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Is it rare for SAs to be expected to pull weekends? I don't mind at all, but I was also considering booking some quick weekend getaways this summer, and I will book refundable accommodations to the extent possible if there's a chance I might be asked to work on a weekend last-minute.

2L here, but my impression is that (unless you're at WLRK) it's uncommon to work weekends, and if you do, you can work from home. The only SAs who come into the office on weekends volunteer to do so. I know a bunch of SAs from last year who took weekends off for weddings and such, and as long as notice was given, it was never an issue.

In general, it's pretty uncommon but not totally unheard of. If you're in litigation especially, you'll have a very good idea which weekends (if any) may be busy since it's dictated largely by filing deadlines.

Varies by firm though. I know some Cravath SAs who worked weekends pretty regularly. My friend at Cleary said she didn't know a single person who did so because they were asked to (some super-motivated people came in anyways to get a jump on the week ahead).

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One litigation partner at my firm made it a habit to give every summer associate an assignment on Friday with a false deadline of Monday. If Monday rolled around and you had no product to show for it, he would blackball you.

G. T. L. Rev. wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:One litigation partner at my firm made it a habit to give every summer associate an assignment on Friday with a false deadline of Monday. If Monday rolled around and you had no product to show for it, he would blackball you.

That's insane, and, given the anonymity of the post, likely flame in my impression.

During my summer program, I think I worked a few hours on maybe two or three weekends. I probably could have gotten away with less weekend work than that (perhaps even zero), but it was 2009 and nobody was sure WTF would happen with offer rates. Anyhow, I think OP should go ahead and schedule the trips, without paying for the refundable fares. You will almost certainly be able to work around anything that comes up. The key, I think, is just making sure that you use your days intelligently, and get your assignments in on time. Communicating your plans to the assigning attorney before you take an assignment, or with a few days notice, can mitigate a lot of potential risks.

Not a flame, and didn't happen every Friday. But this particular partner thought it was a good gauge of how dependable you might be as an associate to see if you would work one weekend during the summer.

I worked quite a few weekends as a summer, but I was also a summer during the great no-offer scourge of 2009, so the stakes were a bit different.

nealric wrote:I worked quite a few weekends as a summer, but I was also a summer during the great no-offer scourge of 2009, so the stakes were a bit different.

I think the stakes are still the same

I worked a few weekends during my summer. I work a lot of them now.

I know a SA who did this because said person liked to churn out more work product than was absolutely called for. (If 1-2 work products a week were the norm, SA would always hit 2-3). Did good work consistently and got an offer.

::edit:: This was during the bloodbath of '09.

::edit:: Firm put out very high offer rates anyway so it's unlikely that said weekends were the reason for the offer. Some people just like working.

some SAs like to come in on sundays and then e-mail everyone about something random just to show off that they are there on the weekend.

i had to work a few/medium amount of weekends but usually not much work at all. i would go ahead and book the trips. if i had really really wanted to avoid working on the weekends, i could've worked more during the week: none of these assignments were given to me on a friday or anything like that. it was mostly me being like, ah bleh, i'm going home, working like 5 hours over the weekend isn't a big deal so it was fully avoidable

I think the stakes are still the same

Nah, your chances of getting no-offered this summer are pretty low compared to 2009.

I summered at a big firm last year and one woman worked during the first weekend at the firm. When the hiring people found out, they spoke to the attorneys immediately. They basically told the attorneys that we were not to work weekends and told the summers that if we were working weekends, we should tell them.

So, my guess would be that working weekends as a summer is entirely firm specific.

Nah, your chances of getting no-offered this summer are pretty low compared to 2009.

That is definitely true, but I think that you'll still see people working a lot harder than they were in, say, 2006, and a lot fewer SAs seeing the summer as basically an opportunity to party and take 2 hour lunches. That may also be because summer programs are having a lot fewer events for SAs as well

Worked at a V10. Was heavily encouraged not to work weekends or stay late. Still stayed in on some nights, and still went in on some weekends. Got an offer. Some coworkers just did the 10-6 routine and nothing more, and they got offers. Entirely firm specific, but you should be able to sense what the culture is like after a few days of working at the firm.

One thing I'd add: There seems to be a sentiment here to the effect of: "If I am not required to work weekends to get an offer then I won't work weekends."

Even if you think not working extra won't result in a no-offer, it's still potentially worthwhile to do it. Remember, in 90% of cases the SA will be coming back to the firm, and you'll be working with largely the same people there before. If a partner remembers you really busted ass on his/her case and worked hard and diligently, he or she will be more likely to assign you work, and your overall reputation at the firm will be better.

Obviously, this isn't an argument in favor of needlessly coming in on weekends even though you have nothing to do. But if your team is in a time crunch, or would be really helped by you staying late or coming in for a couple of hours on Saturday, it may very well be worth doing, if only to leave people with positive impressions that will help you further down the road.

If a partner remembers you really busted ass on his/her case and worked hard and diligently, he or she will be more likely to assign you work, and your overall reputation at the firm will be better.

This is actually rarely the case when going from being a summer associate to an associate.

Just going to play it by ear here. I have several friends who have expressed interest in visiting me on weekends, and I may make a quick weekend trip or two. I feel like as long as you bust ass during regular face-time hours you'll be fine.

So this is a related inquiry from a 2L soon-to-be litigation SA. I tend to be a total workaholic (and that is putting it mildly). In addition, my significant other is also a workaholic/2d year litigation associate at an intense firm. So I can see wanting to work weekends, especially from home. We already coordinate our time so we so work on the weekend at the same time. Plus, we live walking distance from our offices, which are conveniently in the same building, so I could also see wanting to stay late, work, and walk home together.

So, I don't want to seem like a total gunner, but I want to work hard and my life is set up for that to be quite easy to fall into. Is there a proper balance? I have heard going completely balls out can result in resentment from the younger associates and can present problems in getting an offer. Any opinions on this?

Just what people have said earlier - the other associates/HR people will notice if you are being a total gunner and tell you to take it easy.