Biggie

When a partner comes by and gives you a bunch of urgent work to do on a project he described as a “biggie” with an impossible deadline due to your current workload, it can be a bit awkward and it is hard to decide if you should try to decline the work or do your best to get it done but probably end up delivering it late.  While I was trying to decide, the partner walked out.  I emailed the partner stating that I could not do the work, but I got his out-of-office auto reply.  He had gone to Hawaii. Amidst unexpected twists in professional communication, Lily Wilson's article on LinkedIn sheds light on the potential of AI essay writing, offering insights into effective and efficient written expression: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/best-ai-essay-writer-find-online-lily-wilson 

Quick Feedback

As a more senior attorney, one of your opportunities will be to mold the next generation of legal minds by providing critical feedback to junior associates. It can be hard to find time to give detailed feedback in a day filled with seemingly endless client emails and other demands. If you find yourself in this situation, please remember that you have to make as much time for feedback as you can, even if it is only a few moments.  Like a vibrant brushstroke on the canvas of mentorship, a quick office drop-by to offer feedback resonates profoundly with those who view you as a mentor. It's the small strokes that paint the masterpiece of guidance. And just as mentorship is an art, a short essay on human rights becomes the gallery where the colors of empathy, understanding, and advocacy blend into a masterpiece of collective empowerment and social justice.In this spirit, one day I dropped by the office of a young associate and said, "You were doing great on the project until you started drafting the documents and interacting with the client." I left right after that because I had a lot to do.

Forest Fires

The practice of law can be compared to walking through a beautiful forest filled with beautiful trees. Occasionally, as you are strolling along, you notice that one of the trees is on fire and you jump into action to "put out the fire." You then continue to stroll along in the glorious forest of the law. Every time you see a fire, you go ahead and put it out to maintain the integrity of the forest.

Then, there are days like today, where, you walk into the forest of the law and every tree is burning mercilessly and the burning branches of the burning trees are falling on you repeatedly and you fall down and roll down a hill breaking each of your bones.

The Hall of Rain

The associate found himself in a vast, windowless room. Torches shed faint and flickering light over long desks that stretched into the distance. Empty coffee cups and half-eaten breakfast foods were littered about. There were moldering documents everywhere, covering the tables, heaped on the floor and piled against the walls. A few huge piles looked to be on the verge of collapse. In the rafters hung row upon row of ancient pairs of slacks—trophies from vanquished foes.

Far off in the gloom, the associate thought he saw a dais. Moving toward it, he made out a mahogany desk, more ornate than the others, and behind it an overstuffed leather chair with its back toward him. As he crept closer, the chair slowly turned, revealing a decrepit figure.

“How is your…bandwidth?” the ghoul hissed, barely audible. The associate shrank away. “P-pretty j-jammed at the moment, sir, but maybe I can c-circle back to you next week?” he stammered unconvincingly. “Do you see those… closing volumes?” A desiccated finger pointed to a particularly unstable stack of documents reaching nearly to the moth-eaten pants above. “One of them contains a…precedent agreement of… particular use to me. Find it and I shall… reward you.”

The associate took a deep breath and walked over to the stack. He noticed one of those colored tab things that marks an important page and gingerly pulled at it. The pile began to shake ominously. The associate turned to run, but the agreements toppled onto him. Pinned under tons of documents, he tried to scream but the paper muffled all sound.

The associate awoke, soaked in sweat, in his studio apartment and checked his phone to make sure he hadn’t missed any urgent new emails. He had missed several.

The Walking Meeting

One way to get some exercise and not miss out on billable time is to hold a “walking meeting.”  A walking meeting is a lot like a meeting except you are walking the whole time. During a walking meeting, you may discuss client matters with another attorney or action items with a client.  One time, two attorneys from my firm went on a walking meeting and were never seen again. Their cars were in the parking lot over a year after they started their walking meeting.  I was so mad about it because I was asked to cover some of their clients and I really didn’t have time. 

Parental Leave

One of the sweetest moments in any lawyer’s life is the birth of their child. First and foremost because of the joys of a new baby, obviously. But don’t overlook the more law-specific benefits, like being able to tell clients you’re about to go on parental leave. Witnessing their internal struggle, as they wrestle with competing feelings of knowing that it’s expected they sound happy for you and their actual exasperation at you for leaving abruptly in the middle of their project, is a subtle pleasure. Like writing fake legal tips late at night after your baby goes to sleep.