundate your supervisors with emails or calls, but make sure they are aware of your progress on your projects. If you think of treating them like your clients, you\u2019ll do well.<\/p>\n

4. Take Ownership of Your Career<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In Big Law, it\u2019s not impossible to come in, do your work, reach your minimum billable hour threshold, and then repeat next year.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying you can coast\u2014Big Law is challenging and the job requires much of your time. But if you just want to be an \u201caverage\u201d Big Law attorney and stay put for just a couple years, you can do that.<\/p>\n

Sure, you\u2019ll eventually reach a crossroads where you\u2019ll either be eligible for partnership or will be essentially forced to move on. But you can still last quite awhile, as long as you adequately complete your work and don\u2019t quit.<\/p>\n

The reality, however, is that it\u2019s absolutely critical to take ownership of your career.<\/p>\n

This goes back to the first point\u2014what are your goals?<\/p>\n

If your goal is to become a partner at your firm, you need to establish the foundation right now. Make yourself known not only within your practice group but within the firm itself. Find mentors outside your firm\u2019s mentorship program. Think about working with a partner to publish articles, but acknowledge that you should keep this non-billable work to a minimum. While it may be a little too early, consider joining one of your firm\u2019s committees in the near future.<\/p>\n

You want to be known as a dedicated associate who (1) does a great job with your work, (2) hits your minimum billable hours count every year, and (3) has a genuine interest in contributing to the firm outside of your normal role.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, there\u2019s nothing wrong if you don\u2019t envision yourself staying at the firm for your entire career. Just acknowledge this fact and take ownership so that you can prepare for your next steps.<\/p>\n

If you want to eventually transition out of Big Law and become an in-house attorney, that\u2019s great! Try to attend networking events and meet as many in-house attorneys as you can.<\/p>\n

If you want to transition out of Big Law and try something completely different\u2014as I currently am\u2014that\u2019s OK too. Just work on saving as much money as you can, networking with individuals outside the legal industry, and planning your escape.<\/p>\n

All of this is assuming that you\u2019ll continue to deliver great work. This is an absolute requirement even if you won\u2019t stay at your firm forever. You\u2019ll want to leave your firm in the good graces of your colleagues, no matter what you do.<\/p>\n

And this segues into the last point for this section:<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t lose the connections you\u2019ve made in law school<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Many older attorneys regret that they\u2019ve failed to maintain these relationships, not only for personal reasons but because law school classmates can become future clients.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t make this same mistake. Keep in touch with your classmates, whether it\u2019s through LinkedIn or even through annual coffee meetings. You never know where you (or your friends) will be in the next ten or twenty years.<\/p>\n

5. Don\u2019t Ignore Your Physical and Mental Health<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You probably know by now, but Big Law life\u00a0isn\u2019t necessarily great\u00a0for your health.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a difficult subject to discuss and it could also result in a separate essay.<\/p>\n

But for the sake of simplicity, just recognize that as a Big Law associate, you must pay very close attention to your physical and mental health.<\/p>\n

Physical Health<\/strong><\/p>\n

As for your physical health, it\u2019s surprisingly easy to prioritize your work over physical health. You can order Seamless for every meal and find an excuse to avoid exercise if you\u2019ve pulling all-nighters at the office.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019m not even mentioning\u00a0alcohol\u00a0or\u00a0drug abuse, which are problems in Big Law.<\/p>\n

So how do you handle these challenges?<\/p>\n

First, I\u2019d highly recommend developing a daily workout routine, whether it\u2019s a quick run, lifting weights, or even yoga. If you have to wake up early to do this, so be it. By making this investment in the morning, you\u2019ll feel better and will ultimately be more productive for the day.<\/p>\n

Along with this, mind your diet. I\u2019m not saying you can\u2019t snack or eat desserts; rather, make an extra effort to avoid foods that will reduce your energy or will make you feel like garbage one hour later.<\/p>\n

Next, think about asking your firm if they can provide you with a standing desk. Regardless of\u00a0whether sitting is the new smoking, I think it can be a good way to increase your energy throughout the day.<\/p>\n

Finally, if you feel like you have a problem with alcohol or drug abuse,\u00a0get help. You\u2019re not alone and it shows massive courage to recognize that you have a problem and that you need help.<\/p>\n

Mental Health<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mental health is an entirely different matter. I don\u2019t feel qualified to speak about this that much.<\/p>\n

That said, it\u2019s clear that many Big Law lawyers struggle with their mental health.\u00a0Anxiety and depression\u00a0are common.<\/p>\n

Partners (and clients) can be demanding, and as a first-year associate, you\u2019re at the bottom of the ladder.<\/p>\n

My advice would be (1) don\u2019t take criticism personally; (2) seriously consider a regular meditation practice, and (3) get help if you need it.<\/p>\n

Not everyone can deal with the mental pressure and that\u2019s OK. Big Law isn\u2019t for everyone and it absolutely does not mean that you won\u2019t be successful doing something else. There\u2019s no shame in realizing that this isn\u2019t for you.<\/p>\n

As you\u2019re just starting out, recognize that you\u2019re about to work in a challenging environment where you\u2019re always expected to be on call. At this point in your career, you\u2019re being paid more for your availability than your ability.<\/p>\n

If you aren\u2019t happy with how your life is going, you need to seriously consider leaving. It simply isn\u2019t worth it if you\u2019re going to work sad, depressed, or discouraged about your future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So considering that, here are some tips that I would offer to bright-eyed law school grads who are ready to kill it in Big Law. 1. Consider Your Short and Long Term Plans It\u2019s obvious, but you absolutely\u00a0have\u00a0to sit down with yourself and think about your short and long term plans. Why are you working in Big Law? What are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[205],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-law-firm"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/demo.moralthemes.com\/lawman-pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2020\/08\/tingey-injury-law-firm-DZpc4UY8ZtY-unsplash.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.moralthemes.com\/lawman-pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1850"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.moralthemes.com\/lawman-pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.moralthemes.com\/lawman-pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.moralthemes.com\/lawman-pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.moralthemes.com\/lawman-pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1850"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/demo.moralthemes.com\/lawman-pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1854,"href":"https:\/\/demo.moralthemes.com\/lawman-pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1850\/revisions\/1854"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.moralthemes.com\/lawman-pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.moralthemes.com\/lawman-pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.moralthemes.com\/lawman-pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.moralthemes.com\/lawman-pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}