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Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 1:22 pm
by Anonymous User
My sister is getting married this summer on a Friday in a different state, so I will need to request off all day that Friday from my firm. I also will need to attend her welcome events and rehearsal dinner on the Thursday evening before. I am planning to travel after business hours on that Wednesday. I was wondering how common it is for SAs to request time off and how early to go about doing so. I think it should just be one full day for the day of so I am hoping it won’t be a big deal. Also, are SAs typically expected to work after hours and weekends? I was not planning to formally request “off” for the Wednesday traveling and Thursday evening events, but I’m wondering if that is something I should do. Thanks for any input.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 1:38 pm
by SummerAssociate1689
You should not do this. SA is a 10 week interview which albeit almost always end in an offer. But why take that chance? It's bad form.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 1:42 pm
by Dcc617
Just ask recruiting and talk about it. Probably won’t be a big deal, this is your sister’s wedding.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 1:56 pm
by Dahl
Yes just ask your recruiting contact. It is definitely not a big deal to take a day off, but since you know the date and can plan it far in advance you should.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 2:05 pm
by wanderinglawyer
It's your sister's wedding. That's not an event that is going to recur (hopefully). Everyone will understand and don't miss it because you are a summer associate. But do let recruiting know in advance, remind them as it gets closer, and make sure you have looped your supervisors in and have a plan for completing their work so their expectations are set appropriately.
While I would not recommend asking for lots of Fridays off so you can attend weddings and other events, it is not uncommon for summers to be allowed to leave early on an occasional Friday to attend an out-of-state wedding. You just want to show good judgment in what is important and still getting your work done well and in a timely fashion and generally handling this in an adult fashion.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 2:13 pm
by Anonymous User
wanderinglawyer wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 2:05 pm
It's your sister's wedding. That's not an event that is going to recur (hopefully). Everyone will understand and don't miss it because you are a summer associate. But do let recruiting know in advance, remind them as it gets closer, and make sure you have looped your supervisors in and have a plan for completing their work so their expectations are set appropriately.
While I would not recommend asking for lots of Fridays off so you can attend weddings and other events, it is not uncommon for summers to be allowed to leave early on an occasional Friday to attend an out-of-state wedding. You just want to show good judgment in what is important and still getting your work done well and in a timely fashion and generally handling this in an adult fashion.
Thanks for the input (both from you and others). I also failed to mention that I’m the maid of honor so I will need to do all of the hair/makeup and photos the day of, which takes up pretty much the entire day. I certainly don’t take the request off lightly but I’m very close with my sister would not want to put her in any sort of position on her big day.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 3:13 pm
by Anonymous User
SummerAssociate1689 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 1:38 pm
You should not do this. SA is a 10 week interview which albeit almost always end in an offer. But why take that chance? It's bad form.
I'd agree with you... if this wasn't her sister's wedding. It'd look weirder to
not request off for this.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 3:15 pm
by Definitely Not North
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 3:13 pm
It'd look weirder to
not request off for this.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 7:42 pm
by RaceJudicata
This is the correct answer. Isn’t summer going to be remote anyway? Take a late flight Wednesday; work remote Thursday til evening welcome events; take off Friday. If firm gives hard time, they suck
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 8:45 pm
by theneuro
RaceJudicata wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 7:42 pm
This is the correct answer. Isn’t summer going to be remote anyway? Take a late flight Wednesday; work remote Thursday til evening welcome events; take off Friday. If firm gives hard time, they suck
Taking the day off for the wedding wouldn’t be a big deal during a regular summer; even less so during the remote/partly remote summer after Covid.
This is one of those things you’ll laugh about worrying about when you’re an associate.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 8:46 pm
by theneuro
RaceJudicata wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 7:42 pm
This is the correct answer. Isn’t summer going to be remote anyway? Take a late flight Wednesday; work remote Thursday til evening welcome events; take off Friday. If firm gives hard time, they suck
Taking the day off for the wedding wouldn’t be a big deal during a regular summer; even less so during the remote/partly remote summer after Covid.
This is one of those things you’ll laugh about when you’re an associate—that you worried about taking a day (or two) off for a wedding as a summer associate.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 9:12 pm
by goldenflash19
Some firms give you summers one day off, with no need to get approval. If so, take Friday off and work remote Thursday.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 9:15 pm
by lavarman84
This is no big deal. Just give people a head's up.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 10:22 pm
by supermario26
SummerAssociate1689 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 1:38 pm
You should not do this. SA is a 10 week interview which albeit almost always end in an offer. But why take that chance? It's bad form.
Clearly this is some gunner who is still in law school and has no idea what they’re talking about.
Please take the day(s) off to be maid of honor in your sister’s wedding and don’t think twice about it. I’m sure some of the people you work with will ask to see pictures and/or hear about the weekend. This is a nonissue.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 9:56 am
by Anonymous User
theneuro wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 8:46 pm
RaceJudicata wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 7:42 pm
This is the correct answer. Isn’t summer going to be remote anyway? Take a late flight Wednesday; work remote Thursday til evening welcome events; take off Friday. If firm gives hard time, they suck
Taking the day off for the wedding wouldn’t be a big deal during a regular summer; even less so during the remote/partly remote summer after Covid.
This is one of those things you’ll laugh about when you’re an associate—that you worried about taking a day (or two) off for a wedding as a summer associate.
Thank you for this. I feel like so much emphasis can be placed on things like this in these kinds of forums so I just wanted to be sure I was approaching it correctly. I am relieved to see it is almost 100% a non-issue.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 9:59 am
by Anonymous User
RaceJudicata wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 7:42 pm
This is the correct answer. Isn’t summer going to be remote anyway? Take a late flight Wednesday; work remote Thursday til evening welcome events; take off Friday. If firm gives hard time, they suck
Yes, my SA firm at least is entirely remote for the full 10 weeks. This was my exact plan actually haha just wasn’t sure how often they expect SAs to be available after working hours. I’ll just be sure to communicate with everyone.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 10:04 am
by Anonymous User
Already clear in this thread that it's fine, but just noting that I took two days off to go to a best friend's wedding as a SA and it was not an issue at all. Law students and lawyers have a strong tendency to be neurotic and anxious, and I also wondered if I was making a bad impression at the time. I was wrong. It's totally normal to take time for this.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 11:42 am
by LawSk3WW
Just to echo others, this is not an issue. Tell recruiting, and then let the people you’re working with at that time know. DO NOT miss this.
FWIW, I took a half day on a Friday just to fly to see my SO for the weekend. Wasn’t an issue at all. No one cared.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 1:11 pm
by SGTslaughter
Gonna keep beating the dead horse here given the terrible first response. This is absolutely not an issue. Multiple people did this during my summer for weddings (some took more than one day off). The worst thing to expect is you might not get paid for the day depending on the firm.
Re: Requesting time off of SA
Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 1:14 pm
by Anonymous User
SGTslaughter wrote: ↑Mon Mar 29, 2021 1:11 pm
Gonna keep beating the dead horse here given the terrible first response. This is absolutely not an issue. Multiple people did this during my summer for weddings (some took more than one day off).
The worst thing to expect is you might not get paid for the day depending on the firm.
Out the firm(s)! That's TTT behavior (if you've only taken off 1-2 days for an entire summer).