10 Survival Tips for New Associates

You studied hard in law school, successfully navigated a summer program or externship and passed the bar exam. But how do new associates survive as lawyers in the "real world"?
1. Don't be afraid to be a new associate. While being prepared is incredibly important, it is OK not to know everything -- no one does. Supervising attorneys know that new associates need training. A first-year associate who is uncertain about an assignment should ask questions and seek clarification. Specific, thoughtful inquiries demonstrate attention to the matter at hand and a recognition of one's limits as a brand-new practitioner.
2. Managing supervisors' expectations is half the battle. An important aspect of new associates' jobs is understanding the scope of assignments and meeting deadlines. But projects can take on lives of their own. One lawyer may ask for a deposition outline in one case, while another asks for a response to a temporary restraining order in another. Don't rush to complete both projects when the allotted time makes competently doing so impossible. Keep supervising attorneys aware of time-management obstacles and other issues as they come up, so they can adjust staffing, deadlines and expectations. That kind of open dialogue leads them to perceive the new associate as responsible and prepared rather than sloppy and delinquent.
3. Learn to work with assistants, paralegals and support staff. New lawyers often are used to doing everything themselves, and they fail to utilize the many resources available at their firms. Every person at a firm plays an important role, and developing a strong working relationship with others in the office is critical to a successful career. Partners want to work with associates who complete projects efficiently. Someone who performs administrative tasks rather than utilizing an assistant will spend more time on projects than his or her peers -- resulting in a competitive disadvantage.
Clients will not pay for the time it takes an associate to type, organize files and manage his or her calendar, and an assistant does a better job of those things. In fact, in the beginning, the assistants and paralegals probably know more about the practice of law than the associate does. They are also familiar with the resources and experts within the firm that can make the associate's life easier. For example, they will know when the last mail leaves for the day, how to format a pleading, whether a particular partner hates staples and who can fix computers. Taking advantage of their expertise and services will make you a better lawyer.
4. The seeds planted today can make it rain tomorrow. Being a lawyer involves more than billing hours. As with anything, being well-rounded and connected to the community is important. In fact, many clients now demand it. Make pro bono service and community involvement a habit early on, and it will pay dividends later. As marketing legal services is a long-term process, you will never regret starting early.
CREATIVITY COUNTS
5. Stay in touch with friends. Your mother may not be the CEO of a billion-dollar conglomerate, but you can still have a client-development strategy. One way to develop business is to stay in touch with friends from work, college and law school. In a few years, many of them will be potential clients. There are simple ways to do this. Many law school alumni associations have city-specific groups that host functions once or twice a year. These events help maintain relationships with friends and acquaintances with a minimal investment of time. While it is important to focus on work, do not neglect a social life. Take friends to dinner, go to ball games or just hang out. Having fun with friends can be one of the best client-development decisions ever made.
6. Tap others' knowledge. As a lawyer, you have the privilege of working with bright people every day. In the beginning, it is not necessary to constantly reinvent the wheel. While the work will require critical thought and exacting research, do not be afraid to ask for forms and samples to reference while tackling assignments. When drafting a motion for summary judgment, consider asking an attorney who is slightly senior if he or she can recommend an example document. Reviewing high-quality work product will help you understand the end goal and give you a feel for the appropriate voice. Understanding expectations is a big part of meeting them. Of course, do not rely solely on the sample, as this can result in stale or inaccurate work product. Be creative and be certain to check that the law or rules have not changed.
7. Learn the case. When assigned projects, learn the facts and motives that drive the case. This is an easy way to dramatically increase the quality of the work product. It also makes you an invaluable team member. Although you may not realize it at first, junior associates often have the best command of the facts. For example, you may be the only person who has read all of the key e-mails and reviewed every document in the case. You may also be the person who learns the most about the client's business. Combining this encyclopedic knowledge of the facts with an understanding of the case strategy makes an associate valuable. For this reason, when it is time to attend hearings, prepare witnesses or draft critical motions, your knowledge will make you a natural go-to person (and a likely recipient of increased responsibility).
8. Be prepared and be early. When invited to attend meetings, even if they are just with other attorneys in the office, be a few minutes early and be prepared. For example, if you and a partner are calling the client to discuss a contract and a procedural rule, bring the client's phone number, an extra copy of the contract and the rule book to the meeting. If you are assisting a partner during a hearing, bring copies of the cases cited in your brief and a copy of the relevant rules. This tip seems simple, but you will be surprised to see how few people follow it. You will never be chastised for being ready, and others will notice that you are on top of your game.
9. Know the rules. You may think that the partners know all of the rules and all of the cases. They do not (and neither do you). Always check the relevant statutes and rules. The few minutes you take to carefully read the rules (including the local rules) will save you major headaches down the road. It is much better to discover that the court requires briefs to be triple-spaced and in 14-point font before you file the brief than after. Likewise, knowing that intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays are excluded in computing time may prevent an "all-nighter" before a major deadline.
10. Your nameplate is your shingle. Remembering this mantra will help you learn how to operate in the firm setting. In many ways, you are a solo practitioner, and the partners and senior associates in the office are your clients. Think about what makes these clients want to hire you -- consistently good work, value-added creativity and efficiency. Run your office so that you can deliver this type of work product to your clients every day.

Five Christmas Survival Tips For The Divorced or Single Parent

Five Christmas Survival Tips For The Divorced & Single Parent


For the over 50% of marriages that end in divorce, Christmas can be a hugely trying time.

Since the season is one of the most stressful times of the year anyway, this onslaught of raw emotion to the divorcee can be overwhelming. This is reflected in the Christmas surge of suicide rates.

The feelings are that much more intense if there are kids involved.

I know for myself, nothing could have prepared for me for the crushing sadness I felt during my first post-divorce Christmas.

As a father of two young girls, it was like I was emotionally disconnected from everyone. The joy of the season was something I just switched on, for brief periods, when my little girls were at my house leading up the holidays. When they would leave until their next visit, the joyful glow of the Christmas lights and Christmas tree seemed to turn cruel and I would turn it all off.

It seemed I had an inverse reaction to the level of season joy around me: the higher it was, the worse I felt.

Going to the shopping malls, alone, just intensified the feelings of disconnect, as I watched parades of children that weren't mine, going through the usual excited frenzy.

I remember sitting on my couch, alone in the dark, watching movies on Christmas Eve, counting down the hours until the girls arrived on Christmas Day at Noon.

In the middle of the night of that first Christmas Eve, I reached my lowest of lowest and for the briefest of seconds, dark thoughts crossed my alcohol free mind about putting an end to the pain.

Mercifully, I did nothing except scare myself. In fact, because now I appreciated how intense all of the feelings were, I knew I needed a plan to get through the season the next time.

From that point on, I came up with the following five step plan.

Step 1 ? Do not be alone. You have to reach out and ask for support, from family, friends or whoever. The Crisis Line is always there to re-assure you (I know).

Step 2 ? Know you are not alone and connect with other people in your same circumstance. I met several people over the next year, male and female, who were in the same boat as I was. We actually had a house party on Christmas Eve the next year because no one had their kids. Everyone had a few laughs, cursed the Exs and yearned for their kids, together. It actually was a great feeling to be in that group.

Step 3 ? Do not feel guilty. Your kids are enjoying two Christmas celebrations instead of just one. What kid wouldn't love that?

Step 4 ? Give to charity or volunteer at the Food Bank. This really helped me appreciate that even in my sadness, I still had food and a home and there were people way worse off then I was.

Step 5 ? Don't be so hard on yourself. From the time we were kids, the Christmas season commercial frenzy creates a ton of expectations in all of us. During divorce, with your own kids jumping between houses, those expectations become very difficult if not impossible to maintain. This compounds the feeling of being a failure because you cannot emotionally keep pace with the joy you see around you.

That can be further complicated by the game of trying to keep up with whatever your Ex Spouse is able to provide for kids during the season. This one can be really hard too.

Over my 5 single Christmas seasons, I learned a whole new way of appreciating the season.

I started to celebrate the fact that I was surviving on my own, learning to live my life differently and being a fantastic father every 2nd week.

Christmas became less about gifts and more about patting myself on the back for keeping it all together.

That attitude shift made a world of difference.

I truly learned that the biggest gift you can give the people around you, especially your kids, is your own survival. That's what they'll always remember.