Biglaw, Parties

Biglaw Firm Refuses To Invite Associates To Its Holiday Party

These associates seem pretty pissed.

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The saddest Biglaw celebration ever?

The saddest Biglaw celebration ever?

It’s almost mid-December, which means Biglaw holiday parties are beginning to get into full swing. These impressive fêtes usually feature an abundance of free-flowing alcohol and fabulous food, which sometimes comes courtesy of some of the world’s most renowned chefs. What should you wear? What should you drink? And how much of your preferred drink is appropriate to consume at a firm-sponsored event?

Associates at one Biglaw firm won’t have to worry about the answers to those questions, because for the second year in a row, they haven’t been invited to attend their firm’s holiday party. Which firm could it be? For the answer, we turn to an angry source:

My firm, Lewis Brisbois LLP, is not inviting associates to its NYC holiday party for the second year in a row! For the past several years, it has been held at Delmonico’s in the Financial District, and it’s been a pretty great affair. Last year, the NYC managing partner sent a quasi-apologetic email stating that he was sorry and it would not happen again. Guess what? The firm cheaped out again and booked the same venue, and again has not invited any associates to attend.

The firm continues to invite other partners from around the country and their clients, instead of the NY associates who are based here. It’s pretty absurd for a firm of our size, and the associates were pissed last year, and probably will be again this year.

Another tipster remarked that “no courtesies are being forwarded to the associates,” and told us that this may be a national trend for Lewis Brisbois, with offices around the country refusing to invite associates to attend the firm’s local holiday parties.

Why wouldn’t this firm invite associates to its holiday party? Coming in at No. 77 on the most recent Am Law 100 rankings, Lewis Brisbois can certainly afford to extend invitations to those who are billing for the firm around the clock, so is this actually a problem with associates’ behavior? We’ve reached out to the firm for comment, but have not yet received a response. If and when we do, we will update this post.

For the time being, Lewis Brisbois associates may be better off sitting back and biding their time with their billables instead of partying. We’ve yet to hear from the firm about its bonuses, so the time is now to get those final hours in for a strong showing in 2016.

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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. She’d love to hear from you, so feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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