10 Things to Remember About Your Summer Employment at A Big Law Firm

Just about to start your summer at a big law firm?  A full-time job at a large law firm is not for everyone but a summer at one is highly recommended.  Even if you do not have any interest in practicing at a large firm after the summer, a summer at one is a great experience and you will be paid around $35,000 for the summer.  You should be careful though, because many who have summered at large corporate firms and swore that it was just for the summer, often must have drank the Kool-Aid and went back after graduation.  If you have decided to work for a firm during the summer here are a few things to consider.

1. You will likely get a job offer but do not take it for granted.  Most large firms extend offers to 100% of the summer class but the poor economy has changed this.  While you will likely get an offer you should not assume that you will get one and act accordingly. This does not mean that you should stress out and worry.  Just do a good job and you should be fine.
2. Do not get drunk at firm events. This sounds obvious but many students drink and act silly at firm functions.  There is a summer associate legend that worked at a firm one summer and she jumped into the Hudson River while on a boat cruise.  Even though this happened years ago, people still talk about it.  Do not let this be you.
3. Bring a pen and paper to every meeting.  You would be shocked at how many people do not do this and it looks really bad.
4. Do a bit of research about an assignment before you meet with the lawyer. Generally the staffing person will at least tell you the company name and you can Google the company and perhaps bring a print out of some documents to your first meeting to show you took initiative.  During my summer, I printed out one Internet article about a company prior to meeting with the lawyer and she noted this as a very positive element on my review.  As a summer associate it does not take much to please.
5. Communicate with lawyers and tell them when you have too much on your plate.  While the law firm wants you to enjoy yourself, they also want you to do work.  You are ALWAYS better served though communicating that you have too much on your plate rather than just accepting work and either not finishing it or not finishing it well.  If you communicate that you are too busy and explain why, the worst thing that will happen is that they will find someone else.  Remember that every lawyer you work with thinks that you are only doing work for them so do not assume they know about your other assignments. 
6. You will quickly see that you will be wined and dined during your summer.  This does not mean though that you have encountered a bonanza.  Do not order the most expensive things on the menu or alcohol during your lunches.  Order as if you or your parents were paying for the meal.  I remember one summer associate that ordered around 7 diet cokes during lunch (at $4) each and lawyers commented to me how they thought that was inappropriate.
7. Check in regularly with lawyers regarding the status of the assignments you are given.  The lawyers you are working with will greatly appreciate if you regularly update them with status of the assignments they have given you.  Do not let them think that the work they have given you has fallen into an abyss and a simple call or email will go a long way.  Also, let the lawyer make the decision if you stay late. I would often ask a lawyer when they needed the work product and offered to “stay late” if he/she needed it. Nine times out of ten they would indicate that sometime in the future was fine and that staying late was not necessary.
8. Let your secretary know where you are if you leave. There is nothing worse than people looking for you and no one can tell a partner or senior lawyer where you are. 
9. Treat your secretary with respect.  They have lots of power in firms and can make your life miserable if you treat them badly.  Moreover a good working relationship with someone that you will see every day just makes sense.
10. Enjoy your summer!  The summer perks are amazing and you should make sure that you are enjoying the lunches, the theatre, the scavenger hunts, the bowling, the concerts, the parties and more.

Two more closing points!

Avoid “Cold Offers.”  You can read what I think about cold offers here.

Also check out great summer job tips at The Girls Guide To Law School.

Good luck!

10 Things You Should Be Doing if You Are Sitting for the Bar Exam in July?

Congratulations to all of you who have completed law school!  As many of you are preparing for graduation you may also be thinking about the pending bar examination.  Here are 10 things you should consider and do to ensure success.

1. Sign up for a bar preparation course like Barbri.  There are many good bar preparation courses but I can attest that Barbri is fantastic.  While self study may work for the LSAT or other exams, the bar exam is different.  Invest the money and take a prep course.
2. Attend the Twitter Chat hosted by The Student Appeal Journal.  The Twitter chat will occur on Thursday May 24th, 8PM EST.   Get details here!
3. Relax and do not study until after graduation. I did not pick up a book until May 27th and given you will intensely study for the next 2 months virtually every day, you should relax so that you are energized.
4. Follow your study plan. Barbri and other organizations will give you a study plan that outlines exactly what you are supposed to accomplish each day.  Do not fall behind as you will have more and more added on to your schedule each day. 
5. The bar exam is a marathon and not a sprint and you cannot cram for it.  There is just too much material that you have to learn.
6. Understand the big picture and understand exactly what the exam is made up of.  The bar is made up of various pieces and you have to understand the composition of the exam so that you can allocate time accordingly.
7. The key to success is on the bar exam is doing as many practice questions as you can.   The Bar preparation organization should give you more practice multiple choice and essay questions than you could ever do. All you have to do to guarantee success is complete the questions.
8. Make sure you do the practice questions under timed conditions. Time management is a key to success and you may as well get used to the time restrictions.  See my post on time management and do not borrow time from exam questions.
9. Do not stress yourself out as you will likely pass. See my blog post that shows there is almost a 90% chance you will pass on your first attempt.
10. Take study breaks during the process.  You should try to take a day off every few weeks.  You will find the schedule extremely hectic but a day here and there will help you energize.

Best of Luck!

New York’s New Pro Bono Requirement – What Is All The Fuss About?

Generally speaking, in order to become a lawyer in New York you must get a law degree (3 years), pass the bar exam, pass a professional responsibility exam and pass a character assessment test.  Going forward the 10,000 or so prospective lawyers who meet all of these requirements will also be required to perform 50 hours of pro bono legal services before they can become lawyers.

This has caused a stir among some who say that this is among other things “indentured servitude.”  Another wrote, “I feel really bad for law students that graduate these days. And having brand new attorneys forced to be the ones to handle most pro bono smells like bad policy considering they have little to no experience and will invariably do a bad job of it.”

I am not sure what all of the fuss is about and I think a mandatory pro bono requirement is a fantastic idea!  A few points on this topic.

First, 50 hours is the amount of time you will spend during your first week of employment.  We are talking one week of work spread out over your law school career and the year after it.  The requirement is certainly not locking you into some long drawn out act of service.  It is 50 hours not 50 weeks or years.  In many countries, you must article (practical training) for next to no money before becoming a lawyer and this requirement is often 2 years.  Come on it is 50 hours helping those who need the help. 

Second, the requirement will not impact the majority of students as they already fulfill the requirement in law school.  I went to a law school (Harvard) that has a 50 hour pro bono requirement in order to graduate and this policy is not uncommon in law schools.  At the end of the year, Harvard published the actual average number of hours per student and it far exceeded the 50 hours.  Moreover, the requirement can often be met by clinical work performed or any volunteer work done while in school. 

Third, the more practical experience that one gets while in law school the better.  In some cases, fulfilling this requirement will be done by meeting with clients, drafting legal documents and perhaps even arguing cases before administrative tribunals. I met my pro bono requirement by working in an immigration asylum & employment law clinic and I was able to do all of the items listed above.

Finally, what is wrong with giving lawyers a taste of what it is like to give back to the community?  Also, as lawyer help others for free, isn’t there another benefit where the at times negative view of lawyers can be reversed?  This idea of giving back is already emphasized and encouraged in our professional responsibility requirements so why not formalize this a bit for new lawyers. As discussed above, this will not have an impact on most but will give those who would never have considered pro bono work an opportunity to see what helping someone else out without getting paid feels like.

As far as I am concerned, it is just another requirement to become a lawyer the same way that sitting for the MPRE, getting a character assessment or taking certain courses are requirements.  Not sure why anyone would be against this.  I would be interested to hear your thoughts.