V10 Associate Taking Questions Forum

[Anonymous User]

Happy to take questions for a bit. Won't get too specific for fear of being outed.

[Anonymous User]

What are the hours like? Litigation or corporate? How many years you been there, and how are you liking/hating it so far?

[shoeshine]

What school range did you attend? Why/how did you pick your firm?

And something a little different:
What is the dress code like? Casual Fridays? Suit jackets all day?

[kaiser]

Do you find that your summer experience was at all representative of what associate life is really like?

PSA, but I think it would be smart for people who post in this thread to not use the anon feature, so that way we can easily tell which poster the OP is, and avoid any mixups

[Anonymous User]

What are the hours like? Litigation or corporate? How many years you been there, and how are you liking/hating it so far?

I'm a junior litigation associate. The hours are significant, but it's by choice. I'm in it for the long haul, so my impression is that the hours you bill signal your seriousness about remaining at the firm. If your goal is to leave in a few years, you can probably get away with billing significantly fewer hours.

I really like my firm. The work is grueling, but my attitude toward it all is that there's no way I should be cross-examining key witnesses this early in my career; you have to start at the bottom and work your way up. A lot of people bemoan doc review, but you've got to do it and have faith that if you do good work, you'll eventually be rewarded with more responsibility. I think a lot of juniors these days come in expecting to do depositions and trials from day one. That's not going to happen and a client would flip out if they learned that a dispositive event in their case was lead by a junior (or even a midlevel associate, for that matter).

That's not to say that I haven't had substantial responsibility. But it is just to say that I've had to do some of the work that people complain a lot about in biglaw. And it's also just to say that if you put it into perspective, your experience as an associate at a big firm will be significantly more pleasant.

[Anonymous User]

What school range did you attend? Why/how did you pick your firm?

And something a little different:
What is the dress code like? Casual Fridays? Suit jackets all day?

I attended a top 14 law school. I picked my firm based on its stability, strength in my practice area, and personality fit.

Dress code is business casual.

[Anonymous User]

Do you find that your summer experience was at all representative of what associate life is really like?

Yes and no. The free lunches and free dinners were no more. And as a summer, I found it quite common for associates to come into my office and ask me why I'm there beyond 5pm, or why I came in on a weekend, or why I'm responding on my blackberry at 2am. As an associate, these things are expected of me. There's also less sugar coating. No one has been mean to me, though. Everyone has been awesome. They just haven't been pulling the whole, "[Firm Name] shits rainbows!" spiel that they did during the summer. And I'm cool with that. I never expected any firm to shit rainbows, so I think my expectations were in line.

[kaiser]

Sounds like you have a really good attitude about everything, and I'm sure that goes far. You said you are in for the long haul and bill significant hours. How many hours are you on track to bill this year? And how does that compare to your peers in the office? Also, how do you keep things organized and prioritized when there are so many demands on your time? Any tips on that?

[foxtrottortxof]

Which market? How long are you at the office during the week? work on weekends?

[5ky]

What's the face time policy like at your firm? Is working from home frowned upon later on at night/on the weekends?

[Anonymous User]

Are there a lot of URMs at your firm? How are they fairing? Do they tend to leave quicker than others? Generally on par with everyone else in terms of assignments, advancing, etc. ?

[Anonymous User]

You said you are in for the long haul and bill significant hours. How many hours are you on track to bill this year?

If this year goes anything like last year, I'll be on track to bill roughly 2,800 hours. I doubt I'll actually bill that much this year, because I see my case load lightening up in the next few months. Who knows?

And how does that compare to your peers in the office? Also, how do you keep things organized and prioritized when there are so many demands on your time? Any tips on that?

A good 25% of the associates in my class year are putting in more hours.

In terms of managing demands... I'd say that I'm very careful about what I take on. People who end up messing up are people who don't know to say "no" when someone approaches them with work. A lot of associates at firms like to gun by taking on a lot of work. But really, the associate who dedicates himself to a single task and does an amazing job on it looks far better and learns far more than the associate who does a mediocre job on five different tasks. I realize that's somewhat of a false dichotomy, but I think the lesson here is that you have to learn how to balance breadth and depth, and that's something you learn to do when you develop as an associate. It really just varies from person to person.

[Anonymous User]

Which market? How long are you at the office during the week? work on weekends?

It's a major market. The hours I put in the office are consistent with my billables (so weekends are commonplace).

[Anonymous User]

What's the face time policy like at your firm? Is working from home frowned upon later on at night/on the weekends?

On any given week, assuming I have no meetings, I bet I could work from home most days of those weeks and people wouldn't care. My firm isn't a face-time firm. It's a "do your work, we don't care how you do it" sort of firm. And if you don't do your work, you then face the consequences. You don't win favors or allies by sticking around at 10pm playing minesweeper on your computer.

[Anonymous User]

Which market? How long are you at the office during the week? work on weekends?

It's a major market. The hours I put in the office are consistent with my billables (so weekends are commonplace).

MOD EDIT

[Anonymous User]

Are there a lot of URMs at your firm? How are they fairing? Do they tend to leave quicker than others? Generally on par with everyone else in terms of assignments, advancing, etc. ?

In the most senior ranks, no. In the more junior ranks, plenty. They're fairing extremely well, from what I can tell. I can;t comment on whether they leave more quickly... it's just so difficult to gauge. My perspective is that, if they tend to have shorter careers in biglaw, it's more out of their choice these days than the firm's.

[kaiser]

Did you make the post in the other thread about having turned down a V20, and noting that people who chose that V20 were disappointed with their experience? You don't have to answer this post in the thread, but perhaps you can PM me about it? (since I am considering a V20 and would really like to know if what they are saying is largely fluff)

[Anonymous User]

Which market? How long are you at the office during the week? work on weekends?

It's a major market. The hours I put in the office are consistent with my billables (so weekends are commonplace).

MOD EDIT

Rude. And no.

[5ky]

Which market? How long are you at the office during the week? work on weekends?

It's a major market. The hours I put in the office are consistent with my billables (so weekends are commonplace).

MOD EDIT

Knock it off. Tried to report the post, already had been.

[20121109]

Please try to respect the anonymity of those trying to help others.

Thank you.

[shoeshine]

Are you married? Girlfriend or Boyfriend? Kids?

[Anonymous User]

Are you married? Girlfriend or Boyfriend? Kids?

I have a significant other, though I'm not married.

[5ky]

You mentioned that about 25% of associates are at your level of billing or higher -- are they all in it for the long haul, too? What's the billable range for those not looking to stick around long term?

[foxtrottortxof]

What's your strategy for getting work? (Do you have a regular partner(s) then dabble elsewhere? take whatever you can get? How picky are you with assignments? How many do you turn down before taking one? Are you able to negotiate for certain work/experiences?)

[TheFriendlyBarber]

Are you married? Girlfriend or Boyfriend? Kids?

I have a significant other, though I'm not married.

How much time do you get to spend with him/her on a particular weekday and on weekends?