Top Law Schools

I'm currently a summer associate at a mid size firm in a secondary market, and I was wondering if it would necessarily be bad if I was able to bring in a new client to the firm. Sorry if this is short, I'm typing from my phone. Thanks for any help!

This is totally encouraged. Why do you think they hired you? They knew you'd be a rainmaker.

Anonymous User wrote:I'm currently a summer associate at a mid size firm in a secondary market, and I was wondering if it would necessarily be bad if I was able to bring in a new client to the firm. Sorry if this is short, I'm typing from my phone. Thanks for any help!

Any chance you can wait until you are an associate?

Huluba wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I'm currently a summer associate at a mid size firm in a secondary market, and I was wondering if it would necessarily be bad if I was able to bring in a new client to the firm. Sorry if this is short, I'm typing from my phone. Thanks for any help!

Any chance you can wait until you are an associate?

Op here... Maybe, but the occasion just came up today, I was thinking maybe I could get the business in communication with one of the partners, I mean they aren't so unfair to not give me credit in it (I've known the firm for a long while)

Huluba wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I'm currently a summer associate at a mid size firm in a secondary market, and I was wondering if it would necessarily be bad if I was able to bring in a new client to the firm. Sorry if this is short, I'm typing from my phone. Thanks for any help!

Any chance you can wait until you are an associate?

Op here... Maybe, but the occasion just came up today, I was thinking maybe I could get the business in communication with one of the partners, I mean they aren't so unfair to not give me credit in it (I've known the firm for a long while)

Anonymous User wrote:

Huluba wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I'm currently a summer associate at a mid size firm in a secondary market, and I was wondering if it would necessarily be bad if I was able to bring in a new client to the firm. Sorry if this is short, I'm typing from my phone. Thanks for any help!

Any chance you can wait until you are an associate?

Op here... Maybe, but the occasion just came up today, I was thinking maybe I could get the business in communication with one of the partners, I mean they aren't so unfair to not give me credit in it (I've known the firm for a long while)

Don't have enough information. Are you guaranteed a job there after graduation? If not, might be weird to bring in a client now.

Huluba wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Huluba wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I'm currently a summer associate at a mid size firm in a secondary market, and I was wondering if it would necessarily be bad if I was able to bring in a new client to the firm. Sorry if this is short, I'm typing from my phone. Thanks for any help!

Any chance you can wait until you are an associate?

Op here... Maybe, but the occasion just came up today, I was thinking maybe I could get the business in communication with one of the partners, I mean they aren't so unfair to not give me credit in it (I've known the firm for a long while)

Don't have enough information. Are you guaranteed a job there after graduation? If not, might be weird to bring in a client now.

It's very likely based on what the recruiting partner specifically told me... Plus wouldn't this up my chances?

This is not a good idea. Here is a cautionary tale. http://abovethelaw.com/2014/03/gunner-f ... questions/

You're going down a bad path.

Do you have a mentor or something? They might be able to guide you through the process and determine whether it is a good idea, or not. You're unlikely to get any credit because the partners don't have to give you credit.

ClubberLang wrote:This is not a good idea. Here is a cautionary tale. http://abovethelaw.com/2014/03/gunner-f ... questions/

You're going down a bad path.

This still hurts my soul at the deepest level whenever I come across this post. I mean hurt like cringe so hard I feel like an imploding star.

Depending on the context, this is probably not a good idea. If this is some minor <$10000 case, its may not be worth the conflict checks to bring it in.

How much money would the client be spending on legal services? That email in that article was a train wreck well before he mentioned soliciting a client. It reads like he whimsically sent it without thinking it through, which is dangerous, especially when all the reader was expecting is some variation of "I accept/don't accept."

OP, you're out of your depth on this one. Learn to crawl before you walk.

I don't know how much the client will bring in per se... I'll give a little more context though. It's an old employer of mine that would most likely be bringing in a lot of employment, contract, business transactional work, etc. And they would be looking for a firm for long term legal needs. As for the firm itself, I'm not sure how much this plays into it, but my experience so far has been unlike others. From what I've gathered from friends of mine at other firms, I've done substantially more than they hope to. My firm has allowed me to argue in court, lots of client contact, and take on entire case files. I'm taking this as a sign that they trust me more, and that factors into me believing that they wouldn't take me bringing in a business client poorly.

ClubberLang wrote:This is not a good idea. Here is a cautionary tale. http://abovethelaw.com/2014/03/gunner-f ... questions/

You're going down a bad path.

lmao harsh.

Anonymous User wrote:I don't know how much the client will bring in per se... I'll give a little more context though. It's an old employer of mine that would most likely be bringing in a lot of employment, contract, business transactional work, etc. And they would be looking for a firm for long term legal needs. As for the firm itself, I'm not sure how much this plays into it, but my experience so far has been unlike others. From what I've gathered from friends of mine at other firms, I've done substantially more than they hope to. My firm has allowed me to argue in court, lots of client contact, and take on entire case files. I'm taking this as a sign that they trust me more, and that factors into me believing that they wouldn't take me bringing in a business client poorly.

What? You're a summer, right? When did you get this experience arguing in court?

I'm actually leaning towards being more concerned about turning over this seemingly respectable former company to a firm that would let an SA argue in court 2 or 3 weeks into the job. Are you somehow licensed to practice law?

ClubberLang wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I don't know how much the client will bring in per se... I'll give a little more context though. It's an old employer of mine that would most likely be bringing in a lot of employment, contract, business transactional work, etc. And they would be looking for a firm for long term legal needs. As for the firm itself, I'm not sure how much this plays into it, but my experience so far has been unlike others. From what I've gathered from friends of mine at other firms, I've done substantially more than they hope to. My firm has allowed me to argue in court, lots of client contact, and take on entire case files. I'm taking this as a sign that they trust me more, and that factors into me believing that they wouldn't take me bringing in a business client poorly.

What? You're a summer, right? When did you get this experience arguing in court?

I'm actually leaning towards being more concerned about turning over this seemingly respectable former company to a firm that would let an SA argue in court 2 or 3 weeks into the job. Are you somehow licensed to practice law?

Some states let law students practice under supervision. It's pretty common for Summer's at the PD or DA to argue in court, at least where I went to law school and where I am now. I haven't known anyone who did it at a firm, but I'm sure some do.

Anonymous User wrote:I don't know how much the client will bring in per se... I'll give a little more context though. It's an old employer of mine that would most likely be bringing in a lot of employment, contract, business transactional work, etc. And they would be looking for a firm for long term legal needs. As for the firm itself, I'm not sure how much this plays into it, but my experience so far has been unlike others. From what I've gathered from friends of mine at other firms, I've done substantially more than they hope to. My firm has allowed me to argue in court, lots of client contact, and take on entire case files. I'm taking this as a sign that they trust me more, and that factors into me believing that they wouldn't take me bringing in a business client poorly.

Something to consider is the partners got where they are, because they're great salespeople with lots of sales experience. If you think this connection is really valuable, you should consider the possibility that you fall out of the picture. It's like in Twilight. You could have one vampire you have a good relationship with, and trust so you let them give you a hickie but you wouldn't walk into a vampire bar and say sup vamps.

Jay2716 wrote:

ClubberLang wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I don't know how much the client will bring in per se... I'll give a little more context though. It's an old employer of mine that would most likely be bringing in a lot of employment, contract, business transactional work, etc. And they would be looking for a firm for long term legal needs. As for the firm itself, I'm not sure how much this plays into it, but my experience so far has been unlike others. From what I've gathered from friends of mine at other firms, I've done substantially more than they hope to. My firm has allowed me to argue in court, lots of client contact, and take on entire case files. I'm taking this as a sign that they trust me more, and that factors into me believing that they wouldn't take me bringing in a business client poorly.

What? You're a summer, right? When did you get this experience arguing in court?

I'm actually leaning towards being more concerned about turning over this seemingly respectable former company to a firm that would let an SA argue in court 2 or 3 weeks into the job. Are you somehow licensed to practice law?

Some states let law students practice under supervision. It's pretty common for Summer's at the PD or DA to argue in court, at least where I went to law school and where I am now. I haven't known anyone who did it at a firm, but I'm sure some do.

Sure, the supervised practice thing is common enough, but I've never heard about a firm doing that and would be shocked if they allowed OP to do it in his first two or three weeks on the job. So, to me OP is lying or its a flame. There's literally no way a respectable firm lets a SA "argue" in court on behalf of a client, especially one who JUST started.

ClubberLang wrote:

Jay2716 wrote:

ClubberLang wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I don't know how much the client will bring in per se... I'll give a little more context though. It's an old employer of mine that would most likely be bringing in a lot of employment, contract, business transactional work, etc. And they would be looking for a firm for long term legal needs. As for the firm itself, I'm not sure how much this plays into it, but my experience so far has been unlike others. From what I've gathered from friends of mine at other firms, I've done substantially more than they hope to. My firm has allowed me to argue in court, lots of client contact, and take on entire case files. I'm taking this as a sign that they trust me more, and that factors into me believing that they wouldn't take me bringing in a business client poorly.

What? You're a summer, right? When did you get this experience arguing in court?

I'm actually leaning towards being more concerned about turning over this seemingly respectable former company to a firm that would let an SA argue in court 2 or 3 weeks into the job. Are you somehow licensed to practice law?

Some states let law students practice under supervision. It's pretty common for Summer's at the PD or DA to argue in court, at least where I went to law school and where I am now. I haven't known anyone who did it at a firm, but I'm sure some do.

Sure, the supervised practice thing is common enough, but I've never heard about a firm doing that and would be shocked if they allowed OP to do it in his first two or three weeks on the job. So, to me OP is lying or its a flame. There's literally no way a respectable firm lets a SA "argue" in court on behalf of a client, especially one who JUST started.

If the guy in above the atl thing actually had a million dollars in business to bring in the outcome wouldn't have been an atl article.

read some of these posts; many are nonsense.

law firms like money. if there's a real chance you could bring a client in, they'd be thrilled to hear about it. the way you do this is by approaching one of the partners you have a good relationship and asking them what to do in your situation. some firms offer associate referral fees, which could get complicated if you're a summer.

a big part of every partner's job is to bring business in, so any of them would be happy to talk about this, and they'd be happy to know you're thinking about bringing in business this far in advance. just be inquisitive about it and not a pissant and you'll be fine.

I'm inclined to advise against this. What if your uncle Lou becomes a notorious nuisance client or doesn't pay the bill?

When you are an associate by all means go for it but now isn't the time.

Anonymous User wrote:I don't know how much the client will bring in per se... I'll give a little more context though. It's an old employer of mine that would most likely be bringing in a lot of employment, contract, business transactional work, etc. And they would be looking for a firm for long term legal needs. As for the firm itself, I'm not sure how much this plays into it, but my experience so far has been unlike others. From what I've gathered from friends of mine at other firms, I've done substantially more than they hope to. My firm has allowed me to argue in court, lots of client contact, and take on entire case files. I'm taking this as a sign that they trust me more, and that factors into me believing that they wouldn't take me bringing in a business client poorly.

Haha good luck bro. "Take on entire case file" is my favorite part of this post. Aren't you there for 10 weeks? Not sure what meaningful impact you are going to have on the "entire case file" in ten weeks. Also, what firm -- representing paying businesses/individuals -- lets a summer "argue in court?" You sure it wasn't a status call or a meaningless hearing to kick a date down the line? If it was, that isn't "arguing in court"

This may seem like a good idea but it's extremely unlikely to play out how you think it will.

If you can push this off until you are a second or third year it will do you better.

RaceJudicata wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I don't know how much the client will bring in per se... I'll give a little more context though. It's an old employer of mine that would most likely be bringing in a lot of employment, contract, business transactional work, etc. And they would be looking for a firm for long term legal needs. As for the firm itself, I'm not sure how much this plays into it, but my experience so far has been unlike others. From what I've gathered from friends of mine at other firms, I've done substantially more than they hope to. My firm has allowed me to argue in court, lots of client contact, and take on entire case files. I'm taking this as a sign that they trust me more, and that factors into me believing that they wouldn't take me bringing in a business client poorly.

Haha good luck bro. "Take on entire case file" is my favorite part of this post. Aren't you there for 10 weeks? Not sure what meaningful impact you are going to have on the "entire case file" in ten weeks. Also, what firm -- representing paying businesses/individuals -- lets a summer "argue in court?" You sure it wasn't a status call or a meaningless hearing to kick a date down the line? If it was, that isn't "arguing in court"

At least one Boston firm let a summer cross examine a witness, and a 1L no less. This is just an excerpt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvrHS7KdZ64