This Associate's Life

by Mae I. Haffnother

Fellow junior associates: Do you ever have that sinking feeling that you're stuck in doc review hell? That your so-called career is nothing but a scrappy patchwork of billable hours strung together by missed opportunities and sleepless nights? That you've looked everywhere but still can't find that missing ingredient, that jurisprudential je ne sais quoi that will take your career to the next level? Well, that's exactly how I felt. That is, until last summer, when I read an article in the National Law Journal that turned my professional life completely around.

Now before I go any further, I want to assure you that I have never met Steven C. Bennett, nor do I know anything about him except that he's a partner at Jones Day in New York. But when I read his August 28 NLJ essay, " 'You Messed Up': How Junior Associates Can Avoid Dropping the Ball," his words stung like a hard, sweet slap in the face. And yes, friends, I liked it. But more to the point, I needed it. And to all of you stuck on the 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. shift at any of California's largest lawyer factories, listen hard: You need it too.

In his article, Mr. Bennett advises us to avoid classic junior associate pitfalls?like wasting time, dropping the ball, and losing key documents. This kind of advice digs deep, I know, and it takes some time to digest. But having lived with his bullet points taped to my computer now for the past six months, my only quibble with Mr. Bennett is that he actually doesn't dig deep enough. If you'll indulge me:

Wasting time.
Mr. Bennett notes that, thanks to lack of experience and guidance, junior associates often spin their wheels on unfamiliar tasks, thus committing the most odious of Big Law crimes: wasting time. His solution? Ask as many questions as possible before starting an assignment. I couldn't agree more?but I'd add that if you really want to avoid wasting time, the questions should start about four years earlier?roughly around the time you start applying to law school. Because taking three years off to rack up $200K in debt to get a job that you're completely unprepared to do without on-the-job-training is a bigger waste of time than anything you're likely to do at the firm.

Conserving resources.
When associates aren't busy wasting time, Mr. Bennett points out, they're often wasting valuable firm resources, like copy paper and car services. To avoid this, he urges associates to "set a threshold limit" before burning through any essential resources. Great advice. But what Mr. Bennett perhaps doesn't realize is that associates often don't have a very clear sense of what's essential and what's not. Take, for example, the associate on my floor?a decent guy?who routinely bills 3,000-plus hours a year ... and recently had a complete nervous breakdown when his wife left him right after his 30th birthday. Such a shame. I mean, you would think he could have ignored the meltdown of his marriage long enough to secure at least one more bonus.

Business development.
Today's Big Law associates have had the importance of business development seared into their brains from day one, and Mr. Bennett certainly doesn't deviate from this mandate. The problem: Most associates have no idea what business development really means. If you're one of them, just remember this handy translation: Business development means "anything you can do to nab a cushy, in-house gig working for a client or one of their cronies as soon as possible." So, by all means, take your clients out to dinner, show up at their fund-raisers, help them get Lakers tickets. If you play the game right, in a few short years when you're a general counsel somewhere, you'll have firm partners doing the same for you.

Skills, skills, skills.
Being a top associate means having skills that transcend mere legal eagling. Just as Mr. Bennett encourages associates to think beyond the immediate task at hand to avoid "dropping the ball," I'd encourage them to push even further by developing skills that can actually take their careers to the next level. Improvisation skills, for example, are invaluable when you suddenly need an excuse to get out of working for the ninth straight weekend?and understanding dentistry will also prove useful after you grind your teeth down to nubs when that excuse inevitably fails. Similarly, a working knowledge of hostage negotiations, anger management, and deep breathing is bound to come in handy during your tenure at the firm. Remember: Just because you didn't study it in law school doesn't mean you won't need it later.

Document management.
Mr. Bennett is right on target when he talks about all the havoc associates cause when they lose track of key documents. But in his discussion he fails to mention the most important document that needs minding, a document that's all too often lost or mishandled: your résumé. Make sure to keep it updated, easily accessible, and ready to be fired off for the first sweet in-house job opening that comes your way.

The right relationships.
If you want your career to flourish over the next several years, you have to identify which key relationships are really worth maintaining. Sure, Mr. Bennett highlights a few obvious ones?partners, senior associates, clients?but again, try to broaden your scope. Think about it: Do you know the names of your headhunter's kids? And when was the last time you went out of your way for your psychopharmacologist? Or your fertility specialist? Or your therapist? These are the relationships that truly define a young associate's experience; neglect them at your peril.

Of course, my suggestions here are all mere emendations, and should in no way distract from the brilliance of Mr. Bennett's work. To paraphrase Sir Isaac Newton: "If we see further, it is because we stand on the shoulders of giants." Mr. Bennett, on behalf of junior associates everywhere: Thank you for being our giant. From your broad shoulders, we can finally see the path to success unfolding before us?one billable hour at a time.

Mae I. Haffnother is a pseudonym for a junior associate at a large Southern California law firm.

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