Law Practice Today

Last fall you couldn’t have been happier. You scored an elusive and coveted summer associate position at a law firm.

Unfortunately, your glee turned to gloom just months later as the economy came crashing down and a recession was declared, circumstances that quickly impacted the legal sector. But despite a troubled legal market, the start of summer associate positions around the country is rapidly approaching.

As many firms tighten their belts, you, like most second-year law students, are likely wondering how to increase the odds that you will receive an offer to return to your firm following graduation.

Just as in Las Vegas, there are no sure bets, but if you follow the advice below, you will at least be a step ahead of the game.

First and Foremost, Do Your Best Work.

While social interactions will play a major role in your summer associate experience, they pale in comparison to the quality of your work. At the end of the day, it is your written work product and the evaluations of that work that will determine whether you merit a job offer.

Thus, you cannot go wrong by following these tenets when completing assignments:

Never Turn Down Work. There are certainly exceptions to this rule (i.e., if you are at the printer on a corporate deal for 48 hours straight and can’t work on another assignment simultaneously). But don’t turn down a project because you are trying to “manage” your own workload to avoid working on the weekend or to attend a social event in another office. At the end of the summer, your body of work is the source of your evaluation and the larger that body of work, the better.

Never Turn in Anything That is Less Than Perfect . A large body of work is only valuable if it is of the highest standard. And while this advice is circulated every summer, this year it is critical. Every written thing you submit (from emails to the Table of Contents pages for a brief) should have no typos, errors, or mistakes of any kind. At my firm – Saul Ewing – and many others like it, attorneys are instructed to fill out an evaluation for every single thing you turn in, whether it was a formal or informal assignment.

Never Miss A Deadline. Never. However, if there is no way to avoid that something will be late, call the attorney as soon as possible to let him/her know. “Hoping” that the assigning attorney might not notice if you turn it in the next day is a losing wager, especially if the case you’re working on just so happens to involve high stakes.

Solicit Feedback. This is something that summer associates (and junior associates) rarely do. Granted, it is not easy. Partners and associates are busy and students may feel intimidated asking for feedback. However, if you have not done your best on a project, you may not be aware until your mid-summer review (if your firm conducts one). There is no way to know if your performance is up to snuff, and no way to improve the caliber of your work unless you ask if you are meeting expectations and request specific suggestions for improvement.

Indicate Satisfaction. Let the attorney you are working for know you enjoyed the project and would enjoy working with them again. While you don’t want to only work with one attorney for an entire summer, finding a niche and an attorney who is willing to speak highly of your work can be beneficial.

Don’t Complain. This may seem obvious, but it’s not. In this challenging economy, don’t complain (even in jest) if you get too much work. There are thousands of unemployed attorneys who would be more than willing to work on the weekend, or at night, or during the firm happy hour, if you’re not happy about it.

Of course, the realities of the professional workplace are that making an impact (positive or negative) at your Firm goes beyond your work product. This said, keep the following suggestions in mind as well.

Look the Part

People need to be told not to judge a book by its cover because they usually do. Dress neatly and conservatively. I know the economy is tough and you want to save the money you will be getting from your summer job, but go to a discount store and invest in some nice clothes if you don’t already own them. Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Nordstrom Rack and others will all have professional clothing at discounted prices. Also, if it’s stained, clean it. If a button is missing, sew it on. You might “hope” no one notices, but I assure you, they do. If your office is business casual, keep a complete suit on the back of your office door so you never have to turn down a client meeting or a visit to court because you are not dressed properly.

Make Friends. Quickly

Who interviewed you on campus? Do you remember their name? If you don’t, you should, because they likely remember you. Attorneys spend an inordinate amount of time interviewing and recruiting their top students. Go to the firm website and find the people who interviewed you on campus, at the firm and/or met you at any subsequent recruiting events. Commit their names to memory. And then, on your first or second day, stop by their office and say hello. Thank them for all the time they spent recruiting you and reiterate how excited you are about the summer (and perhaps ask them for an assignment). Check in with them regularly. They will believe that you are bright and engaging if you do, and if you don’t, they may wonder if you were worth recruiting at all.

Learn Names. Quickly

It bears repeating – you are unfortunately going to be under a microscope this summer. When you meet someone, make sure you remember their name. If this means that you need to go back to your office, look them up online, and memorize their name (in the same way you forced yourself to memorize the prongs necessary for adverse possession), then please do. You will stand out if you remember everyone’s name right away. That being said, after the first two weeks, all your peers will know each person’s name. So do it quickly.

As a corollary, hearken back to ye olden days (i.e., before the Internet was invented). When you can, walk over to someone’s office to talk to them (unless they have made it clear that they prefer to speak via phone or email). This is a nice way to create relationships.

Take Advantage of a Mentoring Relationship

Saul Ewing, like many firms, has a program in place that pairs summer associates with firm attorneys assigned to be their mentors and provides them guidance throughout the summer. If your firm has such a program, make the most of it. Even if this person may not be someone you “click” with, try to find common ground. Mentors can be a great resource for professional advice on topics ranging from the clarity of your writing to approaching a partner about a bad evaluation. Not to mention that associates sometimes have a “say” in the hiring process (whether formally or informally).

Get to Know the Decision-Makers

While every firm operates differently, many have a Hiring Committee and/or a Hiring Partner. Make sure you spend time getting to know these individuals. At the end of the summer, when your candidacy for a full-time position is discussed, it is helpful for everyone in the room to know who you are. It is worthwhile to seek out these folks and introduce yourself. That being said, bear in mind that these individuals make decisions based on the attorneys’ evaluations of the caliber of your work, not whether you hung on to their every word during a firm outing.

Do Not Use Firm Email for Anything Personal Whatsoever

You should expect that at any time your practice assistant could open up your firm email. Make sure there is nothing in your emails that would make you blush. Your firm email address is not your personal email account and should not contain anything personal. That means you should neither email externally to your friends and family nor make or send jokes to your firm colleagues internally. That’s what Yahoo and Gmail (and your home computer) are for. You also have no need to fear the “reply to all” function if you never write anything inappropriate.

Expect Competition but Act Gracefully

It is unfortunate, but highly likely that this will be a competitive summer. Sometimes such a situation brings out the best in people and sometimes it brings out the worst. Act gracefully: Do your best work; don’t “horde” assignments; don’t speak ill of the people you work with. The old adage holds true: What goes around, comes around.

Learn the Firm Business

Many summer associates don’t realize that every practice group cannot hire an unlimited number of associates. While your dream may be to practice securities law, that group may not have enough work to justify hiring an attorney at this time. To the extent you can, work on gaining an understanding of the Firm’s core strengths, its areas of planned strategic growth, and which groups are seeking to hire attorneys. Use this information to evaluate which areas of growth may be of interest to you. If the firm is phasing out its admiralty group, you should be aware of this so you don't spend your whole summer trying to get a job in a soon-to-be-defunct practice area.

Always Look Over Your Shoulder

This isn’t a horror movie, but it is sound advice nonetheless. Always act as if the Managing Partner of the Firm were watching what you were doing. Would s/he approve of you taking the newspaper from the library in the morning so no one else can read it? Similarly, would s/he think it’s a good idea to berate your practice assistant for losing your time sheets (or berate anyone in general)? Even though there is an open tab, would you like him/her to know you ordered the most expensive item on the menu? The moral of the story is that you should use discretion at all times (whether inside or outside the firm’s walls).

Unfortunately, in this economy, there are no guarantees. You may be the perfect summer associate, and still end up without a job offer. But when all is said and done, make sure you act graciously no matter the outcome of your summer associate experience. If you don’t get an offer of full-time employment, this is not necessarily an indicator of your performance. More likely it means that the firm has limited capacity for hiring this year. Moreover, firm management would probably like nothing more than to give you (a bright and talented student they have just trained for a summer) a job. They are just as unhappy about the floundering economy as you are. Should this happen, leverage the relationships you have created over the summer to find another position after graduation.

You never know, two years from now, when the economy is booming once again, the very same law firm may be ready to welcome you back with open arms.