If You Want Sexy Work, Get Great at Grunt Work
I’m starting tips for law students who’ll be in their first “lawyer” jobs at firms in 2025.
—As you may know, I was an associate at a top law firm for the first 10 years after law school.
—Then I took a job working as in-house counsel at The Hershey Company, where I spent 2-3 years before returning to BigLaw as a Counsel for 7 more years before “retiring” 😉 in 2016.
Based on my experiences—both being supervised and then supervising—I developed a view about what it takes to do well. Here are my 3 top tips:
1️⃣ If you want sexy work, get great at grunt work
If you get assigned to perform a task that seems “below” you, look eager and enthusiastic anyway.
When I was delegating to associates, I could always sense when someone was less than thrilled to receive a project.
I’d sense a subtle eyeroll, an inner groan, or even an outward sigh.
I have to say, that really made me not want to work with them again.
👉 So please go in with an attitude that no project is beneath you and be genuinely grateful for the chance to prove yourself.
Unless and until you demonstrate that you can handle “grunt” work responsibly, senior lawyers will not trust you with sexier assignments.
2️⃣ Treat Support Staff as GOLD
There is a category of people working at the firm that are not lawyers. Employees who come to mind include:
—paralegals, copy and mailroom staff, administrative assistants, help desk operators, marketing/PR peeps & receptionists.
These are the people who know everything you don’t.
Invest early in befriending these people as allies.
They will help you when no one else will.
They can tell you the unwritten rules.
They also know the firm gossip.
They can be allies or foes.
These people are gold.
👉 Do not take them for granted!
👉 Do not dismiss them as “beneath” you!
3️⃣ Don’t pepper a partner with piecemeal questions
Instead, be strategic. Collect your questions as they arise and keep working to the extent you can until you’ve amassed a solid list you can bring to the partner at one time.
This works best if you try to anticipate the questions you’ll have. Here are a few common ones:
-How much time should I bill?
-Does the firm have models to follow?
-Does the client have specific rules for billing?
-Are there others I might consult for guidance?
-What will my work product ultimately be used for?
-Do you have any writing-style guidelines or format preferences?
Best is to ask your questions in the assignment meeting itself.
I also typically followed such a meeting, either right after or the next day, with an email to the assigning attorney. My email would summarize my understanding of what I was to do and pose any additional questions I had thought of.
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I will think of more and circulate in a future post that explains more about each, but this post is getting long.
💌 Amanda
🗳️ What would you add?