LegaleZy wrote:First, thanks for doing this. I'm very interested in labor and employment, but as you've noted, at least at my school, it's been hard to get a clear idea of what exactly I'd be signing-up for beyond just general answers that could apply to any area of law. Forgive me in advance for the garage of questions:
What bought you to L&E, given you were in general litigation previously? How does L&E compare to your previous position?
What is your typical day like? Do you find your work load/hours more predictable than your peers in other practice groups?
How often do you work with lawyers in other practice areas?
What qualities do you think make an associate successful in L&E?
How much is your practice labor related issues compared to general employment issues?
At most large firms, does L&E tend to be a smaller practice area compared to others?
Thanks again for offering to answer questions!
1. I pretty much always knew I wanted to be in L&E. Only ended up in general lit since thats where most of the work was when I first started as a junior. L&E was slow and general lit had lots going on, so I was essentially compelled to join general lit. I only ever cared about the "human" areas of practice that have that real world element to them. I never cared about things like banking, antitrust, securities, etc. and could never do that on a daily basis. I needed something that constantly involves real people, real situations, real emotions, etc. And nothing seemed more real world than employment law.
As for the comparison to general lit, L&E had so many benefits. In general, it involves far less discovery, so much more of my time is spent on substantive matters (though in the biggest L&E practices that focus mostly on wage & hour work, there is still just as much discovery, but I'm not at a firm that focuses on those mega wage & hours). So now, I spend much more of my time writing briefs, attending mediations, preparing for depositions, engaging with clients on counseling matters, etc. On top of that, the substance is just so much more engaging on a daily basis. You can't make some of these stories up if you tried. Finally, the exit opportunities are much better out of L&E compared to general lit (as is often the case with more specialized areas). But L&E in particular creates a great pipeline to in-house positions since every place needs L&E counsel. Of course, it also keeps the door open to working in smaller L&E boutiques, whether management or employee side.
2. Part of what I like is that my days are now much more varied. Just to clarify, I switched firms in order to break into L&E, and my current firm has more mid-size clients and cases, so some of what I'm about to describe is really a function of the firm size as opposed to a lit vs. L&E thing. But previously in general lit, I worked on just 2 huge cases. I'd sit down and log my 4 or 5 hours on each case every single day with a pretty high level of predictability. L&E is very different (especially now that I'm at a firm with these smaller clients and cases, relatively speaking to the mega-firm I used to be with). As for hours, its been far more manageable (though can obviously still be very bad during busy times). But since the discovery nonsense is not quite as persistent, it eases up a bit more often.
L&E involves two key parts: litigation and counseling. So I spend part of my days doing litigation work, whether it be drafting a brief, drafting interrogatories, mediation statements, etc. But the other (and probably most important) aspect of L&E is the counseling work. Clients call us all the time to for advice, and I am often called out of nowhere to research an issue or make a judgment call in a very short period of time. For example, a client might ask if they can institute a certain policy, may need assistance in terminating a problematic employee, may have an unexpected strike going on and need to know how to proceed, etc. And on top of that, employment laws at the fed and state level are changing ALL THE TIME. So you are constantly interfacing with clients to guide them. And even as a junior, I've had a bunch of chances to speak directly with clients, since the partner usually just sits in on the call and trusts me to convey the new info.
3. I can't say I work with non-L&E lawyers too often, but there are certainly issues that come up which allow me to work outside of the group. For example, a real estate partner called me recently to ask about certain statutes that require purchasers of commercial real estate to retain the building service workers currently servicing the property for a certain period of time. Another example would be working with IP to discuss non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements regarding certain proprietary business information. Its usually one-off questions like that which allow me to jump in.
4. The best L&E lawyers are very empathetic to "human" problems and issues, and don't shy away from very emotionally-charged situations and circumstances. Regardless of whom you represent, you need to put yourself in the shoes of all parties involved. Unlike many other areas of big firm practice, L&E can really shake the parties in a way that has little to do with $$, and that includes both management and employees. Logic and composure often go out the window when people are accused of discrimination or harassment (or on the flipside, when people are actually discriminated against or harassed).
The best L&E lawyers are also very friendly, personable, and love constant interaction. More so than other areas, you are expected to engage and counsel with regularity. L&E law is always changing each week, so writing, blogging, articles, etc. are an important part of the practice and we relish any opportunity to discuss the changing landscape with clients or prospective clients. So those personalities who like to just remain deep in thought in a quiet office probably wouldn't like L&E. Finally, you have to really like multi-tasking and switching gears often. I used to work on 2 big matters all day long. Now, I may juggle around 4 or 5, with any number of surprises coming up throughout the day. You have to like that kind of unpredictability.
5. In general, most firms will do much more employment work than labor. In fact, many big firm L&E lawyers do no labor work at all. My firm is a bit different in that labor law is actually a pretty big chunk of what I do (I'd say I do about 2/3 employment and 1/3 labor). For those who may not be clear on the difference, employment law involves things like discrimination, harassment, wage & hour, non-compete cases, et. Labor, on the other hand, involves issues of unions, collective bargaining, union grievances and unfair labor practices, etc. In general, if you go into L&E, the assumption is that you will do far more employment law, but do you research on the balance at the various firms. I never thought I would even enjoy the labor side, but I've done some pretty interesting work on that side.
6. Lets first break this down into categories of L&E firms. You have the biglaw firms that happen to have L&E practices, very large L&E boutiques that are nationwide and only do L&E work (ex. Jackson Lewis, Littler Mendelson), and then smaller L&E firms. For now, lets just focus on the biglaw firms that happen to have L&E practices. In those cases, yes, L&E tends to usually be a smaller practice and not a focus for the firm. Only a few of the large biglaw firms make L&E a real focus or priority. Think firms like Proskauer, Morgan Lewis, Paul Hastings, etc. All of those are very large and renowned L&E practices. Sure, essentially every biglaw firm "has" an L&E practice, but an most, its just a tiny group with just a few people handling L&E to the extent it comes up. Many people in these kinds of groups often end up working outside L&E to the extent no clients have L&E issues at the time. My firm is a middleground in that its a pretty sizeable group, but nowhere close to the size of the L&E group at Proskauer or Morgan Lewis. But since my firm handles slightly more mid-range cases and clients, I end up doing far more substantive work than most people at the huge L&E practices. The single-plaintiff and smaller cases are often the best cases for juniors to cut their teeth on, but you don't really get those kinds of cases at the largest L&E practices (again, since they focus almost entirely on large class actions). Not an across-the-board rule, but generally seems to be true.