Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences... Forum

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SA ends and you receive an offer, what are you drinking?

Beer
14
13%
Whiskey
39
35%
Tequila
11
10%
Cocktail
11
10%
Champagne
21
19%
Wine (red, white, box)
16
14%
 
Total votes: 112

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jun 26, 2014 7:41 pm

Desert Fox wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:I'm completely flat out right now with assignments that are due next week (some given to me today, some longer term) and I'm thinking that I won't be able to produce my absolutely best work. Unfortunately, I think the attorneys that gave me the work believe there deadlines were overly generous to begin with. I'm already planning on working pretty must all the time that isn't events. Should I ask for extensions early or just hope and pray I can get them acceptable work product?

Also, the recruiting department has encouraged us to go to them if we get swamped but that feels a little like tattling. Thoughts?
Even working all weekend you can't get it all done?
I'm gonna try, but I'm worried about it.

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Birdnals

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by Birdnals » Thu Jun 26, 2014 7:48 pm

I feel like it is always better to give people as long of a heads up as possible that you might not meet deadline, so that they aren't the one scrambling to do your work for you.

Do you have a mentor? Talk to him/her about it, that is what he/she is there for. Also I don't think it is a big deal to sit down with somebody you know on recruiting department and let them know your schedule. They may know which person would be best to approach first about not having enough time to finish everything.

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Kikero

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by Kikero » Thu Jun 26, 2014 10:57 pm

Got home to find out that the power is going to be out until 11pm. Should've just stayed at the office and racked up dem billables.

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jun 27, 2014 5:20 pm

The associates who gave you the assignments actually gave you accurate dates? Most of the one's I've received, the associates tell me they just guess. If it's actually due on a date due to a filing, presentation, etc., they tell us but otherwise it's just a flat out guess.

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mephistopheles

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by mephistopheles » Sun Jun 29, 2014 4:23 pm

just keep your suit jackets and ties at work, then roll in a tad early and you can change if need be.

but all that talk about no work? I've worked every day since starting. it's fantastic, but some firms don't bullshit

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by mephistopheles » Sun Jun 29, 2014 4:24 pm

also, and now this is firm dependent, but summer events don't really matter as long as you get good reviews. (maybe skadden and a few others are different, but you'd know)

being late to events or leaving early isn't problematic, and neither is completely missing them if things come up last minute.

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by 09042014 » Sun Jun 29, 2014 4:27 pm

mephistopheles wrote:also, and now this is firm dependent, but summer events don't really matter as long as you get good reviews. (maybe skadden and a few others are different, but you'd know)

being late to events or leaving early isn't problematic, and neither is completely missing them if things come up last minute.

added: don't go to admin.
That's not generally true. Most firms place heavily emphasis on fitting in.

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by mephistopheles » Sun Jun 29, 2014 4:32 pm

Desert Fox wrote:
mephistopheles wrote:also, and now this is firm dependent, but summer events don't really matter as long as you get good reviews. (maybe skadden and a few others are different, but you'd know)

being late to events or leaving early isn't problematic, and neither is completely missing them if things come up last minute.

added: don't go to admin.
That's not generally true. Most firms place heavily emphasis on fitting in.

but it's only lit associates who ever show up and re: the other summers, as long as you put in some facetime you're good. it's not like they're counting drinks or doing actual social reviews, past "is this person not asbergers-central?"

and isn't getting good reviews fitting in?

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by rpupkin » Sun Jun 29, 2014 4:40 pm

Desert Fox wrote:
mephistopheles wrote:also, and now this is firm dependent, but summer events don't really matter as long as you get good reviews. (maybe skadden and a few others are different, but you'd know)

being late to events or leaving early isn't problematic, and neither is completely missing them if things come up last minute.

added: don't go to admin.
That's not generally true. Most firms place heavily emphasis on fitting in.
Yep. The emphasis on social events varies from firm to firm, but there are at least a couple of big firms out there where "performance" at social events seems even more important than work product. If you're summering at Latham, for example, it's probably safer to be illiterate than aspie.
Last edited by rpupkin on Sun Jun 29, 2014 4:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by mephistopheles » Sun Jun 29, 2014 4:41 pm

how people still go to latham (and in not insignificant numbers) confuses me

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jun 29, 2014 5:19 pm

I know at least one V10 that told its summers this year flat-out "social events come before work." Also, during my summer one SA missed pretty much every social event because he had "so much work" and recruiting was NOT happy about it. So I would definitely disagree that summer events don't matter, in general.

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by 09042014 » Sun Jun 29, 2014 5:21 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I know at least one V10 that told its summers this year flat-out "social events come before work." Also, during my summer one SA missed pretty much every social event because he had "so much work" and recruiting was NOT happy about it. So I would definitely disagree that summer events don't matter, in general.
Don't blow a deadline to go to a social event, but that's the only reason you shouldn't go to an event.

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by jrf12886 » Sun Jun 29, 2014 7:51 pm

Desert Fox wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:I know at least one V10 that told its summers this year flat-out "social events come before work." Also, during my summer one SA missed pretty much every social event because he had "so much work" and recruiting was NOT happy about it. So I would definitely disagree that summer events don't matter, in general.
Don't blow a deadline to go to a social event, but that's the only reason you shouldn't go to an event.
That wasn't my experience. You should go to some of the social events, and you should go to any event that you are personally invited to (i.e., one that is not open to everyone), provided it won't make you miss a deadline. You do not need to go to every social event or stay the whole time. So long as you don't blow off everything or act really awkward, you should be fine.

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by fl0w » Mon Jun 30, 2014 1:57 am

why the hell wouldn't you want to go to the social events. they are doing this for you. you'll never be spoiled like this again.

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by 2014 » Mon Jun 30, 2014 3:37 am

Yeah I don't really get it either. Everyone gets the speech about how small the legal world is and your network insofar as your firm starts now. When someone needs you to bail them out because of a vacation or wants you to introduce them to a friend at another firm they want to exit to or whatever, you are probably more likely to help out the guy/girl who you spent more time with out of work. Plus who doesn't like to do things for free that others have to pay for?

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by jbagelboy » Mon Jun 30, 2014 12:23 pm

fl0w wrote:why the hell wouldn't you want to go to the social events. they are doing this for you. you'll never be spoiled like this again.
I like the social events, and I'm not sure why people ITT are trying to avoid them, with the exception of some of the local state bar receptions and general firm networking/mingling, where often only the summers have shown up. Then we might as well have gone to a bar. So I might bail on one of them this week. While the recruiting personnel seem encouraging about them and give us tickets ect., the attorneys remain lukewarm about bar or pro bono events with other firms and rarely show up; I figure I've been to enough of them now that my "exploring the local legal market" quota is met and I can just focus on making it to the events where the attorneys and partners I actually work with will be present.

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jul 01, 2014 3:45 pm

I had my review last week and like some others mentioned, the hiring partners didn't really say anything. They were like, "you've been doing good work so far, keep it up." When I asked they said there were no areas for concern. The rest was them asking me whether I liked balance of assignments etc. the whole thing was kind of somber though. Firm usually has very high offer rate (almost 100%) but it was not a calming meeting.

Thoughts?

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by jbagelboy » Tue Jul 01, 2014 4:39 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I had my review last week and like some others mentioned, the hiring partners didn't really say anything. They were like, "you've been doing good work so far, keep it up." When I asked they said there were no areas for concern. The rest was them asking me whether I liked balance of assignments etc. the whole thing was kind of somber though. Firm usually has very high offer rate (almost 100%) but it was not a calming meeting.

Thoughts?
Mine was very similar. No concerns cited, was told to keep up the good work and that no one had complaints, but they didn't seem particularly "excited" about me. I think that's the nature of a busy partner. I wouldn't worry about it; other SA's I spoke with reported similar experiences.

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by 09042014 » Tue Jul 01, 2014 6:09 pm

jbagelboy wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:I had my review last week and like some others mentioned, the hiring partners didn't really say anything. They were like, "you've been doing good work so far, keep it up." When I asked they said there were no areas for concern. The rest was them asking me whether I liked balance of assignments etc. the whole thing was kind of somber though. Firm usually has very high offer rate (almost 100%) but it was not a calming meeting.

Thoughts?
Mine was very similar. No concerns cited, was told to keep up the good work and that no one had complaints, but they didn't seem particularly "excited" about me. I think that's the nature of a busy partner. I wouldn't worry about it; other SA's I spoke with reported similar experiences.
How the fuck isn't this a good sign? You pussies need to check your low to self eestem.

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jul 01, 2014 7:35 pm

JusticeHarlan wrote:
brotherdarkness wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
I start next week also. Excited but nervous -- really, I'm worried about how much work we'll have and how to balance it with school-related work that I'll have over the summer (like grading writing competition packets and other journal work, fun fun). Do most places let you bill that kind of work?
Some current (former?) 3Ls told me that they would grade write-on packets at night, after getting home from work. I have a hard time believing that any firm would allow you to do school-related work at the firm.
You can do personal work from the office. You can't bill for it or anything, but one perk of biglaw is that you get an office and get treated like an adult in it. Bring your writing competition stuff to work and do it during downtime all you want.
My firm has a billing code for law review stuff and clerkship applications. I asked our recruiters and they even said I could use it for if I needed to make a fundraising call for my organization.

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jul 02, 2014 1:04 am

Now that we're halfway through the summer, what's the general consensus around these parts? Are you enjoying the SA experience? Do you like your firm/the people at your firm?

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jul 02, 2014 2:15 am

jbagelboy wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:I had my review last week and like some others mentioned, the hiring partners didn't really say anything. They were like, "you've been doing good work so far, keep it up." When I asked they said there were no areas for concern. The rest was them asking me whether I liked balance of assignments etc. the whole thing was kind of somber though. Firm usually has very high offer rate (almost 100%) but it was not a calming meeting.

Thoughts?
Mine was very similar. No concerns cited, was told to keep up the good work and that no one had complaints, but they didn't seem particularly "excited" about me. I think that's the nature of a busy partner. I wouldn't worry about it; other SA's I spoke with reported similar experiences.
Nervous about my upcoming review. I haven't gotten any informal feedback beyond the usual "Thanks, good job" when I turn something in. Worried that means I've got bad reviews coming. Or maybe in just paranoid and everyone's just too busy to care.

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jul 02, 2014 2:17 am

Anonymous User wrote:Now that we're halfway through the summer, what's the general consensus around these parts? Are you enjoying the SA experience? Do you like your firm/the people at your firm?
I'm 2/3 of the way thru. Being an SA is pretty awesome--lots of great food, not too much work, awesome paycheck. I said I wanted to do M&A going in but now want to do lit. I've been doing both all summer and all the lit associates want me to jump ship to lit, so I think I'm going to do it.

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by iheartmonkey » Wed Jul 02, 2014 7:52 am

Anonymous User wrote:Now that we're halfway through the summer, what's the general consensus around these parts? Are you enjoying the SA experience? Do you like your firm/the people at your firm?
I am really enjoying my experience. I like the firm, the people, the training, the food, and the substantive projects that I am working on. I still have no idea what area of law I want to focus on but I definitely feel that I have learned a lot about the business end of the industry and the opportunities available to me in practice. My only concern is how fast I'm burning through my paychecks. Granted, I will not be making several trips across the country to attend job fairs as an associate but I still do not think that 160k/year goes a long way in NYC.

ETA: 1L SA

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Re: Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences...

Post by goldeneye » Wed Jul 02, 2014 9:26 am

Anonymous User wrote:
jbagelboy wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:I had my review last week and like some others mentioned, the hiring partners didn't really say anything. They were like, "you've been doing good work so far, keep it up." When I asked they said there were no areas for concern. The rest was them asking me whether I liked balance of assignments etc. the whole thing was kind of somber though. Firm usually has very high offer rate (almost 100%) but it was not a calming meeting.

Thoughts?
Mine was very similar. No concerns cited, was told to keep up the good work and that no one had complaints, but they didn't seem particularly "excited" about me. I think that's the nature of a busy partner. I wouldn't worry about it; other SA's I spoke with reported similar experiences.
Nervous about my upcoming review. I haven't gotten any informal feedback beyond the usual "Thanks, good job" when I turn something in. Worried that means I've got bad reviews coming. Or maybe in just paranoid and everyone's just too busy to care.
Man you guys are terribly paranoid.

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