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The Aspiring Lateral: Integrating Yourself

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Ed. note: The Aspiring Lateral, a new series from Levenfeld Pearlstein, will analyze a variety of issues surrounding lateral moves, drawing on the firm’s experience in the lateral market as well as the individual experiences of LP attorneys. Today’s post is written by Laura Friedel, a partner in LP’s Labor & Employment practice.

In this column, we’ve been talking about the process of making a lateral move. Everyone knows the major stages of that process: deciding to check out lateral opportunities, evaluating potential new firms, interviewing with those firms, and, eventually, accepting an offer. That’s it. For lateral candidates, landing at a new firm is the endgame, right? Wrong.

The lateral journey does not end when you place the potted plant and picture of your family on your new desk. In a very real way, that’s just when the lateral journey starts. Beginning on their first day with a new firm, laterals who want to be successful need to make a concerted push to win over their new colleagues, one that involves a lot of hard work and time spent getting to know partners.

This may seem a little unfair. After all, by the time a lateral begins working at a new firm, she has been thoroughly vetted, the finances of her practice have been closely examined, and she’s on a first-name basis with several maître d’s due to those never-ending interview lunches. At which point, the lateral may feel an understandable — but mistaken — certainty that upon her arrival, her new partners will be leaping over themselves to herald her arrival and shower her with work…

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Join ATL In Los Angeles For A Fabulous Fashion Law Forum

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The worlds of fashion and law have been sewn together to create a niche practice known as fashion law, where lawyers strut their stuff on the catwalk of cutting-edge intellectual property and business matters. Won’t you join the fun?

We are pleased to invite you to an evening of cocktails, canapés, and conversation focusing on the many ins and outs of fashion law. The event will take place in Los Angeles, California on November 12th from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. This event will be a great opportunity for attendees to hear legal leaders share their insights on success, meet members of the Above the Law team, and network with peers. Representatives from M Dot Design Studio will be on hand with a rack of clothing that guests can peruse, and will offer accessorizing tips, give out discount cards to all attendees, and raffle off a piece of jewelry for one lucky guest.

Our esteemed panelists confirmed for the event include:

  • Staci Riordan, Chair of the Fox Rothschild Fashion Law Practice Group
  • Jane Wald, Chair of Irell & Manella’s Trademark Practice Group
  • Deborah Greaves, Secretary and General Counsel of True Religion Brand Jeans
  • Erica Alterwitz, Assistant General Counsel of BCBG Max Azria Group Inc.

There is no charge for this event. Thanks to our friends at Recommind for their generous sponsorship.

Please RSVP below. We look forward to seeing you in Los Angeles!

10 Things You Are Screwing Up While You Are Worrying About The Little Things

By Nexfirm

Ed. note: This post is sponsored by NexFirm. At NexFirm, we see dozens of new firms launch each year, and we seem to bond with both the people and the practice every time around. Their accomplishments feel like our success, and their disappointments, our failures. It makes for a great professional relationship, but it can also be painful when we see them repeat the same, predictable, new firm mistakes — especially ones that can be avoided with some guidance and forethought.

Attorneys who are launching their own firms tend to wring their hands over every small decision and miss the big picture. You feel overwhelmed, so you want to work feverishly to tackle your to-do list. After a long day full of “doing” without much “thinking,” you feel like you’ve really accomplished something. It’s an easy trap to fall into. It’s crucial to be thoughtful about the big things, set time aside to think about them, and treat them like the other action items on your list.

Start with these, the low hanging (albeit important) fruit:

1. Leave, Don’t Quit.

Focused on the unpleasant task of giving notice, worrying that you might piss someone off or — worse yet — be impeded from transitioning matters, you can easily miss the best marketing opportunity you will ever get. Use your resignation to ask your employer to give you business. Beg them, guilt them, scare them, do whatever you need to do, but make it happen. There is no one that knows you and your work better. If you can’t convince them to help you, in at least some small way, you are in trouble…

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A Big Thanks To Our Advertisers

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We’d like to take a moment to thank to our wonderful advertisers here at Above the Law:

If you’re interested in advertising on Above the Law or any other site in the Breaking Media network, please download our media kits or email [email protected]. Thanks!

From Homeless to Harvard: Liz Murray’s Resilience in Tough and Troubled Times

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Liz Murray overcame tremendous odds as she transformed herself from a homeless teen to a Harvard graduate. Her transformation was portrayed in a 2003 Lifetime Television movie, From Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story, which was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. Murray reduced her very personal story to writing in September 2010, in a moving, loving, beautiful autobiography, Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard (affiliate link), which within one week landed on the New York Times bestseller list.

Murray’s accolades are numerous, including The White House Project Role Model Award, a Christopher Award, and Oprah Winfrey’s first-ever Chutzpah Award. Murray is the founder and director of Manifest Living, a company based in New York that aims to empower anyone who has the desire to change their life. She is also a motivational speaker and will be the keynote speaker on November 8, 2013, at the National Association of Women Lawyers’ Ninth Annual General Counsel Institute in New York….

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Thank You Very Much To Our Excellent Advertisers

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We extend our deepest gratitude to our lovely advertisers here at Above the Law:

If you’re interested in advertising on Above the Law or any other site in the Breaking Media network, please download our media kits or email [email protected]. Thanks!

The Aspiring Lateral: The Succession Plan

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Ed. note: The Aspiring Lateral, a new series from Levenfeld Pearlstein, will analyze a variety of issues surrounding lateral moves, drawing on the firm’s experience in the lateral market as well as the individual experiences of LP attorneys. Today’s post is written by Rob Romanoff, LP’s Managing Partner.

You’re 35-50 years old. You’re a partner at a large law firm, thinking about leaving for something smaller. You’ve been given an offer by a firm that interests you. The firm has a good reputation, steady business, and a solid practice in your area. It consists mostly of partners over 60 and associates younger than you.

Is this a great opportunity, or a career dead-end? Based on the above, it could be either. You’re missing a fact critical to determining whether this — and many other lateral opportunities — is one worth pursing, or one that should be avoided. That fact is this: what is the firm’s succession plan?

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Two Invitations For Our D.C. Readers

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Your Above the Law editors are making like Mr. Smith and going to Washington. This week we’re hosting not one but two excellent events in our nation’s capital (both free and open to the public):

  • On Wednesday night (tomorrow night), we’re hosting a trivia night for our law student readers. To get the details and to RSVP, please click here (and scroll down to the RSVP form). Please note that trivia participation is not required; you can simply come for the food, drink, and company (of your ATL editors and other D.C.-area law students).
  • On Thursday night, we’re hosting a reception and SCOTUS preview with noted Supreme Court advocate and analyst Tom Goldstein. To get the details and to RSVP, please click here (and scroll down to the RSVP form).

If the government shutdown is still in effect, some of you won’t have to get up early the next day, so it’s a great time for weeknight socializing. We hope to see you at one or both of these events.

(Thanks to our friends at Kaplan Bar Review for sponsoring the trivia night and Access Data for sponsoring the SCOTUS preview.)

Earlier: D.C. Is Shut Down, Seems Like A Perfect Time To Have A Party
Join ATL For A SCOTUS Preview With Tom Goldstein

How Often Do You Drink On The Job?

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Not to make light of the substance abuse problem that afflicts lawyers at almost twice the rate of the general population, but lawyers will definitely partake of booze (or something else) given their jobs. Elie explained this yesterday.

Hopefully, you don’t often drink on the job, but seriously, when are you really off the clock as a lawyer?

So do you drink on the job like a latter-day Don Draper? Do you wait until happy hour? Are you drinking right now?

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The Law School Class Of 2016: By The Numbers

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Ed. note: This is the latest post in our series of ATL infographics — visual representations of our own proprietary data, relevant third-party data, “anecdata,” or just plain jokes.

We know that law school applications are down, but how are the rest of the numbers looking for the class of 2016? Which schools experienced the most dramatic shrinkage in class size? How have LSAT scores and GPAs changed for the T14 vs. the T100? Which schools defied the downward spiral and actually experienced an increase in class size?

Check out our infographic, after the jump.

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