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I'm in my first year in biglaw. Was wondering how many/what kind of mistakes you made as a first year, whether these are expected by more senior associates/partners, and how you progressed (looking back as a 2+ yr associate). Biglaw employees (or former employees) only please...

Posting on TLS instead of billing.

That's more of a 2nd year thing?

Working too hard when the bar was so low- worrying too much

Thinking that everything was mission-critical, had to drop everything I was doing, even if a Saturday when I'm at the beach. Not really a mistake, but something you learn along the way about what is needed ASAP and what can wait, and when you can ask about the expectation.

not letting group know my thoughts on issues/staying silent when i shouldve weighed-in

no ragrets

One common thing I've noticed is that a lot of associates are total pushovers when it comes to fencing off time for themselves. Sure, you gotta get the important stuff done, but you don't need to flush your vacation down the toilet for a fake deadline. If you want to be treated like a person, act like you have the rights of one and don't submissively urinate every time a partner emails you.

The cardinal rule is don't take on more than you can handle. I've never known of an associate getting fired/pushed out for turning down work (unless the associate turned down everything all the time). I know lots of associates who overloaded themselves, turned in subpar work, and then permanently lost the ability to get work from that partner.

Be nice to support staff, junior associates, opposing counsel, and court employees. Karma is a bitch, so don't make her angry.

Everybody makes mistakes. When (not if) you make one, own up to it, explain what you've done to fix it and what you plan to do to make sure it doesn't happen again. Don't send 15 apology emails, just own it and move on with your life.

Omerta wrote:One common thing I've noticed is that a lot of associates are total pushovers when it comes to fencing off time for themselves. Sure, you gotta get the important stuff done, but you don't need to flush your vacation down the toilet for a fake deadline. If you want to be treated like a person, act like you have the rights of one and don't submissively urinate every time a partner emails you.

The cardinal rule is don't take on more than you can handle. I've never known of an associate getting fired/pushed out for turning down work (unless the associate turned down everything all the time). I know lots of associates who overloaded themselves, turned in subpar work, and then permanently lost the ability to get work from that partner.

Be nice to support staff, junior associates, opposing counsel, and court employees. Karma is a bitch, so don't make her angry.

Everybody makes mistakes. When (not if) you make one, own up to it, explain what you've done to fix it and what you plan to do to make sure it doesn't happen again. Don't send 15 apology emails, just own it and move on with your life.

cosigned and very highly credited

Omerta wrote:One common thing I've noticed is that a lot of associates are total pushovers when it comes to fencing off time for themselves. Sure, you gotta get the important stuff done, but you don't need to flush your vacation down the toilet for a fake deadline. If you want to be treated like a person, act like you have the rights of one and don't submissively urinate every time a partner emails you.

The cardinal rule is don't take on more than you can handle. I've never known of an associate getting fired/pushed out for turning down work (unless the associate turned down everything all the time). I know lots of associates who overloaded themselves, turned in subpar work, and then permanently lost the ability to get work from that partner.

Be nice to support staff, junior associates, opposing counsel, and court employees. Karma is a bitch, so don't make her angry.

Everybody makes mistakes. When (not if) you make one, own up to it, explain what you've done to fix it and what you plan to do to make sure it doesn't happen again. Don't send 15 apology emails, just own it and move on with your life.

Pretty much ended the thread in a single post. Nice summary.