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.

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.

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….