Biglaw, Social Media

The Best Job To Prepare You For Biglaw Life

Well, this is unexpected.

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Robert Darwell

Robert Darwell

Robert Darwell is a Biglaw partner at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton with a sexy — well, as legal practices go — entertainment practice. He works on the development, finance, production and distribution of big-name movies like Brokeback Mountain and Traffic. So, how should people prepare themselves for such a high-profile practice?

Be a server. I bet you thought the answer was going to be a federal clerkship or some other elite opportunity. Nope, in an interview with Law.com, Darwell credits being on the waitstaff of a TGI Fridays for giving him the skills necessary to be a Biglaw partner:

“Nobody wants to hear about a problem at the next time table, or, in my case, another client,” he said. “Nobody wants you sending someone else in to handle a task.”

While serving customers at the TGI Fridays in Scottsdale, Arizona, Darwell learned to how to read people’s moods—a skill he still uses.

“When you walk up to the table, you have to analyze who you’re taking care of. Are they in a bad mood? Do they want to be entertained? Do they want to be left alone? That same skill set applies to the practice of law,” he said.

Darwell has taken his appreciation of servers (and bartenders) to the next level. He has a popular Instagram feed, The Daily Server, where he features the hardworking people that make eating and drinking out so much fun. The feed reflects Darwell’s globetrotting ways, with servers from a variety of states and countries featured.

Enjoy some of the best of Darwell’s images, and don’t forget there are a wide swath of experiences that help make great lawyers.

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headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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