SA's, How Best to Prepare? Forum

[Anonymous User]

a) don't be an aspie
b) don't shit where you eat
c) learn about the appropriate length of a work skirt. there were some serious ho-bags at my firm last summer. other females judged.
d) invest in some certain-dri. nothing says "professional" quite like pit stains.
c) don't judge other summers based on their law school. (outside the v10) if they're from a TTT, they probs had way better grades than you and could own your ass. if they're from a t6, they were just as scared as you about getting a job and probably aren't entitled narcissistic jackasses.
d) read ATL. avoid being on ATL.
e) find the best drycleaners within a ten block radius of either your home or your work. BE NICE.
f) find the best cobbler within the parameters above. wearing beat-ass shoes just looks horrid.
g) come to grips now with the fact that everyone will not like you over the summer, and you will not like everyone
h) if you're working in a place that isn't familiar to you, make sure you know how to get to work and how long it takes. this does not condone, however, showing up an hour early on the first day. if you're placed in such a predicament, spend 40 minutes in a starbucks or something.
i) find a good, sturdy, quality work bag (edit: not a goddamn backpack. it looks childish.)
j) smile, say yes please, and thank you
k) brush up on dining etiquette
l) make nice with your office mate, if you have one. nice does not equal passive-aggressive. that's your best ally, someone to bounce what are probably dumb questions off of, someone who may actually care about your Corporations professor's funny lisp.
m) most of all, follow the lead of the people around you. if the associate takes off his jacket, you can too. if everyone in the office is wearing peep-toe patent louboutins, you can too.

Pay attention to detail and notice that the lettering of the points repeats c and d.

[Anonymous User]

a) don't be an aspie
b) don't shit where you eat
c) learn about the appropriate length of a work skirt. there were some serious ho-bags at my firm last summer. other females judged.
d) invest in some certain-dri. nothing says "professional" quite like pit stains.
c) don't judge other summers based on their law school. (outside the v10) if they're from a TTT, they probs had way better grades than you and could own your ass. if they're from a t6, they were just as scared as you about getting a job and probably aren't entitled narcissistic jackasses.
d) read ATL. avoid being on ATL.
e) find the best drycleaners within a ten block radius of either your home or your work. BE NICE.
f) find the best cobbler within the parameters above. wearing beat-ass shoes just looks horrid.
g) come to grips now with the fact that everyone will not like you over the summer, and you will not like everyone
h) if you're working in a place that isn't familiar to you, make sure you know how to get to work and how long it takes. this does not condone, however, showing up an hour early on the first day. if you're placed in such a predicament, spend 40 minutes in a starbucks or something.
i) find a good, sturdy, quality work bag (edit: not a goddamn backpack. it looks childish.)
j) smile, say yes please, and thank you
k) brush up on dining etiquette
l) make nice with your office mate, if you have one. nice does not equal passive-aggressive. that's your best ally, someone to bounce what are probably dumb questions off of, someone who may actually care about your Corporations professor's funny lisp.
m) most of all, follow the lead of the people around you. if the associate takes off his jacket, you can too. if everyone in the office is wearing peep-toe patent louboutins, you can too.

Pay attention to detail and notice that the lettering of the points repeats c and d.

I would also use proper capitalization and punctuation while avoiding the foul language, but tyft

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

a) don't be an aspie
b) don't shit where you eat
c) learn about the appropriate length of a work skirt. there were some serious ho-bags at my firm last summer. other females judged.
d) invest in some certain-dri. nothing says "professional" quite like pit stains.
c) don't judge other summers based on their law school. (outside the v10) if they're from a TTT, they probs had way better grades than you and could own your ass. if they're from a t6, they were just as scared as you about getting a job and probably aren't entitled narcissistic jackasses.
d) read ATL. avoid being on ATL.
e) find the best drycleaners within a ten block radius of either your home or your work. BE NICE.
f) find the best cobbler within the parameters above. wearing beat-ass shoes just looks horrid.
g) come to grips now with the fact that everyone will not like you over the summer, and you will not like everyone
h) if you're working in a place that isn't familiar to you, make sure you know how to get to work and how long it takes. this does not condone, however, showing up an hour early on the first day. if you're placed in such a predicament, spend 40 minutes in a starbucks or something.
i) find a good, sturdy, quality work bag (edit: not a goddamn backpack. it looks childish.)
j) smile, say yes please, and thank you
k) brush up on dining etiquette
l) make nice with your office mate, if you have one. nice does not equal passive-aggressive. that's your best ally, someone to bounce what are probably dumb questions off of, someone who may actually care about your Corporations professor's funny lisp.
m) most of all, follow the lead of the people around you. if the associate takes off his jacket, you can too. if everyone in the office is wearing peep-toe patent louboutins, you can too.

Awesome post, thanks!

[nealric]

e) find the best drycleaners within a ten block radius of either your home or your work. BE NICE.
f) find the best cobbler within the parameters above. wearing beat-ass shoes just looks horrid.

Re: f) If you have new shoes, you won't need a cobbler before the end of the summer
Re: e) Wrinkle-Free shirts FTW!

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

e) find the best drycleaners within a ten block radius of either your home or your work. BE NICE.
f) find the best cobbler within the parameters above. wearing beat-ass shoes just looks horrid.

Re: f) If you have new shoes, you won't need a cobbler before the end of the summer
Re: e) Wrinkle-Free shirts FTW!

Definitely credited, banana republic iron free shirts are clutch.

[Renzo]

e) find the best drycleaners within a ten block radius of either your home or your work. BE NICE.
f) find the best cobbler within the parameters above. wearing beat-ass shoes just looks horrid.

Re: f) If you have new shoes, you won't need a cobbler before the end of the summer
Re: e) Wrinkle-Free shirts FTW!

Wrinkle free shirts are not, in reality, wrinkle free. They make home laundry/ironing feasible (whereas it's basically futile with non wrinkle-free shirts), but cleaning a shirt costs like a dollar--doing it at home is never worth it.

[Anonymous User]

Re: f) If you have new shoes, you won't need a cobbler before the end of the summer

This is not true for women's heels. Also, please see: http://jezebel.com/5652972/dress-code-t ... nts-part-2

[nealric]

hey make home laundry/ironing feasible (whereas it's basically futile with non wrinkle-free shirts), but cleaning a shirt costs like a dollar--doing it at home is never worth it.

In the time it takes you to schlep to the cleaners, you could have ironed the shirts yourself.

This is not true for women's heels.

Then wear flats.

[JG Hall]

Then wear flats.

Or just wear heels and take proper care of them, like a normal person. Flats look dumb with 75% of work skirts.

[jchoggan]

e) find the best drycleaners within a ten block radius of either your home or your work. BE NICE.
f) find the best cobbler within the parameters above. wearing beat-ass shoes just looks horrid.

Re: f) If you have new shoes, you won't need a cobbler before the end of the summer
Re: e) Wrinkle-Free shirts FTW!

Wrinkle free shirts are not, in reality, wrinkle free. They make home laundry/ironing feasible (whereas it's basically futile with non wrinkle-free shirts), but cleaning a shirt costs like a dollar--doing it at home is never worth it.

Brooks Brothers (Slim Fit if possible) Non-Iron shirts are the way to go.

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatSect ... ion_Id=205

Those are wrinkle free, and they're pretty much all I wear in my current job (I've never ironed them and they always look pressed). Nordstroms have a fitted non-iron collection that is pretty good as well, and have a few more styles. Don't get flashy, though (kids w/out WE seem to do this often)... stick with white, light blue, and maybe one or two simple stripe/pattern (with conservative ties for those).

These shirts look better, last forever, and will go with pretty much anything.

Oh, and save the French cuffs for when you make partner.

[20160810]

Is there a site out there with decent templates or how-tos for the various types of basic motions and other writing assignments SAs might be given?

[Ahhhnold]

Is there a site out there with decent templates or how-tos for the various types of basic motions and other writing assignments SAs might be given?

That would be very helpful!

[gollymolly]

I wished I'd taken a legal writing or research class spring of my 2L. I got to the firm and realized I could not for the life of me remember how to write a memo.

[Anonymous User]

Your firm should either have templates or previous work you can look at.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

I wished I'd taken a legal writing or research class spring of my 2L. I got to the firm and realized I could not for the life of me remember how to write a memo.

This is exactly what I want to prevent from happening, how did that turn out?

[Stringer Bell]

Suit first day of work to any job. Seriously. I've never worked anyway, internship or job where it wasn't standard to be in a suit the first day. Next day keep the tie, lose the jacket (still meeting people, etc). Third day go business casual.

I'm not trying to offer SA advice since I would be a poor source, but this is definitely not credited for any job. Any company I've ever worked for expects you to wear the appropriate attire. At my current company, 1 out of every 15 or so new hires will show up their first day rocking a suit and subsequently they get a bunch of crap (albeit harmless) for it from everyone else. It's good to err on the side of caution and dress as well or better than everyone else. But showing up for work in a suit at a company where the other employees clearly don't wear them is more likely to make a poor impression (unobservant/can't adapt to your situation/etc.) than not wearing one.

[Anonymous User]

Wearing a suit definitely won't hurt you. In fact, you'll probably be the odd one out for not wearing one. That said, if the code is biz cas and recruiting hasn't told you to wear a suit, biz cas is perfectly fine.

[dood]

...

[dood]

...

[Renzo]

Wrinkle free shirts are not, in reality, wrinkle free. They make home laundry/ironing feasible (whereas it's basically futile with non wrinkle-free shirts), but cleaning a shirt costs like a dollar--doing it at home is never worth it.

Brooks Brothers (Slim Fit if possible) Non-Iron shirts are the way to go.

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatSect ... ion_Id=205

Those are wrinkle free, and they're pretty much all I wear in my current job (I've never ironed them and they always look pressed). Nordstroms have a fitted non-iron collection that is pretty good as well, and have a few more styles. Don't get flashy, though (kids w/out WE seem to do this often)... stick with white, light blue, and maybe one or two simple stripe/pattern (with conservative ties for those).

These shirts look better, last forever, and will go with pretty much anything.

Oh, and save the French cuffs for when you make partner.[/quote]
I have a few of both the Nordstoms shirts and Brooks Bros. There's a difference between "wrinkle free" and pressed.

[12262010]

[Blindmelon]

Suit first day of work to any job. Seriously. I've never worked anyway, internship or job where it wasn't standard to be in a suit the first day. Next day keep the tie, lose the jacket (still meeting people, etc). Third day go business casual.

I'm not trying to offer SA advice since I would be a poor source, but this is definitely not credited for any job. Any company I've ever worked for expects you to wear the appropriate attire. At my current company, 1 out of every 15 or so new hires will show up their first day rocking a suit and subsequently they get a bunch of crap (albeit harmless) for it from everyone else. It's good to err on the side of caution and dress as well or better than everyone else. But showing up for work in a suit at a company where the other employees clearly don't wear them is more likely to make a poor impression (unobservant/can't adapt to your situation/etc.) than not wearing one.

What market? In DC, it was suit on the first day standardly. It was a business casual office, but a lot of the higher ups still wore suits. Also, in Boston, for the first day of my internship of 30 students, everyone had a suit on but 1 person and the office was business casual. This may vary greatly from city - but DC is generally very dressy, and Boston tends to be more dress-down depending where you are.

[Anonymous User]

Regarding wrinkles: While it's good to have such shirts, any self-respecting male should own a steamer.

[Kohinoor]

Is there a site out there with decent templates or how-tos for the various types of basic motions and other writing assignments SAs might be given?

Your firm's internal database will have tons of filed, correct drafts of every document imaginable. Those are far more likely to please than any template you find online. If all else fails, go to where the money is and look for examples. If you want a motion and can't find any on your database (you will), find a few filed by highly regarded firms in a high profile case in your locality and use those. Making sure you use your own locality means you're more likely to catch any quirks required by your local rules. Also, I'd get a copy of the local rules.

[Kohinoor]