The Knicks are one win away from their first championship since 1973, with a 3-1 series lead over the San Antonio Spurs. I am not okay (in the best possible way). The entirety of New York is not okay… hell, blue and orange fever is a legit phenomenon across the country… well, Texas excluded. Game 5 is tomorrow night in San Antonio, and MSG has not seen energy like this in decades. Neither, apparently, has Biglaw.
Because while I’ve been obsessing over hilarious Knicks social media takes (the internet has been killing it), Front Office Sports went and found the best possible peripheral story of this entire run: the New York Knicks have apparently done what no associate satisfaction survey, wellness stipend, or HR initiative has ever managed to accomplish. They’re making Biglaw partners human.
The run — first round over Atlanta, a sweep of the 76ers, a sweep of the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, and now a 3-1 Finals lead over San Antonio — has apparently thawed something in the chests of the deal lawyers who, until recently, presumably had the billable hour where their hearts should be. The blue-and-orange Grinch effect is real and Front Office Sports has the receipts.
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Exhibit A: Charles Baker, co-chair of the entertainment, sports, and media group at Sidley Austin, confirmed that “texts and emails don’t get returned as quickly during the games, and almost no one calls.” During a Finals game, in New York… sounds about right, Charles.
But the real treasure in this piece is the anonymous second-year private equity associate who shared a message they received from a partner the night of Game 2, the Knicks’ 105-104 gut-punch thriller over the Spurs:
“This doesn’t need to be done tonight, enjoy the game.”
The associate’s response tells you everything you need to know about the psychological state of a junior Biglaw attorney: “We barely see that kind of leniency for federal holidays. … It’s gotten to the point where [coworkers and I] are sending emails back and forth just to make sure our WiFi is working.”
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Associates cannot emotionally process the concept of an evening off, and the conditioning runs so deep that an unexpected act of managerial kindness produces not relaxation, but a WiFi diagnostic. Turns out Biglaw partners are actually in associates’ heads the way Wemby only thinks he’s in Mitchell Robinson’s.
If you listen closely you can hear the associate ranks chanting:
My mayor’s Muslim;
My bagel’s Jewish;
Biglaw let me thrive;
Knicks in five!
Stan Gregor, CEO of wealth-management firm Summit Financial, went full philosopher king on the whole thing, telling Front Office Sports the Knicks’ run has shifted the “cadence and tone” of business interactions — “more relaxed, more human” — thanks to what he called a “shared point of connection.” He added, “At the end of the day, moments like this remind you that business doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Culture drives attention, and attention drives relationships, and that’s ultimately what this business is built on.”
Sure it took Jalen Brunson getting buckets in June to unlock this revelation for some of you, but, hey, we’ll take it!
The anonymous associate also offered a comparison that I feel in my soul. “I remember during the Yankees’ 2024 World Series, I would go to bars to watch the games and still feel like I needed to have my laptop out and be working a little bit,” they said. “Now, it’s almost like I can leave my computer at home.” Baseball hasn’t been America’s pastime for a while, whatever the PR says.
Though, per our anonymous associate, the championship part does matter , at least for the continued operation of this miraculous vibe. “I can see a lot of offices hosting celebrations or letting employees step out to take in the championship parade,” they said. “But if we lose, it’s just going to be back to work.”
Game 5 is tomorrow night in San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. ET, with the Knicks closing in on a title and Biglaw partners’ newly discovered humanity hanging delicately in the balance. But we’re up 3-1. The blue-and-orange Grinch’s heart has grown three sizes and the laptop is at home!
Knicks in five.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. 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 or Bluesky @Kathryn1