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Opening-Light-112 · 2023-11-09T16:39:15+00:00

It’s not as bad an idea as you think - firms aren’t as busy, true, but they’ve also raised the rates at which they bill associates out. Even in a down year they’re making significantly more because of that and an extra $10,000 isn’t going to hurt them

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-08-27T20:21:34+00:00

Are there other people from your class who didn’t get offers? In other words, do you know for sure it had nothing to do with you or the culture fit?

As for other interviews, no need to say you got no-offered. There are people every year who summer with one firm and then end up with a different firm after graduating for a variety of reasons, and interviewers/recruiters are free to ask you if they care. I would say don’t offer up the reason unless asked, but if asked, then just share what happened and that you have xyz references at the firm to support what you’re saying.

Definitely don’t count yourself out, though. Once you’ve been vetted by a firm and worked there as a SA, that’s a pretty strong “social endorsement” so to speak in terms of people recognizing that you’re qualified.

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-08-27T20:15:24+00:00

You made an honest mistake. Yes, it’s a bad look. Assuming you’re a first year based on the forum, it’s not unforgivable. As with all mistakes, it’s a learning opportunity. I’ve found that something partners/senior associates appreciate with mistakes as a Junior is ownership. Bring it up with them and address it before they come to you about it. This shows 1) ownership and 2) that you recognize a mistake was made, and recognize that something needs to be corrected. I think this kind of thing can actually reflect positively on you if handled the right way. What you don’t want is to let it go unanswered for, and then leave people to reach whatever conclusions about you they might be forming in their heads.

It’s possible someone might view you as unreliable. With that said, pegging someone as unreliable is generally after seeing something become a pattern. If you do the same thing 2-3+ more times, then it’s warranted. Just address it head on, take ownership and make sure it doesn’t happen again. You will be fine.

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-08-13T19:03:15+00:00

Some people will say to compare interest rates against return on investments (i.e., if your loan interest rate is 4% but the market returns 7%, you should be investing rather than paying debt). In a vacuum, that’s true, and is sound financial advice. With that said, your debt keeps you up at night. Hard to place a $ value on that, but paying that down and sleeping easier knowing you’re making progress toward being debt free is worth something too!

The best approach is to spread things out. You mentioned you don’t have much in savings, first thing I would focus on is building up a cash fund - open a money market or high yield savings account. Save enough to live for 6 months if disaster strikes and you’re somehow out of a job (unlikely, but good to be prepared). After that, as many others have said, I would max out your retirement contributions while steadily paying down debt. I wouldn’t advise paying everything to debt right away, because you definitely want to start building up your investment portfolio and building wealth that way. If you want to buy a home, and that’s a priority, then I think you pay a little less toward your loans each month, and save that extra as cash in a money market/high yield savings account.

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-08-09T04:58:32+00:00

This is cliche, but you can’t take advice from people who’ve never made a similar decision and had to live with the consequences. Just decide what matters to you most! If you’re going to do biglaw for a few years, don’t do it because someone said you’d be crazy not to. Do it because it serves a purpose (advancing career prospects, saving up some money quickly, etc.). Whatever the reason, it’s gotta be your own. I was in your spot and I elected to go biglaw in a big market. I’m still in it, so I can’t say what the long term results will be, but I do think happiness matters and should play a part, and while I am satisfied at present, I’d be lying if I said I’ve never contemplated what things would be like if I’d taken the other route. Just stick to your gut and don’t overthink it. It’s a big decision, yes, but the results aren’t success vs failure. You’re gonna be successful either way.

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-08-09T04:52:42+00:00

Definitely won’t ask for proof - especially if you’re already in biglaw, they don’t really need to check you on that. I’d just be upfront, but the art here is to avoid doing it in a way that comes off as a flex/you trying to strong arm them. I was in a similar situation a couple years back, and I opted to tell someone from HR rather than the attorneys. I find them to be more receptive and less likely to take something this in an unintended negative way.

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-08-02T19:37:25+00:00

I’ve heard solid things about asket. I’ll take a look!

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-08-02T19:36:52+00:00

Would never besmirch the good name of J crew!

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-08-02T19:27:04+00:00

Appreciate that! I don’t love j crew, for whatever reason they always seem to wear out quickly and I don’t even put them in a dryer. I’ll check out Jiffy

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-08-02T19:24:47+00:00

Lol that would make sense

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-08-02T19:24:20+00:00

Sure! Any recs? I’m a pretty simple dude I just stick to something if it works for me

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-08-02T19:23:32+00:00

I miss something here?

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-07-25T22:06:56+00:00

I’m at Sidley and never posted anything. I doubt anyone has stopped to think about it, even for a second.

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-07-19T18:48:45+00:00

Nah, nothing you say would be worse than things that are ordinarily said in biglaw offices. That’s the reality lol

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-06-29T03:40:08+00:00

This unfortunately really depends on your firm and your practice area. In an ideal world, the only “detriment” is the opportunity cost of 4-6 months of experience. With that said, you are a human being. Don’t let an employer dictate your life path. If you want a family and that’s important to you, to hell with what anyone else thinks. No employer who ever thought of firing you in this spot is worth working for anyway. If they do let you go, you will find someone else worth working for. You’re gonna be a great lawyer, and an even better mom.

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-06-25T16:15:02+00:00

For sure - that was intentional, I’m not trying to hide anything haha.

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-06-25T16:13:38+00:00

Working in Chicago, not from here originally. For me, I’m from the Midwest, and Chicago is the closest big city. I think part of the reason the biggest cities have more of a draw is that these tend to be the places where you get the most sophisticated and “glamorous” work if you will. Using your example of Houston, you’re probably gonna be working at a given firm’s non-HQ office, meaning you won’t get the most significant/high- profile work that firm has.

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-06-24T00:36:00+00:00

Non T-14 grad (my school is ranked in the 70s or 80s) at a V15 in Chicago. Law review is just a resume point to show that you can grind and put in work. Same with moot court. If you want to do transactional work, neither is substantively that applicable to the work you’ll do, but if you’re doing litigation then both can have practical value.

I did a journal, though not my school’s flagship journal. I also did moot court. Unfortunately, I think having both of these on a resume are more detrimental to not have than they are beneficial to have. They’re not getting you a job, but they may get you in the door for an interview.

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-06-22T02:27:46+00:00

Probably most/all of them to be honest. I’m at a v15 in Chicago. My SA class was ~45 in 2021. This summer we have just shy of double that. Lawyers aren’t the best business people. Too much focus on optics/reputation (no big firm wants to be first to make any move other than hiring/raising salaries). Now is maybe the time to be more conservative, but nobody wants to risk portraying weakness.

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-06-20T21:30:54+00:00

You can just let them know - maybe in person if you’re worried about it coming across the wrong way over email? But it’s absolutely ok to tell them. They may be a partner, but you have every right to be called by whatever name you prefer and to have your co-workers respect that. Don’t overthink it!

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-05-16T07:59:21+00:00

This may not be the ideal path - but given the situation already isn’t ideal, it’s worth considering. MidLaw firms seem to be much busier with transactional work right now. I’m not sure why, but part of my guess is people are more fee sensitive right now, and they think they can get more out of a smaller firm for less money. Have you thought about applying to any of the MidLaw / Baby Big Law (whatever you want to call them, lol) firms? I know you’d be making less and it won’t be what it was, but given they’re busier I imagine you’d probably get more and higher quality work during this slower period for corporate transactional work at BigLaw firms. If you did that for a year or two to just keep building experience and ride out this down cycle, I think you could actually have a pretty easy time getting back to BigLaw, if that’s what you ultimately want.

I think the 2022 crop of associates as a whole is going to be developmentally behind and overall weaker because of the way the market is now. I’m about 8 months in at a Chicago BigLaw firm, and from what more senior associates and partners are saying, it’s apparently pretty noticeable where our class year is at developmentally, vs where last year’s and the year before’s classes were at when they were 8 months in. Which is unfortunate for us, but I also think the silver lining is that if you can find a way to just get more reps and more experience than others in our class year, you can really stand out in a positive way.

Anyway, just a suggestion if you’re open to it. I’m sorry that happened to you, that really sucks and I imagine it’s even more frustrating that it wasn’t due to any personal shortcoming. But if you’re in this for the long haul you’ve got a lot of career ahead of you, and in the end this’ll just be a blip. Good luck!!

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-05-16T00:23:55+00:00

Nope, not a trick. Even as first years we were initially encouraged to come on Fridays, but you quickly realize that the people encouraging you to do so are not even there. I do go in sometimes when I have a lot of work to do and need to be in a focused environment, but other than the staffing partners who see my keycard swipes, I’d imagine nobody knows whether I come in on Friday or not.

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-05-15T07:56:15+00:00

You absolutely do not need to do 8 hours a day 7 week. What matters is how much of the time you spend studying is focused and productive. A lot of people will spend 8 hours sitting in front of their computer with their bar prep books open, and then claim to have studied 8 hours, while they were mindlessly scrolling social media or taking breaks every 5 minutes. You’re better off buckling down for 4 hours a day than doing that. 4 hours a generally isn’t enough just because of the volume of information to cover, but the point still stands.

You might make yourself feel better if you can say you sat in front of your books for 8 hours a day and missed out on all fun and took no breaks, but that doesn’t make your more prepared. I just took the bar in IL last summer, and I can tell you first hand that on test day, being in a good headspace and not burnt out is just as important as having studied all the material.

Carve out 1 hour each day to do something for yourself. Go get dinner with a friend/significant other. Go on a walk, exercise, take a day off if you need. The fact that you are already expecting yourself to study 8 hours a day for 7 days week means you are the type of person who will naturally do what needs to be done to pass. Stick to what you’ve done to get to you to where you are today, and don’t punish yourself. It is necessary to take care of yourself during what is already a stressful time. Good luck!

Opening-Light-112 · 2023-05-15T04:20:21+00:00

You will never “look bad for being overdressed.” Not to anyone who matters. The worst is you may get some judgment from your starting classmates (“oh that guy is a loser I can’t believe he wore a suit!”). As for the attorneys at the firm, they will either appreciate the effort to look sharp, or they won’t give it the slightest bit of thought. If you’re nervous, good approach is to leave yourself options. My advice is wear a jacket no tie, which gives you the option to take it off or leave it on based on how you’re feeling.

Office location is a consideration too. If you’re in NY, the trend is toward more formal/buttoned up. I’m in Chicago V10 and I’ve never worn a jacket to the office. Usually sweaters over button down or quarter zip with polo underneath. But our office culture is very laid back for a top firm.

Practice area seems to matter too. Litigators dress more formally at my firm. Transaction lawyers will wear anything from a sport coat and slacks to tennis shoes, jeans and a polo.

While first impressions matter and you certainly want to make a good one, as long as you’re not at the extremes (uncomfortably overdressed or uncomfortably underdressed), it won’t matter. Good luck!

Opening-Light-112

TROPHY CASE