2022 Summer Associate Thread (direct all your SA Qs here) Forum

[CLS2023A]

This isn't a question specific to summer associates, but I didn't want to start a new thread lol. My SA is ending soon, and I've been staffed on several corporate matters, mostly in M&A and Cap Markets. I've had the chance to be there for signing and launches. The flurry of activity close to these moments is overwhelming—the number of emails, deliverables, comments back and forth etc. that associates, especially junior-level associates have to track. I know I'll probably learn by doing, and I will definitely ask associates I'm working with for tips about document/email management, but does anyone else have any advice? Any good habits I can build for when I start full-time?

[Anonymous User]

This isn't a question specific to summer associates, but I didn't want to start a new thread lol. My SA is ending soon, and I've been staffed on several corporate matters, mostly in M&A and Cap Markets. I've had the chance to be there for signing and launches. The flurry of activity close to these moments is overwhelming—the number of emails, deliverables, comments back and forth etc. that associates, especially junior-level associates have to track. I know I'll probably learn by doing, and I will definitely ask associates I'm working with for tips about document/email management, but does anyone else have any advice? Any good habits I can build for when I start full-time?

Try using your inbox as a to-do list. Create different folders by clients, and once you're done reading/doing the requisite task for an email, move it to the folder so that your inbox only consists of emails that you haven't dealt with. Take advantage of the rules feature in Outlook for auto-labels if you're someone who finds colorcoding helpful. For substantive emails that you send, cc yourself so that you can find them more easily, and always use subject line "Client name - project - assignment" (e.g. ABC - Project M - checklist update).

[Anonymous User]

I try to keep track of my inbox as they come in or within the hour. I have a personal informal 3-4 tier response levels:

Emails that need immediate response (eg, client or partner email requiring a status update or a "will do") get one, often from my phone.

Emails that should be dealt with with the next couple of hours, get clicked on and stay on my desktop until cleared.

Emails that can wait get flagged and I get to it later.

Emails that are not actionable for me get ignored


Then I use physical notepads, sticky note app, and the deal checklist to keep track of my outstanding tasks. Sometimes I make a personal word or excel list.

This is all my personal tips for what's worked for me, you'll figure out what works for you. But in general, getting really familiar with the checklist is vital. That way you know exactly what each email is about.

ETA also I have my settings so I cc myself automatically. This way I know the email went out and it makes it easier to find. And I update the subject of the email. (I also don't use folders at all, I find it more confusing to maintain than to simply search for things, but I'm weird that way)

[Anonymous User]

The return offer I received expires in a month. Is this normal? I thought firms allowed more time

[Anonymous User]

The return offer I received expires in a month. Is this normal? I thought firms allowed more time

Normal. 1-2 months usually.

[Anonymous User]

I know I'm bumping an old thread but I have a question. I have a summer associate position locked up at a NYC V20. My girlfriend wants to go to a music festival in Europe in the beginning of June. Factoring in flying across the Atlantic, this would take at least five or six days. My firm's website says their summer associate program typically starts in mid-May, but people can arrive on various dates. I know the firm is the one to ask about this but I don't really wanna go to them and be like "I want to start late to go to a music festival"

Is showing up on like June 10 plausible? Is this normal or unheard of? How flexible is it? I'm assuming there's no way I would be able to just take the time off after starting, but maybe I would be able to start in June and wrap up in August to get the ten weeks in

[Anonymous User]

Does your firm hire summers from Chicago? Don’t they have to start late?

[Anonymous User]

I know I'm bumping an old thread but I have a question. I have a summer associate position locked up at a NYC V20. My girlfriend wants to go to a music festival in Europe in the beginning of June. Factoring in flying across the Atlantic, this would take at least five or six days. My firm's website says their summer associate program typically starts in mid-May, but people can arrive on various dates. I know the firm is the one to ask about this but I don't really wanna go to them and be like "I want to start late to go to a music festival"

Is showing up on like June 10 plausible? Is this normal or unheard of? How flexible is it? I'm assuming there's no way I would be able to just take the time off after starting, but maybe I would be able to start in June and wrap up in August to get the ten weeks in

4/10 troll post overall, but 9/10 for believability.

[Anonymous User]

I know I'm bumping an old thread but I have a question. I have a summer associate position locked up at a NYC V20. My girlfriend wants to go to a music festival in Europe in the beginning of June. Factoring in flying across the Atlantic, this would take at least five or six days. My firm's website says their summer associate program typically starts in mid-May, but people can arrive on various dates. I know the firm is the one to ask about this but I don't really wanna go to them and be like "I want to start late to go to a music festival"

Is showing up on like June 10 plausible? Is this normal or unheard of? How flexible is it? I'm assuming there's no way I would be able to just take the time off after starting, but maybe I would be able to start in June and wrap up in August to get the ten weeks in

4/10 troll post overall, but 9/10 for believability.

I was serious, am I being stupid here? Like is this obviously not gonna work out?

[Anonymous User]

I know I'm bumping an old thread but I have a question. I have a summer associate position locked up at a NYC V20. My girlfriend wants to go to a music festival in Europe in the beginning of June. Factoring in flying across the Atlantic, this would take at least five or six days. My firm's website says their summer associate program typically starts in mid-May, but people can arrive on various dates. I know the firm is the one to ask about this but I don't really wanna go to them and be like "I want to start late to go to a music festival"

Is showing up on like June 10 plausible? Is this normal or unheard of? How flexible is it? I'm assuming there's no way I would be able to just take the time off after starting, but maybe I would be able to start in June and wrap up in August to get the ten weeks in

4/10 troll post overall, but 9/10 for believability.

I was serious, am I being stupid here? Like is this obviously not gonna work out?

You're going to have to tell your firm that you want to skip a week of a ridiculously expensive summer program that's designed for and a windfall to you because you'd rather go to a rave in Europe. You tell me what impression you think that's going to give the firm.

[Anonymous User]

Does your firm hire summers from Chicago? Don’t they have to start late?

Chicago changed its academic calendar to have 2Ls start at firms on a more normal timeline (the last week of May or so). So this probably won't work like it used to.

[Anonymous User]

Or you have a pre-planned vacation and what are the possible start dates. Obviously you don’t say you want to go to a rave and you don’t make demands, but there’s no reason not to ask.

[Anonymous User]

Or you have a pre-planned vacation and what are the possible start dates. Obviously you don’t say you want to go to a rave and you don’t make demands, but there’s no reason not to ask.

There is. Who plans a vacation for smack dab in the middle of their 2L summer? I mean sure, they may give it to you, but I think pretty much anybody who could land a V20 SA would have half a brain to avoid scheduling a conflict with that slot. So OP will be the only one. Besides, someone is going to find out what that vacation was (unless you keep social media completely clean).

OP would also have to say it's pre-planed when it's not. Will they find out? Probably not. But I'm not a big fan of lying to your employer, especially if that employer is a law stuffy firm.

We can debate up and down what impression people will get, but in the end of the day it's out of the ordinary, and anything out of the ordinary at a law firm creates risk. Especially with a recession looming, most lawyers are going to be risk averse.

[Anonymous User]

Okay well that's why I'm asking about it on the Internet rather than going to the firm with it. I didn't know if it is normal for people to schedule their ten weeks at different times and you kind of just pick and choose when those ten weeks are gonna be, or if everyone pretty much does the same time.

[Lawman1865]

Okay well that's why I'm asking about it on the Internet rather than going to the firm with it. I didn't know if it is normal for people to schedule their ten weeks at different times and you kind of just pick and choose when those ten weeks are gonna be, or if everyone pretty much does the same time.

Yeah, without being as blunt as the previous poster, I think it would be best to pass on the festival. Based on the summer class in my firm, it seems like the start-date flexibility is more like a week or two at the maximum, not 3-4 weeks (and even then, it seems like only a small portion of the class take advantage of that flexibility). Maybe try and go on the vacation before or after the SA (I recall that there is probably some time between the SA and the school semester). Unless this is a very specific festival that your girlfriend wants to go to, you can probably find another trip that would be musically rewarding (aren't there a bunch of festivals in Europe in the summertime?)

[Anonymous User]

Yeahhh thinks this falls in the broad category of actions that are "probably fine but definitely a risk" that lawyers tend to avoid

[Rule23andMe]

Okay well that's why I'm asking about it on the Internet rather than going to the firm with it. I didn't know if it is normal for people to schedule their ten weeks at different times and you kind of just pick and choose when those ten weeks are gonna be, or if everyone pretty much does the same time.

Yeah, without being as blunt as the previous poster, I think it would be best to pass on the festival. Based on the summer class in my firm, it seems like the start-date flexibility is more like a week or two at the maximum, not 3-4 weeks (and even then, it seems like only a small portion of the class take advantage of that flexibility). Maybe try and go on the vacation before or after the SA (I recall that there is probably some time between the SA and the school semester). Unless this is a very specific festival that your girlfriend wants to go to, you can probably find another trip that would be musically rewarding (aren't there a bunch of festivals in Europe in the summertime?)

Even if it is a specific festival, they could take only Friday off, take some red eyes, and only go for three days. Would be exhausting but not like SA work is all that demanding

[Anonymous User]

Or you have a pre-planned vacation and what are the possible start dates. Obviously you don’t say you want to go to a rave and you don’t make demands, but there’s no reason not to ask.

There is. Who plans a vacation for smack dab in the middle of their 2L summer? I mean sure, they may give it to you, but I think pretty much anybody who could land a V20 SA would have half a brain to avoid scheduling a conflict with that slot. So OP will be the only one. Besides, someone is going to find out what that vacation was (unless you keep social media completely clean).

OP would also have to say it's pre-planed when it's not. Will they find out? Probably not. But I'm not a big fan of lying to your employer, especially if that employer is a law stuffy firm.

We can debate up and down what impression people will get, but in the end of the day it's out of the ordinary, and anything out of the ordinary at a law firm creates risk. Especially with a recession looming, most lawyers are going to be risk averse.

That's fair enough. There are though plenty of things outside someone's control that could get scheduled in the middle of 2L summer (family reunion, close friend's wedding, that kind of thing), though I realize normally if people take time off for this during an SA, it would be less time, so not exactly comparable.

I think it's fair enough to ask the firm directly what potential start dates are available, since the OP is just relying on generic statements on the website. If the firm offers flexibility, I don't see why the OP shouldn't take it. My impression is that most firms want people to be there pretty much the same time, so I agree that chances are good it's not realistic, but I still think just asking (without saying "so I can go to a music festival in Europe") won't cause any harm. At the least, I'd rather be able to go back to my girlfriend and say "the firm doesn't offer a later start date" than "I don't want to risk asking."

[Anonymous User]

Or you have a pre-planned vacation and what are the possible start dates. Obviously you don’t say you want to go to a rave and you don’t make demands, but there’s no reason not to ask.

There is. Who plans a vacation for smack dab in the middle of their 2L summer? I mean sure, they may give it to you, but I think pretty much anybody who could land a V20 SA would have half a brain to avoid scheduling a conflict with that slot. So OP will be the only one. Besides, someone is going to find out what that vacation was (unless you keep social media completely clean).

OP would also have to say it's pre-planed when it's not. Will they find out? Probably not. But I'm not a big fan of lying to your employer, especially if that employer is a law stuffy firm.

We can debate up and down what impression people will get, but in the end of the day it's out of the ordinary, and anything out of the ordinary at a law firm creates risk. Especially with a recession looming, most lawyers are going to be risk averse.

That's fair enough. There are though plenty of things outside someone's control that could get scheduled in the middle of 2L summer (family reunion, close friend's wedding, that kind of thing), though I realize normally if people take time off for this during an SA, it would be less time, so not exactly comparable.

I think it's fair enough to ask the firm directly what potential start dates are available, since the OP is just relying on generic statements on the website. If the firm offers flexibility, I don't see why the OP shouldn't take it. My impression is that most firms want people to be there pretty much the same time, so I agree that chances are good it's not realistic, but I still think just asking (without saying "so I can go to a music festival in Europe") won't cause any harm. At the least, I'd rather be able to go back to my girlfriend and say "the firm doesn't offer a later start date" than "I don't want to risk asking."

I do think you lose something by taking the opportunity, if it's there. The summer program isn't just some time for you to do assignments and pretend to be an associate. It's about networking with your classmates and the lawyers at your firm. There are events, trainings, etc., that are all meant for your benefit, and that cost the firm a lot of money. If you start way late, skip a week, etc., you're going to miss out on those. And because the firm spends all this time and money doing this all for the summers, I think asking if you can skip it for some unnamed (and thus presumably unimportant) thing is going to be taken poorly. It just comes off as thankless. People will certainly ask why when you start, so there better be a good answer.

There are cynics that say the summer stuff is useless. Maybe so. But you only get the summer program once in your life, so why skip it for one of many music festivals?

[TigerIsBack]

Or you have a pre-planned vacation and what are the possible start dates. Obviously you don’t say you want to go to a rave and you don’t make demands, but there’s no reason not to ask.

There is. Who plans a vacation for smack dab in the middle of their 2L summer? I mean sure, they may give it to you, but I think pretty much anybody who could land a V20 SA would have half a brain to avoid scheduling a conflict with that slot. So OP will be the only one. Besides, someone is going to find out what that vacation was (unless you keep social media completely clean).

OP would also have to say it's pre-planed when it's not. Will they find out? Probably not. But I'm not a big fan of lying to your employer, especially if that employer is a law stuffy firm.

We can debate up and down what impression people will get, but in the end of the day it's out of the ordinary, and anything out of the ordinary at a law firm creates risk. Especially with a recession looming, most lawyers are going to be risk averse.

That's fair enough. There are though plenty of things outside someone's control that could get scheduled in the middle of 2L summer (family reunion, close friend's wedding, that kind of thing), though I realize normally if people take time off for this during an SA, it would be less time, so not exactly comparable.

I think it's fair enough to ask the firm directly what potential start dates are available, since the OP is just relying on generic statements on the website. If the firm offers flexibility, I don't see why the OP shouldn't take it. My impression is that most firms want people to be there pretty much the same time, so I agree that chances are good it's not realistic, but I still think just asking (without saying "so I can go to a music festival in Europe") won't cause any harm. At the least, I'd rather be able to go back to my girlfriend and say "the firm doesn't offer a later start date" than "I don't want to risk asking."

Asking definitely creates risk by showing you have poor judgment. It probably wouldn't blow back on OP, but we could be headed for a major recession, so OP just has to decide if they want to potentially lower their chances at being employed at graduation.