Any value in being on your firm's Associate Committee? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I got asked to join the one at my firm. I'm not going to say no, but is there any value in it (assuming I'm not trying to make partner)? Maybe for lateraling purposes?

[NewSouthernAssociate]

Sure. If you’re someone who likes to be “in the know,” it’s beneficial in that you’ll get earlier access to certain information. For lateraling, it shows you were liked enough to be asked to join the committee.

[Anonymous User]

I got asked to join the one at my firm. I'm not going to say no, but is there any value in it (assuming I'm not trying to make partner)? Maybe for lateraling purposes?

Not to hijack the thread, but could I pose the same question but for the recruiting committee? V10, not trying to make partner.

Anon due to prior posts.

[LittleRedCorvette]

I don't see how any collateral duty that (at least at my firm) has only partial (or no) billable hour reimbursement would be worth doing absent partnership aspirations. The tiny and debatable benefit in lateraling seems entirely not worth the effort.

[Anonymous User]

It is kind of a catch-22 because declining an invitation to the Associates, Recruiting, Summer etc. committees could actually make you look bad, but being on those committees has no value short of gunning for partner. If you don't want partner, your best bet is probably to try not to even get invited onto a committee. If you do get asked, I would come up with a good excuse to say no (it helps if you have a kid!) and risk the potential reputational loss over the work that you'd have to do on top of your billables had you said yes.

[Anonymous User]

I'm new to Big Law so can I get some insight to what actually happens with these committees and what kind of time commitments are typically involved? Is there a committee that is "preferable" to another so to speak?

[papermateflair]

I'm on the associate committee at my firm, and it is so small of a time commitment that I don't know why anyone would say no (unless you've been on a few years and are rolling off for another committee, which plenty of people do). We have one meeting every couple of months to chat and maybe plan some lunches (pre-covid). Half the people bring their billable work to the meetings or don't show up. It's really not a big deal. At least at my firm, being on the associate committee doesn't mean you're gunning for partner or anything, just that somehow you made it on the committee or maybe that you like gossip, but maybe the associate committee is more "important" at other firms.

[Anonymous User]

I'm on the associate committee at my firm, and it is so small of a time commitment that I don't know why anyone would say no (unless you've been on a few years and are rolling off for another committee, which plenty of people do). We have one meeting every couple of months to chat and maybe plan some lunches (pre-covid). Half the people bring their billable work to the meetings or don't show up. It's really not a big deal. At least at my firm, being on the associate committee doesn't mean you're gunning for partner or anything, just that somehow you made it on the committee or maybe that you like gossip, but maybe the associate committee is more "important" at other firms.

The time commitment would seem to vary considerably across firms. At my firm (Latham), the time commitment can be hundreds of hours. I definitely wouldn’t do it here, but it seems like NBD elsewhere.

[Anonymous User]

My firm has a local associates committee for each office, as well as a firmwide committee where a designated rep from each office meets with the firmwide managing partner. I’m on my local office committee, and it’s about 5 hours of meetings each year, so the time commitment is minimal. We talk about things such as general associate issues/complaints (staffing for juniors, the evaluation process, bonuses, etc.), vote on the recipient of the “partner of the year” award, pick the date and activities for our associate holiday parties, etc.

The recruiting committee is a much bigger time commitment in my office because you are expected to participate in several interviews (both at OCI and during callbacks), then meet to discuss the candidates. Non-committee members may still be asked to help with a few in-office interviews or attend callback lunches, but it’s easier to decline if you’re busy.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have insight on what committees and info on each committee at Perkins Coie?