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New associate in litigation (business lit to be specific). I realize there are a lot of things I will learn through trial and error, but does anyone know of a book or maybe were handed down some manual from an elder associate that summarizes advice and key things to know, substantially/procedurally/around the office, at this stage?

I'm in California to be specific. For example, there are a shitload of "local procedure rules" that one has to be aware of that I didn't learn in law school and that I had to learn the hard way.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Curmudgeons-G ... 1590316762

still in school, but a couple of professors swear by this book

also interested

There is no book that will teach you how to follow local rules, you just have to read them. Hopefully there is someone in your firm with more experience that can help you. At my firm the paralegals have a lot of experience with local rules in some of the jurisdictions and they will help make sure you comply

Get a hard copy of the CD Cal Local Rules and the California Rules of Court and read them front to back when you have some time. It will not teach you everything, but it will help you spot some issues that routinely come up (e.g., how do to under seal filings, the formatting rules for briefs, deadlines, etc.). I would also keep templates of the following documents in a folder on your desktop:

--A model proposed order for CD Cal
--A model declaration for CD Cal (with and without e-signature)
--A model motion (with a notice of motion and tables numbered i, ii, etc. and the memorandum of points and authorities numbered 1, 2, etc.)
--Exhibit slip sheets
--Model discovery requests/responses for CD Cal.

If you have these, you can usually just change the caption pages and footers and you'll be good to go.

Other tips: figure out how to run redlines/blacklines; figure out how to use your firm's document management software effectively; figure out how to do basic tasks in Acrobat (ie converting documents to PDF, highlighting, combining documents, deleting pages, etc.); develop a good rapport with an assistant/paralegal who knows what he/she is doing. Knowing how to use ECF is also valuable, but don't advertise that you know how to use it; people will take advantage of it.

Does anyone have similar advice for capital markets? I'd like to learn more about how the stock market and shit works beyond an elementary level. I just don't have a good enough grasp of how the financial markets work to be effective at anything except for diligence and research,