The way to the top runs through an attorney’s skill and expertise, and through the ability to find a niche and excel in it. It does not rest on that alone. From the choice of law school to the decisions made along the way, and to the ability to work with very different people, the path requires deliberate choices.
Law School
Choose Wisely
A place at a top law school is a real advantage later, and if you have the opportunity, take it. If it is out of range, do not simply settle. Choose the best available and apply yourself. The name on the diploma matters, and it is not the central pillar.
Set Goals
You may find, once the classes begin, that your strengths suit a different area of practice. Goals can be adjusted. Without them you are a ship without a rudder, entirely dependent on the waves.
Work Hard
School is not the place to coast, not if you intend to succeed in this profession. From the first day, focus, study, and explore different areas of law. Learn a second language. It is an edge in a global economy.
Garner a Summer Associate Position With a Law Firm
Use every avenue of help the school offers, and do not stop there. Work harder than your peers, apply on your own, build a network and use it, and learn how to interview well. Do what you can to win a position, and when you have it, give it everything.
The Working World
Secure the Best Position
For a new graduate the best opportunity is often the firm that gave you the summer associate position, though sometimes the lesson of that summer was that the practice area was wrong for you. Either way, put real thought into the first position.
Develop and Hone the Essential Characteristics of a Successful Attorney
- Treat everyone, without exception, with kindness and respect. Give more than you take. Value the person rather than the position.
- Be trustworthy. Give your best. Hold to a high standard. Don’t cut corners.
- If you make a mistake, acknowledge it immediately and take responsibility for correcting it.
- Live and work by a code of honesty and integrity.
- Be committed to and enthusiastic about your work.
- Take care of yourself. The work depends on it.
Work Hard
Billable hours are the measure of your value to the firm, not only for the revenue attached to them, significant as that is, but for what they say about you:
- You are willing to work hard.
- You do excellent work, which brings more of it.
- Your work is reliable, and your colleagues know it.
Set Short and Long-Term Goals
Balance decisions against those goals. Weigh the immediate result against what it does to the larger picture.
Be Professional
From your desk to your attire to your code of ethics, be professional. Keep personal matters separate from the work, keep working relationships clean, and carry the same standard onto social media. Anything less tends to come back.
Know When to Stay With the Firm and When to Move
Avoid moves that gain you nothing. Each one on the resume should advance something: the market, the compensation, the standing of the position, the platform. A reliable legal search firm can help you judge that.
OnBoard Legal helps attorneys make the right moves. Our search consultants are recruiters who know the legal industry, and we understand both the attorney exploring options and the firm that depends on the hire. Our work is discreet and confidential. Contact us.