V10 First Year Associate Taking Questions Forum

[Anonymous User]

Have some down time to give back a community that has given so much to me. Let 'er rip.

[ph14]

Have some down time to give back a community that has given so much to me. Let 'er rip.

School range, class rank, etc.

[Anonymous User]

Have some down time to give back a community that has given so much to me. Let 'er rip.

School range, class rank, etc.

Obviously don't want to make things too specific. Let's just say top 10 law school and I was well above median after 1L year.

[ScrabbleChamp]

Speaking of down time... how much do you have?

[Anonymous User]

Speaking of down time... how much do you have?

Except for the rare event, I usually get most weekends to myself. Haven't had to do super late nights, but I'm on track for north of 2600+ for the year.

[ScrabbleChamp]

Best and worst aspects of the "life", so far?

[sundance95]

Speaking of down time... how much do you have?

Except for the rare event, I usually get most weekends to myself. Haven't had to do super late nights, but I'm on track for north of 2600+ for the year.

Can you comment on expected efficiency of billables? What are some common tasks, and how many hours do you generally take to do them? Thx.

[Anonymous User]

Best and worst aspects of the "life", so far?

It's actually pretty sweet. I guess the worst aspect is that I generally don't have time to make my meals, which would save me money and be healthier, and I don't have time to consistently hit the gym. Best aspect? I've had maybe one night of doc review since I started (which was a while ago). I do pretty substantive work for the most part, but when a filing has to get done, you can bet that I'll be the one in the trenches. But that's just how it works.

My friends in corporate have it a lot worse. I spoke to someone last night who hasn't slept in days. He gets 40 emails or so while he sleeps. As a litigator, I've had a different experience. My time is very respected by the people above me.

[Anonymous User]

Speaking of down time... how much do you have?

Except for the rare event, I usually get most weekends to myself. Haven't had to do super late nights, but I'm on track for north of 2600+ for the year.

Can you comment on expected efficiency of billables? What are some common tasks, and how many hours do you generally take to do them? Thx.

I'm extremely efficient. That doesn't mean that it takes me little time to do things. It just means that I don't spend that much time putzing around. I like to leave the office at a respectable hour, so that incentivizes me to focus. It's hard to assign a general hours number to tasks that I do. Most of my daily tasks include writing and research.

[Anonymous User]

I'm extremely efficient. That doesn't mean that it takes me little time to do things. It just means that I don't spend that much time putzing around. I like to leave the office at a respectable hour, so that incentivizes me to focus. It's hard to assign a general hours number to tasks that I do. Most of my daily tasks include writing and research.

So what time to you usually arrive/leave?

[Anonymous User]

how did you get the job?

[Anonymous User]

I'm extremely efficient. That doesn't mean that it takes me little time to do things. It just means that I don't spend that much time putzing around. I like to leave the office at a respectable hour, so that incentivizes me to focus. It's hard to assign a general hours number to tasks that I do. Most of my daily tasks include writing and research.

So what time to you usually arrive/leave?

I try to get in at 10 and leave at 8-10.

[Anonymous User]

how did you get the job?

Early Interview Week. The way 99% of my colleagues also got their jobs...

[Anonymous User]

How do you feel about the training and feedback you have received? Do senior associates take the time to go over things you have produced to help you learn and get better on a constant basis? Or do people get blindsided at official reviews?
Thanks.

[5ky]

Thanks for taking ?s. You might want to edit how you got your job (more general term) to something more general in the interest of anonymity.

question: you say you're on track for 2600+ hours. Where would you say this puts you in your class? Top quarter, middle, bottom quarter?

[Anonymous User]

How do you feel about the training and feedback you have received? Do senior associates take the time to go over things you have produced to help you learn and get better on a constant basis? Or do people get blindsided at official reviews?
Thanks.

Training has been incredible. It's one of the reasons I chose my firm. Feedback is a little weird. I've come to realize that so long as I don't hear anything bad about my work, my work is good. You can't expect compliments, and nobody really thinks to critique you unless you do really, really well or really, really poorly.

In terms of the senior associate mentoring, it's rarely a hierarchy. The associates and partners I work under are very hands-off. I can get guidance if I need it, but so long as I do a decent job, senior associates and partners don't really feel the need to critique you. I think the philosophy is that you're too early in your career to do an amazing job, and that so long as your work is passable, nothing more is needed. As you get more senior, the experience you build upon and training you receive will mold you.

That said, if there is something that needs to be corrected in my work product, the associate corrects it. They don't really approach it from a critiquing perspective.

Nobody I know gets blindsided at reviews. You usually have a very good idea if you're going to receive a career-damaging review. That said, this is my first-year, and I doubt it's easy to do extremely poorly or extremely well. As you progress, though, the bar for "competency" gets higher and higher. If you let that bar eclipse your development as an associate, you can consider that your 6 months notice.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for taking ?s. You might want to edit how you got your job (more general term) to something more general in the interest of anonymity.

question: you say you're on track for 2600+ hours. Where would you say this puts you in your class? Top quarter, middle, bottom quarter?

What are you talking about? OGI was great!

Given the work my peers are doing, I'd say I'm probably solidly in the middle, if not toward the higher end of middle.

I'm not worried about ranking at the bottom in terms of hours. As long as I bill above 2,400 hours at my firm, I know I'm in good standing regardless of how I compare to my peers (purely in terms of hours).

I say 2,400, but really you can be in good standing by billing fewer than 2,000. I'm just risk averse, but I haven't had much opportunity to curb my workload either haha.

[Anonymous User]

Best and worst aspects of the "life", so far?

It's actually pretty sweet. I guess the worst aspect is that I generally don't have time to make my meals, which would save me money and be healthier, and I don't have time to consistently hit the gym. Best aspect? I've had maybe one night of doc review since I started (which was a while ago). I do pretty substantive work for the most part, but when a filing has to get done, you can bet that I'll be the one in the trenches. But that's just how it works.

My friends in corporate have it a lot worse. I spoke to someone last night who hasn't slept in days. He gets 40 emails or so while he sleeps. As a litigator, I've had a different experience. My time is very respected by the people above me.

Since you don't make your own meals, is it mostly take out/junk food? Is working in biglaw going to be a problem for someone with a really restrictive diet?

[Anonymous User]

Alright guys, I really need to sleep a little. I'll check back in tomorrow to answer more questions.

[monkey85]

Vacations: are they a myth in the first year? what about second and third years?

Relationships: how are your colleagues with serious gfs/bfs or wives/husbands faring?

[Anonymous User]

Since you don't make your own meals, is it mostly take out/junk food? Is working in biglaw going to be a problem for someone with a really restrictive diet?

I order out a lot, yes, but it's rarely fast food. When you don't make your meals, you have less control over what goes in it and you tend to consume larger portions. On top of that, your body still has to adjust to a much more sedentary lifestyle. Law school isn't sedentary. Working at a law firm is. It's absolutely essential that you save time for the gym and learn how to cook. Even if you can afford to eat out all the time, it doesn't make financial sense to do so.

[Anonymous User]

Vacations: are they a myth in the first year? what about second and third years?

Depends on what you mean by "vacations." Did I take time off over Thanksgiving? Yes. Did I spend two weeks in Costa Rica? No. I think the two week vacation is best saved until after your first performance review. In terms of fitting it into your work schedule, it's very easy and very possible for litigators. It's possible for corporate attorneys as well, but you need to plan for it far further in advance and keep notifying your colleagues so that you're not staffed on any deals.

Relationships: how are your colleagues with serious gfs/bfs or wives/husbands faring?

They're all doing great. I'm in one myself. It's going great.

[ph14]

Short term/Long term plans and/or goals?

[Anonymous User]

Short term/Long term plans and/or goals?

To stay at the firm as long as I humanely can.

[ph14]

Short term/Long term plans and/or goals?

To stay at the firm as long as I humanely can.

How long do you expect to? Do you expect to be forced out or lateral out somewhere of your own accord?