Psuedostoops - Part I - Do's and Don'ts For New Associates
The lovely and hopefully-talented-at-passing-bar-exams Psuedostoops did this interview thing, and since I love to talk about myself so much that I have a blog for that purpose, I signed up.
The answer to her first question was so long though, that I decided it should be a lone post. Tomorrow will be part two. So here we go.
1. You have spent time working in law firms. I have just graduated law school and know a lot of people going to work at law firms. Many of them have trouble remembering that good interactions with everyone, not just named partners, are key to success, but I think your perspective is really fascinating and helpful. In your view, what are some dos and don’ts for new associates coming into firms?
Do:
- Do listen at the training your new firm arranges for you – even if you’re thinking “Won’t my secretary do that?” because at some point soon, the partner who asks (tells) you to work on a project will have you come in over the weekend and want something on her desk by 8 a.m. on Monday, and won’t you be embarrassed to have to wait until 9:01 a.m. when your secretary strolls in because you couldn’t figure out how to get the memorandum macro going? Yes, yes you will.
- If you are a new lateral associate, and you’ve decided this firm is WAY better than your old firm, don’t walk around saying that. You think it’s a compliment. The people who truly like the firm will think when you leave you’ll trash talk it.
- Cry and bitch behind closed doors, outside of the office, only to people exactly on your level, or not at all in the firm you work at. If you cry to someone above you, they’ll think you’re a pussy, and if you cry to someone below you, they won’t respect you.
- Ingratiate yourself to your secretary – on your way out for a ‘bucks run, ask what you can get him/her. Doing that once every month or two will take you far.
- Say please and thank you. One time per reason for saying either will be plenty, and again, will take you far. Any time Tuna or Nice Partner seemed stressed, I always offered to stay late or come in on weekend, and it wasn’t only because I like overtime; it was also because I knew they appreciated my willingness to do so (and they were pleasant to work with).
- Celebrate Administrative Professional’s Day – even if the firm does something for your secretary or you think it's a load of crap, you should do something too. Gift card to Peet’s, to a local restaurant your secretary frequents, etc. If you notice she always uses a specific lotion at her desk you can get one of those. Flowers. All good things. Chocolate sounds like it’d be good, but really, you were smart enough to get into law school – you can do better. Oh, the word processing people? Give them something – they’ll save your ass some day.
- If you always take candy from the bowl a secretary has on her desk, every so often give her $10 or so to replenish. At the firm I just left, partners gave $20.
- If you are married or in a serious relationship, invite your spouse or SO to stop by the firm and meet the people you talk about at home. It will quell their fears that you’re sleeping with your secretary, and make it easier for them to listen to your boring work stories over dinner, now that they can picture who you’re talking about. Friday afternoons are good for this.
- Do volunteer for some pro bono stuff. A baby associate at my last firm did, her case blew up and went to trial, and it turned out she kicked ass and won. The partner who worked with her sent an e-mail to the entire office publicly congratulating her, and she went from being “Melissa Who?” to “You Know, Melissa Who Won Her First Trial!”
- Do get on some committees or boards or some shit that’s outside the office. It’ll (obviously) get you out of the office, but it’s also good marketing for the firm, and makes it look like you’re interested in shit other than what you do.
- If you are male, and going to be litigating, bring at least one jacket and two ties to keep in your office. You WILL at some point stain them and need to change, or wind up having to cover for a co-worker on a day when you didn’t think you’d have to go to court.
- Male or female, get that Tide stick that removes stains quickly – at some point, you WILL stain your clothes right before a meeting.
- Accept that you will be late for things. Everyone knows you’ll be late, and it’s sort of okay. But to avoid being a dick about it, send people an e-mail or ask your secretary to call and say when you’re running late.
- When you’re out with anyone who is NOT an attorney and you go to check your crackberry, apologize for doing so.
- At some point you will freak out and go ape-shit on your secretary. When you’ve calmed down, apologize sincerely. Make sure you do that before the end of the work-day.
- When an attorney asks to meet with you, ALWAYS walk into their office with a pen and pad of paper. You will want to take notes, and will appear unprofessional if you’re not prepared.
- When you get the name of opposing counsel, always go look up their profile. You want to look at their picture, how long they’ve been practicing, and where they went to undergrad and law school.
- When you’re walking into a meeting that will involve a group of people, try to have everyone sit down and THEN introduce themselves. On the pad of paper you will have brought, draw the shape of the table (oval, rectangle, whatever) and write in each person’s first name in the place they’re sitting.
- Learn how to use the conferencing button and the transfer button on your phone – they’re the two you’ll use most.
Don’t:
- Don’t be one of those lawyers who always keeps their door closed. You’ll seem unapproachable.
- Don’t walk in to a partner’s office (even if they just called and asked you to come by) without asking the secretary if she’s on the phone, and knock before going in.
- Don’t have a shit fit and throw papers at your secretary when you’re angry. It used to make me go sit in my car and cry. Now it makes me realize you’re a verbally abusive asshole and walk away. I’ll leave those papers on the floor and let you pick them up.
- Don’t say no to anyone at work who invites you to lunch. If you’re busy, offer to go on a different day. But if they’re asking you, they either want you to feel more comfortable and are trying to be your friend, or they want to discuss something with you best talked about out of the office.
- Don’t be obvious about stealing the office supplies, and don’t take too much at once.
- If you commute via public transportation, keep in mind someone standing near you on the subway could be the opposing counsel. Be careful about talking about cases in public.
- Don’t be lazy about your work. Shepardize.
- Don’t press hold before you transfer a call.
- Don't lie - if you have terrible handwriting, dictate or type. If you don't dictate or type, don't be pissed that people can't read your handwriting. Oh, and if you can't read the notes the partner scrawled all over the pathetic excuse for a memo you gave in, ask their secretary. We are really good at that.
The answer to her first question was so long though, that I decided it should be a lone post. Tomorrow will be part two. So here we go.
1. You have spent time working in law firms. I have just graduated law school and know a lot of people going to work at law firms. Many of them have trouble remembering that good interactions with everyone, not just named partners, are key to success, but I think your perspective is really fascinating and helpful. In your view, what are some dos and don’ts for new associates coming into firms?
Do:
- Do listen at the training your new firm arranges for you – even if you’re thinking “Won’t my secretary do that?” because at some point soon, the partner who asks (tells) you to work on a project will have you come in over the weekend and want something on her desk by 8 a.m. on Monday, and won’t you be embarrassed to have to wait until 9:01 a.m. when your secretary strolls in because you couldn’t figure out how to get the memorandum macro going? Yes, yes you will.
- If you are a new lateral associate, and you’ve decided this firm is WAY better than your old firm, don’t walk around saying that. You think it’s a compliment. The people who truly like the firm will think when you leave you’ll trash talk it.
- Cry and bitch behind closed doors, outside of the office, only to people exactly on your level, or not at all in the firm you work at. If you cry to someone above you, they’ll think you’re a pussy, and if you cry to someone below you, they won’t respect you.
- Ingratiate yourself to your secretary – on your way out for a ‘bucks run, ask what you can get him/her. Doing that once every month or two will take you far.
- Say please and thank you. One time per reason for saying either will be plenty, and again, will take you far. Any time Tuna or Nice Partner seemed stressed, I always offered to stay late or come in on weekend, and it wasn’t only because I like overtime; it was also because I knew they appreciated my willingness to do so (and they were pleasant to work with).
- Celebrate Administrative Professional’s Day – even if the firm does something for your secretary or you think it's a load of crap, you should do something too. Gift card to Peet’s, to a local restaurant your secretary frequents, etc. If you notice she always uses a specific lotion at her desk you can get one of those. Flowers. All good things. Chocolate sounds like it’d be good, but really, you were smart enough to get into law school – you can do better. Oh, the word processing people? Give them something – they’ll save your ass some day.
- If you always take candy from the bowl a secretary has on her desk, every so often give her $10 or so to replenish. At the firm I just left, partners gave $20.
- If you are married or in a serious relationship, invite your spouse or SO to stop by the firm and meet the people you talk about at home. It will quell their fears that you’re sleeping with your secretary, and make it easier for them to listen to your boring work stories over dinner, now that they can picture who you’re talking about. Friday afternoons are good for this.
- Do volunteer for some pro bono stuff. A baby associate at my last firm did, her case blew up and went to trial, and it turned out she kicked ass and won. The partner who worked with her sent an e-mail to the entire office publicly congratulating her, and she went from being “Melissa Who?” to “You Know, Melissa Who Won Her First Trial!”
- Do get on some committees or boards or some shit that’s outside the office. It’ll (obviously) get you out of the office, but it’s also good marketing for the firm, and makes it look like you’re interested in shit other than what you do.
- If you are male, and going to be litigating, bring at least one jacket and two ties to keep in your office. You WILL at some point stain them and need to change, or wind up having to cover for a co-worker on a day when you didn’t think you’d have to go to court.
- Male or female, get that Tide stick that removes stains quickly – at some point, you WILL stain your clothes right before a meeting.
- Accept that you will be late for things. Everyone knows you’ll be late, and it’s sort of okay. But to avoid being a dick about it, send people an e-mail or ask your secretary to call and say when you’re running late.
- When you’re out with anyone who is NOT an attorney and you go to check your crackberry, apologize for doing so.
- At some point you will freak out and go ape-shit on your secretary. When you’ve calmed down, apologize sincerely. Make sure you do that before the end of the work-day.
- When an attorney asks to meet with you, ALWAYS walk into their office with a pen and pad of paper. You will want to take notes, and will appear unprofessional if you’re not prepared.
- When you get the name of opposing counsel, always go look up their profile. You want to look at their picture, how long they’ve been practicing, and where they went to undergrad and law school.
- When you’re walking into a meeting that will involve a group of people, try to have everyone sit down and THEN introduce themselves. On the pad of paper you will have brought, draw the shape of the table (oval, rectangle, whatever) and write in each person’s first name in the place they’re sitting.
- Learn how to use the conferencing button and the transfer button on your phone – they’re the two you’ll use most.
Don’t:
- Don’t be one of those lawyers who always keeps their door closed. You’ll seem unapproachable.
- Don’t walk in to a partner’s office (even if they just called and asked you to come by) without asking the secretary if she’s on the phone, and knock before going in.
- Don’t have a shit fit and throw papers at your secretary when you’re angry. It used to make me go sit in my car and cry. Now it makes me realize you’re a verbally abusive asshole and walk away. I’ll leave those papers on the floor and let you pick them up.
- Don’t say no to anyone at work who invites you to lunch. If you’re busy, offer to go on a different day. But if they’re asking you, they either want you to feel more comfortable and are trying to be your friend, or they want to discuss something with you best talked about out of the office.
- Don’t be obvious about stealing the office supplies, and don’t take too much at once.
- If you commute via public transportation, keep in mind someone standing near you on the subway could be the opposing counsel. Be careful about talking about cases in public.
- Don’t be lazy about your work. Shepardize.
- Don’t press hold before you transfer a call.
- Don't lie - if you have terrible handwriting, dictate or type. If you don't dictate or type, don't be pissed that people can't read your handwriting. Oh, and if you can't read the notes the partner scrawled all over the pathetic excuse for a memo you gave in, ask their secretary. We are really good at that.
Labels: Baby attorneys, Interactive, Legal eagle
posted by Green at 6/21/2007 05:36:00 PM
3 Comments:
Loved this post -- very true! I'm a legal secretary in LA. Best of luck in your job search. Can't wait to see where you land, and how you like it.
I thought this was well thought out and written.
Love this. I'll have to print this out and staple it to my forehead when I graduate (although I do consider myself a good person and most of these seem to be common sense, apparently people lose all social grace in law school).
I also REALLY want to anonymously forward this to all of the assholes I know will alienate the people they will work with. Ah well.
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