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NYC Summer Associate here about to begin. Pretty clueless when it comes to law firms, and a little worried.

I know summers will pick up on/learn a bunch of stuff (eg. more practice area-specific information) over the summer, but what are some basic things we should know about firms coming in? Their overall functioning, general practice areas, lunch etiquette? Is there a basic finance background we should have? At minimum, it would be cool to understand the associates/partners when they tell me about their work (back during interviews, I had no idea what they were talking about ).

Thank you!

How did you get an offer?


edit: maybe this is a troll

If you aren't trolling, then there are A LOT of info on SAs in TLS. Look to some of the prior classes and see what they say. If you want a general view, http://www.chambers-associate.com/where ... r-programs. You should also really look into your particular firm as well, like how they give out assignments, the strength of certain practice areas, etc.

OP here, not a troll. Law firms hire based on grades and ability to present oneself in a short interview, not on substantive knowledge. I have no finance background and all I know about the law is what I learned in law school. Oops.

Anonymous User wrote:OP here, not a troll. Law firms hire based on grades and ability to present oneself in a short interview, not on substantive knowledge. I have no finance background and all I know about the law is what I learned in law school. Oops.

Firms know this. You won't get any work that will require anything more unless you're trying for corporate, which seems unlikely given your description.

Danny Mothers wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:OP here, not a troll. Law firms hire based on grades and ability to present oneself in a short interview, not on substantive knowledge. I have no finance background and all I know about the law is what I learned in law school. Oops.

Firms know this. You won't get any work that will require anything more unless you're trying for corporate, which seems unlikely given your description.

Sounds like he is trying for corporate based on the fact that he mentioned the finance aspect at all.

OP I think you are overthinking this. Poke around the firm's website a little, look at the representative matters listed and news items, but the "general functioning" of law firms? What does that even mean? They render legal services in return for money? I think you are overestimating the body of relevant knowledge that you don't possess.

you won't really understand the "general functioning" of law firms until you actually work in one