Biglaw Sr Associate Taking Questions for a bit Forum

[trbrny]

Hi All - I'm a senior associate at a big law firm. Bored at work for the moment. Happy to take questions about anything for a bit and will do my best to answer where I can.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for providing help! I am an incoming first-year associate in regulatory practice. Wonder how I can best prepare myself for this job and what are some of the tips you wish a first-year associate should know. Thank you!

[Anonymous User]

Why are you still doing this job at this point? Money?

[Anonymous User]

What practice group?

[trbrny]

Thanks for providing help! I am an incoming first-year associate in regulatory practice. Wonder how I can best prepare myself for this job and what are some of the tips you wish a first-year associate should know. Thank you!

Respond to emails that are directed to you as quickly as you can, even if it's to acknowledge receiving the email and that you are working on it or will respond with a more detailed email soon.

Resist the urge to answer questions off the cuff. You can offer your thoughts if you are pretty sure about something, but always offer to double check afterwards. Defer to those most senior to you on tougher questions.

Don't always assume that someone more senior will respond to emails addressed to your team, but never respond without permission. My usual go to was to forward the email to a more senior member of the team and ask if there is anything they would like for you to do about it.

Don't assume that senior attorneys will always save you or perfect your work. Do your best possible work each time and be prepared to explain your thought process for everything that you write.

Enter your hours every day.

Ask lots of questions. Ask for context. If you are not sure when you're drafting something, it is ok to draft in a way that you think is correct and highlight your question/struggle when you send it off for review.

Own up to mistakes as soon as you discover them, don't try to hide them. Be receptive to criticism and avoid making excuses - best response is I understand and it won't happen again. Be sure it doesn't happen again.

Don't lose your perspective. It is a difficult time consuming job with people who don't always manage their stress very well. You are getting paid a lot for a job you barely know how to do. Appreciate your good fortune in life and don't let the bad times get to you. Also make sure to schedule time for yourself and your family.

[trbrny]

Why are you still doing this job at this point? Money?

I actually like what I do, where I work and the people I work with, but the money is really nice too. I do think a lot about the sacrifices, it is not an easy life.

[Anonymous User]

Why are you still doing this job at this point? Money?

Not OP, but a biglaw sr.

1. Money,
2. Flexibility to WFH (or elsewhere) (even pre-COVID),
3. Less travel than prior in-house position,
4. Adding to the resume (did not like my prior in-house position), and
5. Lack of attractive alternatives and almost up for partner/counsel, so figure that could add more to the resume unless something better comes first.

Hindsight, I would never have gone to law school, but I also recognize that I make enough to provide for my family, have a stable job and am not putting my career in the hands of "business people", so it could be worse.

Generally, I think the legal industry is not healthy and things may change (not such a hot take I know). But things really do seem much more extreme to me from a PPP, billable rate, billable hour, leverage, etc. perspective than even when I started in law and it's pretty clear that people (even good, very hardworking lawyers) are starting to burn out at all levels.

[trbrny]

What practice group?

Transactional/Corporate.

[attorney589753]

Thanks for providing help! I am an incoming first-year associate in regulatory practice. Wonder how I can best prepare myself for this job and what are some of the tips you wish a first-year associate should know. Thank you!

Respond to emails that are directed to you as quickly as you can, even if it's to acknowledge receiving the email and that you are working on it or will respond with a more detailed email soon.

Resist the urge to answer questions off the cuff. You can offer your thoughts if you are pretty sure about something, but always offer to double check afterwards. Defer to those most senior to you on tougher questions.

Don't always assume that someone more senior will respond to emails addressed to your team, but never respond without permission. My usual go to was to forward the email to a more senior member of the team and ask if there is anything they would like for you to do about it.

Don't assume that senior attorneys will always save you or perfect your work. Do your best possible work each time and be prepared to explain your thought process for everything that you write.

Enter your hours every day.

Ask lots of questions. Ask for context. If you are not sure when you're drafting something, it is ok to draft in a way that you think is correct and highlight your question/struggle when you send it off for review.

Own up to mistakes as soon as you discover them, don't try to hide them. Be receptive to criticism and avoid making excuses - best response is I understand and it won't happen again. Be sure it doesn't happen again.

Don't lose your perspective. It is a difficult time consuming job with people who don't always manage their stress very well. You are getting paid a lot for a job you barely know how to do. Appreciate your good fortune in life and don't let the bad times get to you. Also make sure to schedule time for yourself and your family.

If you want to excel in BigLaw, this is really good advice. I might add a few other points: Clarity and organization (even in email) is easily underrated, especially since everyone is busy, but really sets apart average from amazing. Try to think one step ahead, such as, when I provide this document/piece of advice/suggestion, what is going to be the reaction — be ready for that. Also, it is fine to ask questions but you'd be amazed how much the answer is already available to you: whether it is looking through the documents, checking the other deal documents saved on iManage, googling around, etc.

[Anonymous User]

Greatly appreciate both advice. Thank you!

[TLSReturntoWork]

Mostly this is good advice (I always lol that there are people who don't enter their hours, what is wrong with you that you would not do this on time and routinely have to be reminded?), but...

Don't always assume that someone more senior will respond to emails addressed to your team, but never respond without permission. My usual go to was to forward the email to a more senior member of the team and ask if there is anything they would like for you to do about it.

You state this as a bright line rule, but it is not a good idea to follow it blindly. At times, and depending on the team, senior and mid-level associates may have no intent to respond and will regularly encourage more junior associates to take the lead on responding as things arise. You'll soon learn that some seniors are really slow at responding and are overwhelmed and will expect you to respond, especially on teams that are leanly staffed.

Don't assume that senior attorneys will always save you or perfect your work. Do your best possible work each time and be prepared to explain your thought process for everything that you write.

I agree and this is the sort of situation where sometimes (not always) you just have to act without requesting permission, because the senior associate literally will not respond on time, does not know, or expects you to respond. After the first time or two this happens, you learn their style.

[Anonymous User]

Slightly older junior associate (35 Female). Wonder at what point you can take maternity leave without jeopardizing work.

[NewSouthernAssociate]

Slightly older junior associate (35 Female). Wonder at what point you can take maternity leave without jeopardizing work.

Not OP, but don’t plan your baby around work obligations, and take your maternity leave whenever you are wanting/ready to have a baby! Odds are good that you will lateral somewhere else in the next few years anyway, so don’t plan such an important life choice around your work. Firms can and will find coverage regardless of your class year. I know first-years who have taken leave, and I also know of people who made partner the same year that they took leave. (That said, junior associates are often the easiest to replace.)

[whats an updog]

Slightly older junior associate (35 Female). Wonder at what point you can take maternity leave without jeopardizing work.

Not OP, but don’t plan your baby around work obligations, and take your maternity leave whenever you are wanting/ready to have a baby! Odds are good that you will lateral somewhere else in the next few years anyway, so don’t plan such an important life choice around your work. Firms can and will find coverage regardless of your class year. I know first-years who have taken leave, and I also know of people who made partner the same year that they took leave. (That said, junior associates are often the easiest to replace.)

Agreed with this. I am only a mid-level but I've seen associates at all levels take parental leave (including new dads).

[Anonymous User]

What makes a good summer associate?

[Lacepiece23]

What makes a good summer associate?

Don’t drink too much and throw up on a partner

[Anonymous User]

What makes a good summer associate?

Don’t drink too much and throw up on a partner

Don’t get wasted and attempt to sexually assault a recruiter (a real thing that happened two summers ago and got the summer insta-fired).

[LittleRedCorvette]

What makes a good summer associate?

Don’t drink too much and throw up on a partner

Don’t get wasted and attempt to sexually assault a recruiter (a real thing that happened two summers ago and got the summer insta-fired).

If we are talking about the same person, he ended up being hired at a different biglaw firm in the same market... and I don't think anyone was unaware of the situation.

This is the one where the guy was wasted and being inappropriate at an out-of-town summer event, female recruiter walks him back to his hotel room, he grabs her to try and get her into his room, right? I can't remember the deets.

[feminist.supporter]

What makes a good summer associate?

Don’t drink too much and throw up on a partner

Don’t get wasted and attempt to sexually assault a recruiter (a real thing that happened two summers ago and got the summer insta-fired).

If we are talking about the same person, he ended up being hired at a different biglaw firm in the same market... and I don't think anyone was unaware of the situation.

This is the one where the guy was wasted and being inappropriate at an out-of-town summer event, female recruiter walks him back to his hotel room, he grabs her to try and get her into his room, right? I can't remember the deets.

Great user name. Huge Michael Jordan and late 90s vibes.

[Anonymous User]

What makes a good summer associate?

Don’t drink too much and throw up on a partner

Don’t get wasted and attempt to sexually assault a recruiter (a real thing that happened two summers ago and got the summer insta-fired).

If we are talking about the same person, he ended up being hired at a different biglaw firm in the same market... and I don't think anyone was unaware of the situation.

This is the one where the guy was wasted and being inappropriate at an out-of-town summer event, female recruiter walks him back to his hotel room, he grabs her to try and get her into his room, right? I can't remember the deets.

Did we all summer at the same place, or is this just depressingly common? Sheesh. A 1L did this during my 2L summer. It was the big scandal talked about at my school during the following fall. There's always one -- the previous year, someone (at a different firm) punched a partner or something.

[LittleRedCorvette]

What makes a good summer associate?

Don’t drink too much and throw up on a partner

Don’t get wasted and attempt to sexually assault a recruiter (a real thing that happened two summers ago and got the summer insta-fired).

If we are talking about the same person, he ended up being hired at a different biglaw firm in the same market... and I don't think anyone was unaware of the situation.

This is the one where the guy was wasted and being inappropriate at an out-of-town summer event, female recruiter walks him back to his hotel room, he grabs her to try and get her into his room, right? I can't remember the deets.

Did we all summer at the same place, or is this just depressingly common? Sheesh. A 1L did this during my 2L summer. It was the big scandal talked about at my school during the following fall. There's always one -- the previous year, someone (at a different firm) punched a partner or something.

I'm probably cool with the punching a partner behavior.

[TigerIsBack]

What makes a good summer associate?

Don’t drink too much and throw up on a partner

Don’t get wasted and attempt to sexually assault a recruiter (a real thing that happened two summers ago and got the summer insta-fired).

If we are talking about the same person, he ended up being hired at a different biglaw firm in the same market... and I don't think anyone was unaware of the situation.

This is the one where the guy was wasted and being inappropriate at an out-of-town summer event, female recruiter walks him back to his hotel room, he grabs her to try and get her into his room, right? I can't remember the deets.

Did we all summer at the same place, or is this just depressingly common? Sheesh. A 1L did this during my 2L summer. It was the big scandal talked about at my school during the following fall. There's always one -- the previous year, someone (at a different firm) punched a partner or something.

Yeah I think the prior year was the summer that slapped a partner at Skadden or something

[bosox]

Thanks for your time. Any tips for making the next step as far as being able to independently identify risks and issues, coming up with creative solutions for business issues, etc. (i.e., being a solid senior associate)? As a mid-level corporate associate I find myself getting more confident with running with something after I am instructed by the associate above me or a partner, but still feel like I have a way’s to go in using my own thinking and critical analysis. Just curious what helped you improve and develop.

[attorney589753]

Thanks for your time. Any tips for making the next step as far as being able to independently identify risks and issues, coming up with creative solutions for business issues, etc. (i.e., being a solid senior associate)? As a mid-level corporate associate I find myself getting more confident with running with something after I am instructed by the associate above me or a partner, but still feel like I have a way’s to go in using my own thinking and critical analysis. Just curious what helped you improve and develop.

I think the most likely thing is you may still just need experience and reps. If you've been doing this for 4 years and a partner has been doing it for 24 years, they've just seen probably 10x more deals than you. Even a senior associate (or junior partner depending on deal/client/firm structure) is going to run some big deal issues by the senior partner. But in terms of how to accelerate, some ideas: Always try to offer up help and insert yourself as early in the process (like term sheet stage) as possible. Take first crack at thinking through and responding to everything, even if that is just running an email by the senior/partner saying "I think we should do X, what do you think?"; over time your hit rate should go up and eventually everyone just trusts you to handle without running it by them first. In corporate you often become the middle-person/quarterback, trading emails between groups (for example client and specialist); as you get more senior, try to understand (at least at high level) the issue being discussed rather than just shooting off emails left and right. Similarly dig in a bit (again high level) on the some of the actual business risks/issues that the client is trying to solve; a mid-level or even senior is going to be good at spotting the legal issues, but a partner is viewed by the client as someone who can merge the legal advice with the business risks, realities, goals, and priorities — in order to do that, you need to be up to speed on what's happening at business level. Finally, be up to date on any third party commentary, such as trends in M&A deal terms, market surveys, major regulatory changes that impacts your group, especially topics/pieces that are at the intersection of legal and business terms and might have some non-lawyer (like biz dev team) audience. I would also add that everyone develops at their own pace and finding a few mentors who can provide honest feedback about personal strengths/weaknesses is going to be very useful.

[bosox]

Thank you for your response. Totally agree that more reps is the major factor but will definitely heed all of your advice.