Biglaw, Law Schools, Summer Associates

What Made That Summer Associate Slap A Biglaw Lawyer?

The dumbest fight ever.

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Two people fightingUPDATE 6/2/16 5:44 p.m.: Per a tipster claiming firsthand knowledge of the incident, our earlier information wasn’t exactly true… Read on to hear the new info.

It’s the “Slap Heard ‘Round The Biglaw World.” When a summer associate hauled off and slapped a second-year associate, it got tongues wagging in all corners of the legal world. Even though we hear that the firm involved — which certainly in no way rhymes with “Madden Harps” — is telling its folks to keep a lid on the tale, it was far too late for the law school rumor mill.

What could trigger such a violent reaction? Was it something untoward or was one (or both) of these folks being a drunk fool?

It turns out it might very well be absolutely nothing. Just a stupid argument that got out of hand, deserving of a few laughs and a lecture on the perils of alcohol, but absolutely not some a firm-wide gag order.

Per a tipster familiar with at least one version of the story, which took place in the context of a firm event, a fact that should give you a contact drunk upon hearing it:

They were fighting about who was older. He thought he was older, and after an escalation along the lines of “no I am NO I AM” the associate informed him that they were 29, at which point the summer said “fuck I thought I was older” and then says that he “jokingly” slapped the associate.

Alcohol can easily take jokes too far but it’s not acceptable to slap someone, especially the elderly. Slappy Summer may not have intended this to go too far, but it did, and they should apologize for it — and consider laying off the sauce for awhile.

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UPDATE 6/2/16 5:44 p.m.: A tipster with firsthand knowledge affirms that a slap was made “jokingly,” but says our earlier intel is incorrect beyond that:

There was no altercation or argument about who was older or any disagreement at all. A summer associate mistook an associate as a fellow summer associate and slapped him jokingly. Any other information is incorrect.

So it was just out of the blue? That seems… much worse. Well, actually the tipster claims it was a case of mistaken identity and that the associate wasn’t the intended recipient. Evaluating this testimony in my role as Slap Bet Commissioner, I’m pretty sure the associate owes the summer 3 return slaps to be delivered without warning over the course of the summer program and the intended victim gets one free slap on principle. So sayeth the Commish!

But it looks like this firm — again, in no way sounding like Ladden Carps Bayer Prom — is just off to an all-around wild summer:

At the same event, another summer puked on the staircase and they were all asked to leave.

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Solid outing.

Artist's rendering.

Artist’s rendering.

Cue the bitchfest over how awful millennials are, but this isn’t a generational thing. Young people do stupid and inappropriate things, especially when dropped into a bro-dominated Biglaw culture that already treats the mass consumption of alcohol as a point of pride and then competes for the love of law students by throwing generous open bar events. These things happen. It’s not a reason to cancel events, it’s not a reason to (automatically) no-offer anyone, and it’s not a reason to shore up your own lack of self-worth by pretending your generation is just better than the next one. It’s a thing that happens, and it’s a learning experience for law students transitioning into proper professionals.

Earlier: Did A Biglaw Lawyer Just Get Slapped By A Summer Associate?

Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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