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I haven't seen a lot of discussion of white collar work in particular on TLS so I thought it might be useful to answer questions about it, especially as OCI season rolls in and you start getting questions about what practice areas you're interested in and why. I think law students sometimes think of this as a sexy practice area but don't know much about the day to day.

About me: 2013 grad at a highly regarded NYC firm doing both civil and white collar lit, with a substantial emphasis on the latter.

Ask away. If I don't get back to this tonight, will check in in the morning.

Thank you for taking questions. What do you think of people in interviews saying they are interested in White Collar when more often than not they don't know exactly what you're talking about?

Anonymous User wrote:Thank you for taking questions. What do you think of people in interviews saying they are interested in White Collar when more often than not they don't know exactly what you're talking about?

OP: Honesty is key, IMO. Like with most things in the law firm interviewing process, you're only expected to know so much. I just don't want you to think you know more than you do. A genuinely expressed interest in an area of the law we actually have done work in is pretty much all I hope to hear. If you have applicable experience, all the better, but it's hardly necessary.

"White collar" is a big category that could describe everything from defending an executive in a criminal trial to doing an internal investigation into accounting irregularities in Malaysia. Research what the firm actually does; if its white collar group does mainly FCPA investigations, you'll look like a bit of a rube if you come in talking about how you want to do insider trading trials.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Thank you for taking questions. What do you think of people in interviews saying they are interested in White Collar when more often than not they don't know exactly what you're talking about?

OP: Honesty is key, IMO. Like with most things in the law firm interviewing process, you're only expected to know so much. I just don't want you to think you know more than you do. A genuinely expressed interest in an area of the law we actually have done work in would help.

"White collar" is a big category that could describe everything from defending an executive in a criminal trial to doing an internal investigation into accounting irregularities in Malaysia. Research what the firm actually does; if its white collar group does mainly FCPA investigations, you'll look like a bit of a rube if you come in talking about how you want to do insider trading trials.

Thank you! I really am not sure what I want to do, but an interviewer pushed me, and so I said White Collar as a possibility(which genuinely is true, but not based on experience or really even working knowledge), but then he went on to almost quiz me to see if I knew what I was talking about... I will follow your advice at least have a specific about the firm in mind next time.

OP: I'm sure you did fine. In the future, don't box yourself in; if you preface your answers with the right caveats ("I haven't had a lot of experience with it, but I think x would be interesting..."), then you can get away with not knowing the answers to the follow-ups. (This is a good way to approach almost everything you will do in your legal career.)

Are language skills (think Arabic/Mandarin/Hindi) a sought-after trait in FCPA work? Any good ways to break into the field as a general lit lateral?

Anonymous User wrote:Are language skills (think Arabic/Mandarin/Hindi) a sought-after trait in FCPA work? Any good ways to break into the field as a general lit lateral?

OP: It would certainly be useful if you landed on a case where those languages were applicable. The problem is it's hard to know whether any particular firm will have a relevant case any any particular time. (Though frankly, the odds are pretty good with that trio.) I'm really not sure about lateraling, but FCPA work seems like a hot area, and I would guess that with your language skills plus a lit background plus a resume that puts you in the right ballpark, you'd be an attractive candidate.

favorite animal?

i swear to god there used to be an anon quote button

Anonymous User wrote:i swear to god there used to be an anon quote button

OWNED

chimp wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:i swear to god there used to be an anon quote button

OWNED

anyway did I mention how much I love chimps?

Desert Fox wrote:IF you met the person who programmed Relativity what would you do?

Not even white collar and this question makes me enraged

Anonymous User wrote:I haven't seen a lot of discussion of white collar work in particular on TLS so I thought it might be useful to answer questions about it, especially as OCI season rolls in and you start getting questions about what practice areas you're interested in and why. I think law students sometimes think of this as a sexy practice area but don't know much about the day to day.

About me: 2013 grad at a highly regarded NYC firm doing both civil and white collar lit, with a substantial emphasis on the latter.

Ask away. If I don't get back to this tonight, will check in in the morning.

Have you sat at counsel table during a federal trial?

Also, in terms of relative humidity, what is the sweatiest federal prison you've met with a client in?

To gain experience as a criminal defense attorney, have you also represented drug dealers or those facing weapons felonies, or child molesters? In a related question, do you consider a doctor accused of receiving kick-backs from a marketer in exchange for writing prescriptions for Oxy without examining the patient white collar, or are they mere drug dealers despite their medical degrees? Is there such a thing as blue-collar crime?

As someone whose really only interested in specialized litigation, what factors do you think distinguish it from other forms of litigation (e.g. general/complex commecial lit, labor & employment, mass torts, etc.)? Assuming you rotated with another type of group of course... Like more/less doc review, more/less interesting cases, more/less client contact, more/less substantive responsibility, etc.?

Also, I'm pretty hesitant to pref any group for next summer that doesn't have somewhat robust exit options. I know they wouldn't be anywhere near the amount of options that a corporate generalist/M&A/cap. markets atty has, but do people who want to leave the firm have a decent chance of finding greener pastures? I.e. in-house or fed gov. I've heard from one person that this is possible, but I'm slightly skeptical. [And of course I know this differs depending on whether you do SEC investigations, federal criminal defense, etc.] But any insight generally, or specifically into a subcomponent, would be nice...

Lastly, as an associate, do you have a hard time finding clients? I mean, at least where I summered, many of these clients aren't, and probably shouldn't be repeat customers, so as someone who isn't lead counsel on a trial, how hard is professional development in this area?

Thanks for your time.

Desert Fox wrote:IF you met the person who programmed Relativity what would you do?

You know that scene from true detective s1 where Rust describes the cartel's extreme form of torture?

Is it true that WC work, particularly at the junior level, is mostly doc review? Do you and others in your position feel worried that you aren't developing as many substantive legal skills as your peers who are 100% civil litigation? What are the upsides and downsides, career development- and exit options-wise, for WC associates?

Thanks!