Cautionary Tale for New Summer Associates

On my first day at a big law firm, I was told I made a “big mistake.”

⬇️

I had just returned to my desk after an early orientation meeting and was on the way to the loo, when my phone rang.

“Could you stop by as soon as possible?”

It was a partner. I’ll call him MB.
I was genuinely excited.

A partner calling me? Little ‘ol me?
A partner was important; I wanted to impress.
I rushed to his office.

Late, I would not be.

As it turned out, though, better I’d been late.

When I got to his office—

🔻 “Hello. Take this down,” he said, gesturing his hand as if writing something in the air.

 Me: “Sure.” (Gulp, panic.)

 —I continued, “Could I just borrow a pen and notepad? I came straight from orientation.”

 (I donned a calm smile, hoping to save face.)

🔻 MB: “No—Go back to your office and do not return unprepared.”

He brushed me out, dismissively in the air, the same hand that had been gesturing writing a second before.

He then got up and called out down the hall behind me,

❗️“NEVER arrive at a partner’s office without pen-and-paper in hand.”

(The rest is just me doing the obvious retreating and pen/paper-fetching while trying to hold it all together in front of some nosey admin. onlookers. It was mortifying.)

⬇️

So, there’s no earth-shattering moral of the story here:

1: Always be prepared to write something down when you arrive for any meeting, no matter how small or impromptu.

—And no, your cell phone is not an appropriate note-taking device, or at least, do not assume it is. (We did not have phones in the 1990’s, or at least I did not.)

2: Oh, and if you’re a supervising attorney, don’t be an MB. 👿

Fondly,

💌 Amanda

#Dear1L

🗳️ What do you remember about your first day as a summer or first-year associate? Any other cautionary tales for new folks?