5 Things First-Years Need To Do To Survive Biglaw

Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts from Lateral Link’s team of expert contributors. Gloria Noh Cannon is a Principal based in the Los Angeles office where she oversees attorney placements in California, Arizona, and Nevada. Gloria received her J.D. from Loyola Law School, and a B.A. from University of California, Los Angeles. Gloria started her legal career as a financial restructuring associate with the Los Angeles office of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, where she worked for over four years and was a member of the hiring committee and recruiting committee. Gloria then was a member of the in-house legal department for over five years at Oaktree Capital Management, LLC, serving as a Vice President.

As 2017 continues to unfold and with the somewhat recent round of salary raises, there is more pressure than ever on the incoming class of first-year associates to hit the ground running. The first year of an associate’s practice is largely predictive of how that attorney’s career will unfold. A strong first year will invite more opportunities and responsibilities the next year, a cause and effect that is recursive throughout an associate’s career. Consequently, it is vital that associates keep five key principles in mind to make their first year, and ultimately their Biglaw career, a success:

1. Be a self-starter and seek out work. Law school teaches you how to think about the law, but as a career student, most attorneys come out of school unsure of how to be a good employee. The best legal minds are net losses for firms if they are underperforming or underutilized. If you are hoping to make partner one day, you want to demonstrate from the start that you are a team player, and that you will take initiative in finding and taking on work — similar to how partners seek out clients. If firms see that you are being proactive and passionate about your work, they are more likely to entrust you with important roles and interesting cases.

2. It’s never too early to start networking. As much as I would like to claim that law practice is a pure meritocracy, the reality falls short of this mark. Networking is one of the biggest boons to an attorney’s career, but it alone won’t transform a lackluster associate into a partner. However, it can catapult competent attorneys to the front of the line when an exciting, high-profile case or deal is being staffed or promotions are being considered.So with whom should you be networking? Working in close proximity will make you inexorably intertwined with the associates and partners in your practice. While you should devote a considerable time to maintaining that relationship, don’t neglect attorneys outside of your practice and even your office — especially ones that have overlapping practices. These contacts can bring in referral work, give you a vote of confidence for a prospective partnership position, and help you secure jobs at other firms should they make a lateral move. Moreover, networking within your own firm will help you become a better at networking where it really matters: business development.Great business development skills are largely what differentiates between someone who gets a Counsel title and a Partner title. Unless you work at a firm with institutionalized clients, it does not matter how good of a lawyer you are if you cannot demonstrate that you have the ability to bring more business into your firm. If you start honing these skills from day one, you will be well ahead of the curve and have a much better chance of making partner. In addition, it is never too early to start developing potential clients. Even if the friends you make now at companies are in junior positions, they will someday become the decision makers who choose outside counsel. Business can come from the most unlikely contacts. For example, as a junior associate, I successfully brought in an international fashion design company as a client to my firm when my roommate’s boyfriend (who had previously been a medical malpractice attorney) became the General Counsel of the company.

3. Don’t be afraid of saying no. While taking on new work shows initiative and responsibility, missing deadlines and fumbling the extra work is outright proof that you cannot handle it. It is better to maintain your sanity and track record then it is to push yourself to the brink and lose both. Law is a long career. Many attorneys burn out after a few years of Biglaw because they push themselves too hard. Take on an amount of work that keeps you busy and shows initiative, but not so much that you cannot meet deadlines. I remember coming back from vacation as the only first-year in my practice group, and literally every attorney in my group gave me an assignment the minute I stepped back into the office. It would have been impossible to get every single project done within the requested deadlines; thus, I spoke to my mentor senior associate within the group who helped take some of the projects off my plate.Conversely, do not be afraid of saying yes. Don’t turn down projects because you want to be out of the office by 5 and have no work on the weekend — this has not been the norm in law for a long time. You want to show partners that you are a team player that is always willing to do what it takes to get the job done.

4. Find a mentor. Donne wrote, “no man is an island,” and the same applies to Biglaw attorneys. The ecosystem of Biglaw requires both cooperation and an informal succession of responsibility from senior to junior associates. If you enter Biglaw intending to practice in a self-reliant manner, with no help, you will be sadly disappointed. It is imperative to find a partner or senior associate to both guide you professionally and personally. Firms generally will not invest a significant amount of time in your career development. Why? The likelihood of you being with the same firm in five years is very small these days — so why waste the resources? You are responsible for your own career development and there is no surer way to keep your career on track than to have someone who has already walked the path and can help guide you to success. This person does not have to necessarily be within your practice group or even within your office. One of my best mentors during my time as a Biglaw associate was a partner in the New York office who was always willing to answer any questions I had, both professional and personal, regarding a wide variety of topics. This partner was a fantastic resource, and from an early stage in my career was guiding me as to how to make partner within my firm and had I chosen to try to make a run at partner, would have been invaluable.

5. Keep your finger on Biglaw’s pulse. A majority of associates will lateral to another firm within three years and chances are so will you. The one-company career days are over, your loyalty will not supersede your practice, and firms will not offer you a partnership just because you have been there for the entirety of your career. Like most fields, the majority of career advancement coincides with lateral moves. You may be a superlative attorney, but if there is not a strong need for your practice at your firm, you can end up being a senior associate with no chance of making partner and very few lateral possibilities. Finding a firm that is a career fit is only one part of the equation. Every firm has a discrete identity and culture that fits some more than others. Finding a firm that fits both requirements is difficult to do without outside help, and this is where a good recruiter can pay dividends.Your first-year reputation will precede you for years to come and will shape how the rest of your career unfolds. If are a first-year associate who has questions about your first year or a seasoned associate with career questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or any of my fellow recruiters at Lateral Link.

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