It doesn’t always suit the control-freaky types or the perfectonists of this world but for overworked laid back types…
What do you say to a recent law-school graduate? “A skinny double-shot latte to go, please.”
We are all for giving the downtrodden associate a voice in the noise of legal commentary. Our readers are free to send us anonymous rants any time. And being the equal opportunity sort, we do of course accept rants from lawyers at any level wishing to blow off a bit of steam.
Proving it’s not just associates that can get a little bitter, the guys at Bitter Lawyer have posted a revealing rant they received from a partner at a …
When it comes to finding your career mentor and sticking close to them to enhance your prospects, Facebook could provide a useful bit of cement. On the other hand, it could be an unwelcome loss of personal privacy. So what to do when you get that friend request dilemma? Obviously, if you really must spend a quality nauseating amount of time hanging out with your boss and being all buddy buddy then jump right in. But if you wan’t …
There are plenty of law graduates and qualified lawyers struggling to keep their legal career on track these days. We have heard some fairly desparate stories of application after application being knocked back. News that firms have instructed recruiters to search only from the ranks of the employed and not from the large pools of redundant solicitors is galling for those out of a job but not wholly surprising. With a surfeit of candidates to choose from it’s an …
Feel like tearing your boss a new one or wrapping a monitor round a colleague’s head. You probably need to step out and chill for a bit. But if you just want to have a strongly worded discussion about strategy or a robust exchange of ideas, then it might be ok to go right ahead; from the BBC:
New research suggests that companies would prosper by encouraging a robust exchange of ideas, even if this descends into a heated argument, …
Some lecturers here may claim to use the Socratic Method of teaching but when it comes to crunch few go to the same lengths as American law schools. Law schools in the States commonly use the teaching method to stimulate rational thinking and to illuminate ideas from their students. All jolly exciting. What we are drawing attention to is the embarrasing moment that everyone encounters at some point in their educational and professional career which is not knowing the …
As a host of new trainees join law firms this autumn, someone ought to warn them of the drink-related dangers they face in the run up to Christmas. Aside from all the usual ones that is. So here we go: Warning – Danger of Drinking Related Foolishness That No-one Will Forget Even if You Turn Out to be a Great Lawyer.
As far as office boozing goes, this first quarter of professional life is almost certainly the heaviest patch one …
No we haven’t assigned anyone in the SolicitR team to become the Jeremy Clarkson of office tools. But we are known for occasionally straying away from a strictly legal menu. One of our readers sent us a selection of product reviews on Amazon that got hijacked by readers; this just happens to be the one we thought was most useful to lawyers:
Bic Cristal Ballpoint Pen, Medium Point, Black
Number of reviews: 188
Sample reviews:
i) All my life I have been scratching …
Lots of you do we know. But surprisingly enough, not everyone returning to their City law career after the summer break shares your enthusiasm. Getting stuck back into work can be motivating in itself for a lot of people – feeling refreshed after a decent holiday can give you renewed vigour for the challenge of due diligence reports, document negotiations and late-night completion meetings. Hmmm. But even in this dire economy, some people get back and just want to …
For most of us the end of the August bank holiday marks the end of the downtime until Christmas. But there are always a few diehards who don’t manage to squeeze a summer break into their hectic lawyer schedule. An associate in one of our leading firms once complained to me that he had not had a single day off (including weekends) for nearly 3 months in a row. We’re all prone to exaggeration now and again but stretching …
For some of you this may be a pertinent question, others may wish that they had received the wisdom of this particular answer a little earlier. Either way it raises some interesting points. Mark Steinberg, a retired Los Angeles attorney, wrote an essay addressing the subject for his son Matt on his graduation from high school in 1999 which he recently published on Lawdragon . The issues he discusses apply to a career in law generally so don’t be …
University and law school should have taught wannabee lawyers a few things at least. Amongst them you’d hope for a bit of case analysis, some litigation techniques and legal research skills, but they normally overlook one important area: the practical realities that exist within a firm.
Cynisism aside for a minute, most new associates love being lawyers, or at least should for a while , and generally their first and foremost goal is to become a great lawyer. Over …
Being instructed by tricky clients always comes with an additional level of stress. To the sort of clients that continually change the goalposts or regularly seek escape-routes half way through transactions, you can look like the doormat in the fire escape. In these circumstances it’s normally wise to sharpen your arse-covering efforts to the max and ensure that even the tiniest client whisper is noted on the file.
It’s one thing representing wiley entrepreneurs or seasoned businessmen with a habit …
Sometimes you come across questions that tempt the conclusion – if you have to ask then you probably already know the answer. You might consider this just such an example but being open minded souls here at Solicitr, we suspect that there may be more than one or two stoners that have either made it into the higher echelons of law or intend to sometime in the not-to-distant future.
This question was not posed to our good selves (it was …
There are big changes afoot in the legal world today. The credit crisis and ensuing recession have forced law firms up and down the profession to take a critical look at themselves and the challenge of Legal Services Act reforms lie in wait.
As turnover has stalled, headcount has been slashed, costs cut and some firms have even done an bit of restructuring. But whilst the downturn may have precipitated fundamental change and a proactive re-think for a few, Linklaters …
We don’t want to get all agony aunt on you, but now and again you come across those questions that most folk are too timid to ask. And you know if the answer’s out there other onlookers will almost certainly want to take a peek. Here at Solicitr we mostly get asked career-oriented questions which we do our best to assist with (we are open to any questions though – we just don’t guarantee the answers!). On the …
Preparation, preparation, preparation – the key to ensuring the lawyer’s duty to act in the best interests of their client is done. Whatever the outcome in litigation, shoring up arguments with comprehensive use of precedent surely serves to project one’s preparedness…?
Maybe not. Last week two senior judges complained that lawyers are using technology over zealously in their preparation by scouring the Internet for too many precedents. Result – the deluge of information is shedding little light on the …
In the current climate anecdotal evidence tell us that even top candidates are struggling to get to the interview stage. So getting it right once you’re there has become more critical than ever before. On Let’s Talk Turkey a headhunter gives advice on the top three interviewing mistakes to avoid. Here’s an extract…
#1: Get Rid of the “We”– Focus on the “Me”
I know, I know. You don’t want to come off as being full of yourself. But, I can’t …
Well he should have taken a leaf out of this lawyer’s fight-club instruction manual:
I am a Korean-American attorney who lives on Wall Street in the Financial District of NY. I was out getting some icecream late at night at the corner store when I was approached by a big drunk guy who asked me if I was Korean. He went on to tell me that his wife is Korean so he "knows all about Koreans". I tried to humor …
