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June 05, 2008
Some Tips for Summer Associates: Navigating Work and Play
The Legal Times reports that summer associate hiring may take a hit this fall and that some fortunate enough to have a summer position this summer may not have an offer at the end of the work experience. Still the article describes some rather wild play events:
Cadwalader's New York summer class had a private Q&A session with Laurence Fishburne two weeks ago, after attending his Broadway show "Thurgood," a one-man play about the late Justice Thurgood Marshall. Weil, Gotshal & Manges is renting out an entire Nintendo store for its New York class to hold a Wii competition. In D.C., Crowell & Moring's summer associates took a tour of the city while riding on Segways, and the firm will host its annual black-tie-optional summer associate casino night at a Washington hotel. Patton Boggs' D.C. office will host a wine and cheese event where an artist will teach summer associates how to paint.
It is no wonder that some are starting to question law firms for billing practices and arguably wasteful approaches to the business. The Legal Times article notes that firms have been quite willing to layoff attorneys and cut summer hiring if they think that a recession is on the horizon (or it could be that when the incredible profit margins of 30 to 60 percent at the top will diminish a little, firms think the end of the world is nigh). So whatever the reason, summer associates at all levels and jobs (not just the big firm jobs) should be careful.
As a refresher, here are some posts about interviewing, ways to think about law school, and how to survive it.
And here are some tips for the summer:
Work hard and offer your best work at all times. This idea is obvious yet is easily forgotten. Yes in some places it seems that one is supposed to smile, shake hands, laugh about poker, talk about stocks, play golf (or Wii), and so on. Indeed, one should go to those events and engage with all the partners and associates involved. Remember they are taking time from their work and families to be social with you. So in a sense the interview persists all summer long. What trumps a night a ballgame? True work on a case. If you dive in and show that of course you love getting to know everyone but you have a case and work product is required, that will impress and should trump the social event.
NOW be sure to ask about the politics of such an odd quandary. For some partners will say go to the game, don’t worry about the memo. Some may say go to game, don’t worry about, BUT expect that like a real associate you will still have that work on her desk at 8 or 9 a.m. Others may think the game is a silly thing that infests the firm. Still others may realize that the work is billable, the game can and should be passed on, but still take it as an insult that you did not go to the game. And in some cases both partners will think whatever he or she is connected to is the most important thing.
Hopefully, there will be a neutral person (neither the attorney with the work nor the attorney leading the social event) to whom you can present the issue. Express the problem as I would love to go to the event but this memo, motion, etc. is pressing. I want to do well for the person for whom I am working and the firm, but I want to be polite to the person making time to get to know me. Someone should be able to navigate the details or give you good advice on the way to handle the personalities involved.
Again, don’t be fooled by what appears to be a roll in at 10 a.m., surf the Web, have lunch at a place no one eats at on their own dime, and then kill time before the gym or dinner environment. Whatever work you have do it with an aim towards excellence.
So what if one is not at a big firm? Well the wine/dine aspect is less likely or frequent. Nonetheless insofar as social moments arise (e.g., someone asks if you want to grab a burger and each pays his or her way or the ubiquitous coffee chat) take them and apply the basic rules of interviewing and being polite. People want to know you do good work, but they also want to know that it is good to work with you.
Regardless of where one works, one issue can arise in almost any context: how do you get the good assignments? More on that in the next day or so.
Posted by Deven Desai at June 5, 2008 09:55 AM
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Comments
The summer firm "wine and dine" is a major part of what is wrong with law firms today: bait and switch, unreasonable billable hour demands to support extravagant lifestyles, and a perception of prestige/competition between firms. Anyone think overbilling....er....."high expectations of billable hour performance for junior associates" is not a direct result of extavagance in office, dining, summer play choices for firms? Didnt think so....
I for one wont be participating. And just because I had to pay for my own ticket to the game doesnt mean I wont enjoy it....
Posted by: anon at June 5, 2008 03:04 PM
When I was at a big firm, i remember saying to the partners themsleves that the summer program seemed almost like "fraud in the inducement" and to their credit, they laughed pretty hard at that.
I say anon is crazy to refuse the gifts.
But I will also say this to summer associates. Do not make the mistake of thinking this is a job. This is a 3 month job interview. As is the case in most areas of life, keep your eye on the bottom line. The bottom line is they will want you to show them that you will be a valuable addition to this firm. Show that you are willing to stay late and come in early. show that you are willing to do grunt work, such as document review. I'm not sayign you should work yourself to death during the summer, but do those things often enough to let them think you are willing to do the heavy lifting involved in firm life. And there is nothing wrong with saying to them, "hey, look, i am smart enough to know that this is not a sample of real firm life and things will get harder if i come to work for your permanently. i hope you can see by my actions that i am willing to roll up my sleeves and get to work."
Like here is a very simple example. if there is a deadline looming, don't go out for fun while the partner is back in the office. maybe s/he won't resent those who do that, but you make a better impression if you stay and help him go home earlier.
For recruiters, i would tell you that personally a $100 lunch was less impressive to me than a lunch at McDonald's followed by, say, a night at the local comedy club. For instance, we managed to see Larry the Cable guy before he became famous. And my wife loved that we were able to go sailing--she likes boats in general and sail boats in particular. Doing things, in my book, is better than just eating expensive food. ineed, in my case, the fancier the food, the less likely i am to actually like it.
Posted by: Aaron W. at June 6, 2008 10:47 AM
Manage your work-flow if you have an open assignment system; you're significantly better off taking a manageable number of assignments and perfecting them than trying to show what a good worker you are by taking assignments from all over. Doing that also can lead to the worst of all scenarios, where you have work due for two partners at the same time and you wind up insulting one to finish up the work for the other.
And remember: there is no such thing as a rough draft. No document with your name on it (be it a memo, underwriting agreement, mark-up, or brief or motion) must ever leave your hands before it is ready. Even if you plan on doing more drafts, don't send it out unless it is perfect.
If you need a partner or senior associate's feedback on a document before you are done with it, you are best off speaking with them than you are with showing it to them.
Finally, I agree with Aaron W: the "stuff" is the best part of the summer. Lunches are great as are dinners, but you want to go to events that you wouldn't otherwise be able to do and plan your schedule and workload around that rather than simply jumping on every free meal and drink the firm offers.
Posted by: MJG at June 6, 2008 06:57 PM
