Published in The Legal Intelligencer
July 23, 2015
by Justin J. Koterba
Generally, your first week will consist of meeting members of the firm, training and understanding your day-to-day responsibilities. Initial impressions are important in the legal world, especially on your first day. So ensure that before walking through the front doors on day one, you have a thorough understanding of the firm’s dress code. Let’s face it: As a new lawyer you don’t have any practical experience, so make up for it by looking like you do.
Similarly, when meeting the firm, introduce yourself with a professional yet approachable demeanor. Unfortunately, many people tend to judge a book by its cover. On the first day of work, you do not want to portray yourself as a goofball who does not take the job seriously. Displaying a more appropriate attitude signifies to your peers, superiors and staff that you are serious, you are respectful of others, and you deserve the same respect in return.
Training during your first few weeks is also critical. Unlike syllabus day in college, you actually have to pay attention for this one. Training will provide the building blocks you will need for a successful practice. It will offer guidance on a range of matters, including using the firm’s legal database; researching legal issues; writing in the firm’s format; knowing how and where to find assignments; and understanding who and who not to speak with when you need to discuss something. Take notes and ask as many questions as you need to during your training period. The last thing you want to do is waste a partner’s time with a question you should have learned your first day on the job.
A successful first month will be one during which you portray yourself as a young professional, make strong first impressions, learn the basic workings of the firm, and understand your day-to-day responsibilities.
First Year
Your first year may be one of the most important of your career. There are three major challenges that most first-year associates will face: developing legal knowledge, building and fostering relationships, and meeting or exceeding the firm’s goals.
- Legal knowledge.
As an attorney, it is always important to continue to build upon your legal knowledge. However, as a first-year lawyer, you need to make a major leap from student to practicing attorney. If law school taught us one thing, it’s that we need to be as efficient as possible. This is especially true during the first year at your legal job. At this stage, your superiors understand that you do not have any practical experience. Your first year, therefore, should be spent learning, albeit efficiently, the practice of law and how it relates to your specific job, firm and clients. Ideally, you want a small learning curve so you can churn out exemplary legal work at a pace expected of a more experienced attorney.
- Understanding your role within the firm and what is expected of you is crucial.
Generally, at this stage of your career, you are referred to as a ²grinder.² Grinders are generally younger, less-experienced attorneys whose primary role is to continue developing legal skills and bill as many hours as possible. Law firms haven’t changed their business structures much in the last hundred years, which means they thrive on doing things a certain way. Therefore, thoroughly understanding your responsibilities within the firm is an essential aspect of having a successful first year.
- Building relationships.
Your first year is a great time to build and foster relationships with your peers, superiors and business acquaintances. Your peers will be familiar with the same struggles you face. It will be helpful to get a fresh perspective on how to tackle particular issues or problems. Plus, your colleagues will be the people you spend the majority of your time with, so building collegial relationships will make your work life that much more enjoyable.
You should also strive to build relationships with your managers and other superiors. Generally, your superiors decide whether you will get to keep your job, and they determine your future success at the firm. Impressing your superiors, or your assigned partner, may be one of the most important things you can do for your career. Furthermore, developing a working relationship with your superior may teach you how to become a better attorney by emulating someone who has already proven himself or herself.
Finally, continuing to build and foster your business network is an important aspect at all times of your career. You can easily do this by getting involved in bar associations, industry events and other networking opportunities. These are great ways to learn more about the industry, meet other leaders in the profession, and establish your name within the firm, practice area and locale. Ideally, some of the contacts you establish early in your career will develop into clients.
The Firm’s Goals
Generally, most law firms expect a first-year associate to learn the practice of law and bill a certain number of hours. We’ve already discussed the importance of learning how to practice law your first year; therefore, this section will focus primarily on the billable-hour requirements.
Law firms are generally built around the billable-hour system, which states that you need to bill a certain number of hours to pay for your salary and make the firm a profit. First-year attorneys must understand that not all billable hours are created equal. Some law firms may cut attorneys’ hours if they produce a poor work product or bill too much time to a project. In general, firms expect first-year attorneys to show continual improvement until they are able to produce quality work at an efficient pace. If you reach this point, and manage your time accordingly, you should be able to meet and exceed your firm’s billable-hour requirements.
The first year at a new job can be extremely difficult for most attorneys. However, it will be successful if you are able to concentrate on learning the practice of law, exceeding the billable-hour requirements, networking, and demonstrating competence.
General Advice
- Work/life balance.
Ensure that you manage your time to support your career and your life outside of the office. Neglecting family members, significant others, friends, and other aspects of your personal life can make you burn out at a young age.
- Rough drafts.
Leave your law school and the internship days behind you. Rough drafts no longer exist. Everything you provide to a client, boss or paralegal must be treated as a final draft. If your client asks you to “whip up a quick paragraph to explain the law,” they are asking for your final, revised copy-not bullet points.
- Office gossip.
Every office has it, and everyone knows they should not engage in it. Always try to stay neutral when it comes to office gossip. If you say the wrong thing to the wrong person, it could mean the end of your career at that firm.
- Respect.
Treat everyone in the office with respect, no matter their position or title. The office will become your second home, and the people you work with every day will become a second family. Treating everyone respectfully will help keep morale high and create an enjoyable work atmosphere.
Justin J. Koterba is an associate in Burleson LLP’s Pittsburgh office. He has devoted most of his legal career to oil, gas and mineral law. Contact him at jkoterba@burlesonllp.com.