Too often, even a perfect performance in law school doesn’t automatically translate into a perfect experience as an associate. There are too many nuances to succeeding in a law firm that simply can’t be taught in a classroom or via textbook. While you may fully be expecting long hours, demanding partners, and the politics that go with that, sometimes the reality can be overwhelming. Here are some ideas that can help:
Work Smarter, Not Harder
You always have to put your best foot forward no matter who you are working with. It means consistently delivering your best work time and time again and being known as someone who can get the job done the right way every time. That means being willing to take the extra effort that transforms work that’s good to work that’s exceptional. This doesn’t have to require ridiculous hours, it can just be a matter of taking advantage of technology that can help complete work faster and more thoroughly.
Consider Westlaw Edge, the latest technological advancement from Thomson Reuters. It leverages artificial intelligence with more than a century of attorney-edited annotations to exponentially increase your research power. For instance, let’s say a partner wants you to research the progression of how a statute has evolved. You could literally spend hours highlighting and redlining two, three or even more versions to even begin to grasp the differences. Or, you could save hours and let Westlaw Edge Statutes and Regulations Compare point out the differences for you, so you’ll have more time for thoughtful analysis.
“Statutes Compare saves time because it’s easy to identify what language has changed, so you can make comparing statutes a standard part of your research,” says Lauren Wulfe, an associate with Larson O’Brien, a Los Angeles litigation firm.
Another helpful tool is KeyCite Overruling Risk; it could make you a veritable hero. Here’s why: It automatically provides a warning on implicitly undermined points of law that standard citators miss – saving you hours of research time. With KeyCite Overruling Risk, you could very well save the case by being the one who catches a point of law that relies on an overruled or otherwise invalid prior decision. Standard citators miss these nuances, only catching explicitly overruled law.
“I’ve heard horror stories about associates who have not been rigorous about making sure all the citations within a case are still good law,” says Ryan Matthew Lawrence, an associate with Anthony Ostlund Baer and Louwagie, a Minneapolis litigation firm. “KeyCite Overruling Risk gives me confidence in my work; I know it’s thorough and complete.
“If I didn’t have KeyCite Overruling Risk, I would need to review each citation within a case to ensure each is still good law, which is incredibly time consuming,” he continues. “Now, with the new KeyCite feature, I can know immediately whether there’s a risk, and investigate if that’s the case. Now, when I’m pressed for time and can’t review every citation within every case, KeyCite Overruling Risk gives me confidence because I know I’m citing good law.”
Delight the Client
Keep the client happy by showing them that they are being listened to and their case is a top priority for the firm. Do this by answering their questions quickly and always being on your game.
That’s what Wulfe does by leveraging Westlaw Edge WestSearch Plus.
“Often you need to come up with answers on the fly,” she explains. “The advanced-search tools of WestSearch Plus gives me the ability to hone in on answers fast without combing the universe.”
That saved the day when an opponent filed a non-suit motion that Wulfe had to respond to by the next morning.
“We had less than 24 hours, assuming everyone worked all night, to draft a response,” she recalls. “It was very useful to ask questions based on the main issues we identified to quickly devise a strong response in a very limited timeframe. Westlaw Edge has the advantage in those crunch-time situations.”
Remember, when clients are happy, partners are happy. After all, partners are more likely to retain happy clients and get referrals from them.
Make the Partner’s Job Easier
Intelligently focus your time and energy on what will matter most to partners and will make their lives easier. For instance, partners are responsible for developing strategy. Do what you can to help them develop an informed strategy by providing them the data they need to make the best decisions.
Add value to that process by understanding the judges and jurisdictions they’ll be appearing before, as well as the opposing counsel they’re up against. For example, you could identify opposing counsel’s experience with a specific type of matter, and what their motion practice is like generally, so you can take that into consideration as your strategy is developed. You could also share information on the judge’s experience with the matter type, their record on appeal, approach to expert witnesses as well as the authority they tend to cite.
Partners love this information because it helps them craft a strong strategy and allows them to share this information with clients when advising them of the strategy and best steps forward for the case. These are the types of questions that clients always ask for, but the data is not easy to come by. In the past, attaining such information would require hours and even days of analyzing dockets. But now it’s available in a few simple clicks thanks to Westlaw Edge Litigation Analytics, which provides these valuable data-driven insights on judges, courts, attorneys, law firms and case types.
“It costs money to bring motions, so it’s helpful to the client to know if it’s a lost cause or has a good chance of being successful,” explains Ryan Matthew Lawrence, an associate with Anthony Ostlund Baer and Louwagie. “Litigation Analytics provides this information by giving us insight into how a judge has ruled in the past, so we’re able to make a well-informed risk-reward decision.”
Bring Ideas to Improve Law Firm Operations
As you’re doing your work, consider what will make it easier and more efficient. Look at all aspects of the firm and consider where there could be improvement from client satisfaction to information flow within the office to matter management to research to billing and accepting client payment. Then think about where technology can help. After all, partners understand that when you’re able to do your work more easily and efficiently, everyone wins.
“All of our lawyers, not just our associates, appreciate when we upgrade our technology. We strive to have very good, proven technology. They do notice and talk about that. They were very happy with Westlaw, and now they’re even happier with Westlaw Edge,” points out Vince Louwagie, an Anthony Ostlund Baer and Louwagie Shareholder.
Norm Pentelovitch, an attorney with the firm, concurs, noting that clients benefit, too.
“Our clients are best served when we have powerful tools that improve our efficiency and enhance our confidence,” he explains. “With Westlaw Edge, when we give clients an answer, we can be confident our answer is correct, that we’ve run down every lead, and we know the full scope of the legal issue. We can make sure that any advice we give is based on all the relevant information.”
If you’re ready to put these ideas into action, be a happier associate, and give the partners what they want – winning cases and a happier, more productive office, sign up for a Westlaw Edge free trial or demo today.
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Amy Larson is a Director in Small Law Firm Customer Marketing at Thomson Reuters. She has over 17 years of experience in technology marketing with extensive focus on learning how technology can meet the needs of attorneys. Amy has been involved in numerous product launches throughout her tenure, public relations efforts, interviewing customers and telling their stories, and often writes and distributes information on how legal technology can help small law firms with their practice of law and law firm management responsibilities.