Twitter acquaintance, Gigi, a young female associate in a Biglaw firm (not a MILP, but we won't hold that against her), asked this question:
What would you do if your home office still hadn't staffed you on a deal three months into your stint as a 1st yr big law associate?
My gut answer (count your blessings!) is probably inappropriate because I'm sure its tough to meet your billables while you're waiting to be staffed on a deal.
I didn't know what to tell her, but I know enough of you have been there, done that, got the spit-up-stained t-shirt, so I thought you could advise her.
Thanks for any insight.
One possibility could be to try to get involved on a pro bono project (especially if pro bono counts towards billables) that people she wants to work with are involved with. I ended up getting real billable work this way.
ReplyDeleteAlso, at my firm at least, a lot of work is doled out to the person who happens to be in the right person's doorway at the right time (which must be carefully balanced against being annoying and stopping by all the time).
Reaching out to people 1-3 years more senior could also be good -- I asked people I knew from when I was a summer for advice and was pointed to someone who had all the inside gossip on what projects were coming soon and who might need help.
Thank you so much for posting my question here, Butterflyfish! I look forward to what your readers have to say.
ReplyDeleteFor a little more context, here is a post that I wrote on the subject last night: http://paragon2pieces.blogspot.com/2011/04/spring-evaluation.html
And thank you blur_ for your suggestions!
I think you're wise to be concerned. Are others in the same situation? You mentioned that you hadn't gotten billable work specifically from your home office, and from your post it sounds like you haven't had much to do at all. Are there other sources of work?
ReplyDeleteIn my (admittedly limited) experience, the best way to get work is to make both a personal and a work connection with someone in a position to give you work. That would be a mid-level to senior associate or, if you can swing it, a partner. Ideally it would be someone you could talk to in person. Is anyone giving a presentation you could help out with? Is anyone swamped and unable to even find the time to delegate to a junior associate? If you could find some way to make yourself useful to someone in a position to give you work, even for something nonbillable, it makes them more likely to think of you in the future.
Stop by the offices of people who have more work than you and find out what they're doing and who they're working for. If nothing else, this will give you an idea of what work is out there.
Do you have any area of expertise that others might not know as much about? If you could send around a link to that article you wrote, or do a presentation at a group meeting, or otherwise let people know that you know stuff, they may come looking for you if something related shows up.
Finally, this is obvious, but let it be known that you're looking for work. Knock on doors and tell people you're interested in working with them. Even better if you can be specific about a current project they're working on. At your review, ask how you can increase your billable hours and what else you should be doing to get work. The answer might be "nothing" but at least they'll know you are actively trying to get work.
P2P, I just posted on your blog, but I thought I would just say I agree with the specific advice of blur and CM. Would add that if there is a person you want to work for or an area you are interested in, contact that person and say you're interested, that you are looking for work, but in the meantime, was wondering if you could write a client alert or short article on X topic with their supervision or help them prepare for any upcoming department meetings, etc... At best, it sets you apart from the people merely asking for billable work, at worst, it gives you non-billable work but an opportunity to prove yourself and get in the door with someone who can give you work when it comes in.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in my office we get a weekly email with a "new matters report." I will usually scan that for things in my office and email the partner who opened the matter, telling them that I am really interested in working for that client/with them and asking if they have any capacity to staff a junior associate.
Finally, the partners who act as mentors to me tell me all the time that you get no where by being shy. Essentially, this is what CM said...let it be known that you're looking for work. But I think it is super helpful to knock on doors and go to department meetings/MCLE stuff and just ask everyone if they know of anything that you could help with.
Good luck!
I seriously have the best blog friends.
ReplyDeletethank you all for the thoughtful advice! i was recently staffed on a deal (albeit a deal run through the international office and not my home office) and i've been getting some training by expressing some interest in a subspecialty with the help of a strong mid/senior level associate. still not certain how/if that will work out, but it's a start.
ReplyDelete