Law Firm Realpolitik

November 5, 2005 8:46 PM

Law Firm 101: I start at a law firm soon--can any MeFi lawyers (or other office Machiavellis) give tips on how to survive/succeed? Examples inside...

I've been told some of the old chestnuts already, like wear a suit and tie once a week so that co-workers don't immediately think "interview suit" when you wear your, well, interview suit. Also, when partners send out mass emails seeking an idle associate, don't respond right away (assuming you don't want the work); let time pass and hopefully someone else will catch that bullet.

I'm not interested in making other associates look or feel bad, but I'd welcome posts on that subject so that I can avoid any bad mumbo jumbo directed at me.

Any other thoughts? Should I network the local Bar group for my specialty? Curry favor with the assistants and support staff? Try to publish law review articles? Make friends with the senior associates on the partner track? In the end, all I really want is to make this experience as rewarding and as painless as possible--on my terms.

posted by anonymous to law & government (13 answers total)

I wouldn't use the term "curry favor." However, by all means treat the support staff with the respect that they deserve. Not only because this is the decent thing to do, but because they have the power to make or break your day (trust me, I used to be a paralegal).
posted by amro at 9:17 PM on November 5, 2005

Even thinking about this shit will send you down the wrong path. Treat people like humans and act like a human yourself. If you're sent an email asking you if you have time to do something, answer it when you read it and answer it truthfully. Don't try to make friends with people you don't like because you think it's good for your career and, on the other hand, don't be afraid to have a casual conversation with someone just because they're more senior.

I'm an analyst at an investment bank and have been dealing with this kind of utter bullshit for two and a half years now. By nature, I've never been able to engage or understand most office politics. When someone asks me if I'm busy, I answer honestly. My peers have given me shit for doing this - but the truth is that is the way I am. I've even been told that I shouldn't keep my desk so clean because people will think I'm not busy. I like my desk clean and I don't give a fuck about the rest. And guess what? I'm just as busy as everyone else. No more, no less. And that thing about the suit makes me sick. Wear what's appropriate for the meeting or whatever. They didn't hire you because they thought you had a closet full of slick suits.

I talk to the people I like and I ignore those I don't. I attend work-related social functions when I feel like it and if I don't, I skip it.

But I also work hard and take a personal and intellectual interest in the work that I do. The result is that I'm considered a top performer and have been paid in the highest bonus bracket. My advice to anyone that asks is to just act naturally. Your work will be stressful enough as it is; don't make it worse by layering in the Machiavellian bullshit, especially not at the junior level.

However, take my advice with a grain of salt - I just walked out on my job this Friday. Ninety hour works weeks, with at least six more years of it on the horizon, were destroying my life. I liked my job up until two days ago and then the truth hit me like a brick wall - I am miserable - and I decided I couldn't deal with another minute of it. Office politics wasn't the worst thing about the job but it made it worse.
posted by mullacc at 10:16 PM on November 5, 2005

Every law firm has a slightly different culture, but some things remain constant in the BigLaw world:

1) Treat your support staff and assistants well - very well. They are connected in more ways than you know, and the powers-that-be want to keep them happy, so you should to.

2) Don't hitch your wagon to any single star. Turnover in law firms is brutal, even with partners. If there is a partner in your group that is particularly reknowned - it can't hurt to know them. If they leave for a better offer elsewhere, they may take you along.

3) Don't be a kiss ass - everyone will know what you're doing. Even if the object of your affection appreciates it, others won't, and he may not be around for ever (see point #2)

4) Work really, really hard. Make yourself available to take on grunt work and toss-off jobs. People will notice. Plus, extra billable hours is always a good thing.

5) Law review articles are good - if you have the time for them
posted by thewittyname at 11:14 PM on November 5, 2005

Be true to yourself.
posted by vac2003 at 1:07 AM on November 6, 2005

Avoid gossip. It's tempting to get into it in any office environment, especially when you're near the bottom of the ladder, but it can be incredibly destructive. Far better to say "That's really none of my business" and walk away when it starts than to be part of a network of people who thrive on half-truths and rumours.

Think before you speak. Notice how people behave in meetings. There's usually one or two people who have to 'grandstand' - don't be one of them. Be the person who gives the considered response.

Don't make jokes unless you are absolutely, totally, 100% certain they will be well-received.

Listen well, always have a legal pad and pen ready to make a note of what you're asked to do so you get it right. Don't be afraid to ask questions - nobody expects you to know everything so don't act as if you do.

Treat the support staff well - but don't toady to them - one woman at my place buys expensive perfume and cigarettes for our admin staff and they treat her with contempt. (But a big box of chocs, donuts or cookies at Christmas will probably be well-received). Always say please and thank you to them, ask them if your instructions to them are clear, and if not, what you can do to improve them. A partner or associate will listen if a secretary with long service tells them that the new guy is an asshole.

If you make a mistake, never, ever try to cover it up or blame it on someone else. Admit it as soon as you can and ask what you can do to put it right.

Plus everything mullacc said too.
posted by essexjan at 1:39 AM on November 6, 2005

Be friendly with everyone, and otherwise be yourself.

You sound like you "expect" your firm to be the Machiavellian get-out-of-my-way type. There are those like it out there, but you're not going to want to hang around that firm too long anyway. The legal profession, like all others, are mostly populated by humans.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 7:17 AM on November 6, 2005

You don't say so explicitly, but I'm inferring from your question that you are starting out as a first-year associate. As a first year associate, you don't know anything. Take advantage of that. No one expects you to know anything. Ask all the questions that you need to ask. It's much better to ask for guidance than screw something up and/or waste time chasing down dead ends.

Be very, very nice to your support staff. Never ever ever berate or scold them. If something did not get done the way you wanted, it means that you failed to communicate your expectations clearly. Find out what, if any, holiday gifting to the staff is standard at the firm. Do what everyone else does. (At one firm, staff gifts became a bit of one-upmanship amongst the attorneys, and the staff made out like bandits. At another, only the partners gave gifts to the staff, not the associates. Where I am now, to my dismay, the partners seem to think that the holiday party is adequate acknowledgement to the staff, and huffed a bit when they found out I was actually explicitly acknowledging my assistant with a gift.)
posted by ambrosia at 8:45 AM on November 6, 2005

If I wore a suit once a week to our firm for no good reason, people would think that was strange - we're business casual and if you're in a suit, people want to know why.

Be nice to all the staff - some of them know more than you ever will about the workings of the firm.

Be mindful of the pecking order for at least the first year. You're the junior associate, you're going to get crap assignments. Do them with a good attitude and you'll have to do less of them later on. Listen to what people have to say - it will take you at least a year to figure out who you need to listen too, who you need to listen to and ignore, and who isn't worth listening too. Until you know who is who, assume you have a lot to learn from everyone around you - that they're all smarter than you. I've seen more smart associates screw up by coming in and telling everyone why they were wrong about everything than anything else. Save your suggestions for your third year.

For the first year, don't volunteer for any civic/charitable/whatever events. Just learn how to do your job right. Make yourself invaluable to two or three partners. Stay late, work weekends. Build up your reputation and your worth for later - after a year, you'll be able to spend the points you've earned in ways you didn't even know you wanted to. After that year, get involved with the local bar association, and at least one good organization that isn't related to the law and that you feel really good about.

I can't emphasize enough that attitude is everything.
posted by dpx.mfx at 9:30 AM on November 6, 2005

Strive to be thoughtful and considerate. That's it.
posted by xammerboy at 11:01 AM on November 6, 2005

If you go into your firm expecting it to be a hotbed of Machiavellian scheming, it will be. Everyone's motives and behaviours will be filled with hidden meanings and subtexts and you'll go nuts trying to figure them out. Never wear a 'comedy' tie. Be polite and cheerful, work bloody hard and you'll be noticed. Ignore everything you read on Anyonymous Lawyer. Always keep a clean shirt and toothbrush in your desk drawer.
posted by blag at 2:42 PM on November 6, 2005

Also - keep your office door open.
posted by amro at 2:46 PM on November 6, 2005

The firm lives by billing for attorney time. There's no surer way to get in trouble than laziness about recording your work and turning in your time. Keep a clipboard with a timesheet with you and record everything you do. Take five minutes at the end of the day to fill in any blanks. Then submit the sheets the following day. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Sweat the details. Proofread everything three times. Cite-check everything three times. Use the firm's standard formats. Even a few small mistakes lead partners to think you will also make big mistakes.

Depend on your secretary, who's been doing this a lot longer than you.

Avoid the "kiss up, kick down" syndrome. Treat the mail delivery guy as politely as you would treat a name partner.

Get to know the following people and operations. They will save your life again and again:

-- the librarian
-- the IS people
-- the file room and mail room people
-- the copier and fax operators
-- the paralegals
posted by KRS at 2:52 PM on November 6, 2005

don't swear. just don't. even if everyone around you is. there will be one partner who thinks it demonstrates a lack of intelligence and a lack of respect. the ones who don't think so won't notice that you're not swearing, but the one who does will notice that you do.

be nice to support staff means "treat everyone you meet with dignity and respect and until they demonstrate that they cannot do their job expect that they can do their job and you couldn't do it better; that's why it's their job and not yours."

take notes, ask questions, but don't listen to what the other first years are sure is going to happen. any time you get worried about some sort of reimbursement for meals or cabs or whatever, ask the secretary, who will be happy to walk you through it--don't ask the associate who's having you work through dinner.
posted by crush-onastick at 7:24 AM on November 7, 2005