Assessing Law Firm 2010
Assessing Law Firm 2010
Assessing Law Firm 2010
Law Firms:
Culture, Clients,
Compensation,
and Beyond
INTRODUCTION .......................................................... 2
I. Partnership Track......................................... 12
K. Transition Opportunities.......................... 13
CONCLUSION............................................................. 16
There are thousands of law firms around the country and the
world seeking to hire law students. It is up to you to determine
which firm will be a good fit for you. Establish the factors that
are important to you in a law firm (e.g., intellectually-
challenging work, livable hours, early responsibility) and then
keep them in mind as you go through the process of seeking
summer and permanent employment. This brochure offers you
some suggestions for what you may wish to consider when
selecting a law firm and mentions resources to help you make an
informed decision.
A. Firm “Culture”
For better or worse, you will spend more time with your work
colleagues than with many of your friends and family. It is
important that you respect their judgment, enjoy their company
and believe that you can learn and develop into a good lawyer
under their tutelage. Assess the firm’s “culture.” Is there a sense
of collegiality? Are doors in the office open or closed? Are there
photos of family, friends or outside hobbies in attorney offices?
Are the attorneys of certain political affiliations? How do the
attorneys treat the support staff? What opportunities does the
firm provide for social and professional interaction among
attorneys? Are there opportunities to join clubs or sports teams
with colleagues from work? Consider all of these factors in
analyzing the firm’s corporate culture and your fit within that
environment.
For many practitioners, the types of clients with whom they have
contact, the amount of that contact, and the types of legal issues
confronting those clients have an enormous impact on job
satisfaction. Some lawyers would prefer to represent individuals,
while others wish to work on behalf of large corporate clients.
Legal issues addressed by attorneys representing individual
clients can include family law, employment, trusts and estates,
tax, tort, civil rights, and residential real estate. Attorneys
representing corporate clients are more likely to be involved in
corporate legal issues, including securities, mergers and
acquisitions, environmental law, and commercial real estate.
They may also represent the company in employment and other
contract matters.
The amount, type and quality of training that you will receive
can vary from firm to firm. Learn about the training
opportunities that are offered. Often, the larger law firms provide
mock programs as a means of providing experience to new
attorneys. Smaller firms, with cases staffed with fewer lawyers,
are more likely to allow you to interface with clients early in
your career and obtain more “on the job” training.
You may also wish to seek out firms who allow associates to
contribute in a meaningful way to the firm and its clients. Firms
who are serious about associate development have written goals
for associates that list tasks associates should have completed at
each stage of their careers. They assist their associates in
meeting those goals by staffing cases leanly and making sure that
associates get to work on different types of matters with a variety
of partners. Find out whether and to what extent associates are
Yale Law School Career Development Office 4
involved in firm business matters. Do associates participate in
firm committees? Are they involved in recruiting? Do they
attend business development meetings? If so, that serves as
another indication that the firm is serious about developing its
associates into leaders within the firm. More and more firms are
hiring professional development directors to assist associates in
navigating their career paths.
E. Billable Hours
Pro bono comes from the Latin “pro bono publico” and means
“for the public good.” The ABA defines pro bono legal services
as providing legal assistance without expectation of pay to
persons of limited means or to organizations in matters
addressing the needs of persons with limited means. Most firms
view this more broadly to include work for nonprofits and for
social causes such as civil rights and the environment. Many
students who decide to pursue positions with law firms
specifically seek firms that offer meaningful pro bono
opportunities.
There are many ways to explore pro bono work during the
summer, including working for a firm that offers a sponsored
split public interest summer. Participating firms allow summer
associates to work part of the summer at the firm and the other
part at a public interest organization, with the firm paying the
entire summer’s salary. If you seek community focused, pro
bono friendly firms, you should consider working with a firm
that offers a sponsored summer program. See CDO’s brochure,
Firm Sponsored Split Public Interest Summer Programs, for a
listing of firms that offer these opportunities.
G. Diversity Efforts
Most large firms have written parental leave policies that include
coverage of adoptions and children of domestic partners. In
addition to offering leave, some firms provide a stipend to defray
the cost of adoption. Firms may base their policies on gender or
the attorney’s status as primary caretaker. Find out whether a
non-primary caretaker is eligible for leave. Even for those
attorneys eligible for leave, whether the leave is paid and the
duration of that leave will vary from firm to firm. Beyond
learning the specifics of the firm’s leave policy, find out what
effect, if any, taking a leave has on advancement in the firm.
Inquire whether attorneys who have taken a leave have
continued to progress on the partnership track and/or have gone
on to make partner.
I. Partnership Track
K. Transition Opportunities
At some point in your job search you will likely hear that you
should start with a large firm because you can always transition
to a smaller firm or public interest, but that you cannot go from
one of those organizations to a large firm. In terms of the ease of
finding large firm work, it is true that you will never again have
the Fall Interview Program, with its wealth of large firms at your
fingertips. However, if your legal experience relates to the work
of the large firm such that you can tell a compelling story as to
why they should hire you, there is no reason that you can’t make
that transition. Litigators in the public interest often make
smooth transitions to private practice. Similarly, attorneys who
have developed knowledge of government regulation in an area
of interest to a firm often make lucrative career changes. To the
extent that your experience is unrelated to your desired large
firm job, and you have been in that position for a significant
period of time, you must work harder to change jobs. The issue
is not really private versus public, but moving to fields where the
skills, knowledge and contacts gained in your work experience
are relevant.
Selecting a law firm that best fits your career goals and lifestyle
can be very challenging. In addition to reviewing this brochure
and the resources mentioned here, use the interview process to
learn more about a particular firm’s policies.