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Any Advice for a NEW corporate/securities associate

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Dec 07, 2018 3:53 pm

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RedGiant

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Re: Any Advice for a NEW corporate/securities associate

Post by RedGiant » Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:22 am

Any advice for a new corporate and securities associate?

Here's some general corporate gems:

- know that first year kind of sucks, and you will feel like you are in neverending diligence and scut work hell, but it gets better.
- UPOD - underpromise and overdeliver. never blow a deadline without an update as to why, in advance. never.
- avoid acting entitled. it's really a terrible look on juniors. act hungry and ready to roll your sleeves up.
- run your own race. some people will be on more or less deals or different clients. their hours will be better and worse; they will be on higher profile deals at times. don't worry about the other kids in your class. do your own good work. learn from your friends' anecdata, but care mostly about how you are doing.
- 20 minute rule. Acknowledge receipt of emails within 20 minutes, even if you don't start working on the task or project. don't be the black hole of radio silence. This is relaxed on weekends unless you know you are on call--it's more like the one-hour rule. if you're off the grid, say, skiing, let people know or put an OOO on.
- be organized and reliable. own the checklist. ask the midlevel what's coming down the pike. plan your own staffing accordingly.
- be very organized with signature pages--you should have an outbound folder for them, and an inbound one. Flag them in your email so they're easy to find later. you will think the deal is done, but someone will ask you about a sig page two months later. make sure you have them at your fingertips.
- if you're not good at attention to detail or proofreading, figure out a system ASAP so you get good at them--they're a huge part of your job.
- be sunny. associates with good attitudes get staffed much more than rain cloud associates. find a behind-closed-doors confidant but keep your complaining limited. you will complain. it's inevitable.
- do the needful (what you are asked), but also read the document you're editing and think, "if I change X here, does an ancillary need to be updated?" "Do I need to update schedules or exhibits?" "Did the numbers change, and if so, did I make all the changes that flow through?" (You may not know the answers to these questions in your first few months, but you will start to know.)
- resist the urge to be on ALL THE DEALS at once. the best associate is not the one who is on everything, but who gets everything done right on the deals he or she is on. don't get overstaffed. if you are overstaffed, ask midlevels how to best handle and fix it asap, esp. if it's unsustainable and you're exhausted. exhaustion leads to mistakes leads to really bad consequences.
- figure out what type of work you like and seek that out, but keep your skillset rounded as a junior. areas of work are hotter and less hot--you want to be as versatile as possible. even if you think you love m&A, learn as much securities law as you can--it's very important to understand this. certainly you will have preferences, but...remain open to deal types slightly out of your wheelhouse or comfort zone. you can do it!
- save data room passwords in your outlook contacts. deals die and come back months later. you need to be ready.
- save client emails/phone numbers to your contacts. If anyone ever gives you their mobile number one-off, save it to your contacts. find out if your group or floor has a secret mobile number list (if those are not included in email footers). there will be an emergency and you will need to use these.
- cultivate good relationships with paralegals--they will teach you more than you know about partner and client preferences, process and firm gossip.
- give your assistant a really generous tip even if she's terrible--you will need her to help you in a pinch, and greasing the wheels this way is a thing
- cultivate good relationships with midlevels so you can bounce things off of them. note who they like working with, and who they say noncommittal things about. read between the lines.
- understand the FedEx deadlines in your office. it seems unimportant until it's crucial. just have your assistant make a little cheat sheet.
- ALWAYS batch your questions. you will have a lot of them. don't be the annoying associate who sends serial emails every four minutes as a new though occurs to you.
- when in doubt about a type of deal (securities), always google a MoFo FAQ (they have them for _everything_ and they are awesome)
- learn to use Intelligize and Practical Law well. The sooner you can tease that nugget out of a filing, or understand the nuance of what you are asked to draft, the better. if you do research, keep a "research trail" word doc that shows what search terms you used so you can easily refer back.
- if you think the precedent you're using sucks, find a better one. figure out if there are people in your group (still at the firm or departed) who were known as good drafters, and search under their alias on FileSite.
- embrace ambiguity. learn tricks (like how to find good precedents) to work through things that seem overwhelming. that said, if someone senior to you asks you to do something that is waaaaaaaaaay over your head, set up a meeting or call to talk through it so you're on the right track.
- ALWAYS triple check that you have the right recipients on an email string.
- ALWAYS proofread and spellcheck. ALWAYS check that the TOC is updated and the exhibits are correct.
- ALWAYS do a defined terms check. If the doc you're in is enormous, find out if your firm has software for this or you can teach your assistant or a paralegal to be working on this in the background
- ALWAYS understand if you are supposed to answer clients directly, or that's not a privilege you have yet. certain partners like to own communications until you're "proven". Don't speak out of turn.
- if a partner is known as being a right arsehole, try not to work with him or her until you have your feet under you. these are the exact types of people who won't give you a second chance. if you do have to work with someone like this use the associates above you as a buffer. send your work to these associates first/avoid direct partner contact.
- if you make a mistake, disclose it IMMEDIATELY to your deal team. IMMEDIATELY. no cover ups--they can be fatal. let your team help you fix it. if you have a minute to think of a solution and be solution-oriented, do that, but don't try to find a solution and fail to disclose. disclose--immediately!!!
- be ruthless about version control. when in doubt, version up. (Some people will just say, "bump it". This is what they mean!) If you are using a precedent, save that as v1, start drafting in v2. Redlines are much faster to run this way.
- if you're feeling burnout, but you stuck in deal hell, at the very least, schedule a vacation (even if it's a month or two away) to keep you going.
- be gracious about covering for coworkers who are on vacation and they will help you out when it's your turn. don't be a doormat though.
- start keeping a behind-the-scenes precedent library. if a doc looks useful, save it down to a local folder in a way you can find it again.
- keep a spare outfit, toothbrush at work. keep emergency energy food (your dirty secret flaming hot cheetos--whatever you need--for that 3am pick-me-up)
- take care of your health. don't wake up as a third year with "lawyer bod." hit the gym when you can on weekends.
- if you're in corporate, expect to work between Christmas and New Year's and be pleasantly surprised if you don't have to.
- if you don't know basic accounting, take CLEs on this (PLI has them for free and your firm likely has a subscription). you will need to understand this for M&A and public company disclosure, big time.
- you are responsible for your attitude and your training. don't expect the firm to train you fully--if you feel you have a knowledge gap, figure it out and work on it in your own time.
- go to trainings. Even if you think they are ancillary, corporate associates need to have a really wide view of things, esp. if you are headed in house later (and remember, you don't know you're _not_ headed in-house later). Always keep an eye on broadening your skillset so you're marketable.
- if things aren't working, or your firm is truly dysfunctional, look to lateral. not all biglaw is awful--truly--find the good people.
- LinkIn with associates who leave, even if they are outside your practice area (as long as you know them a smidge). No matter where you practice, the bar will be small and it's incredibly helpful to have these people to reach out to later.

lawdude31

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Re: Any Advice for a NEW corporate/securities associate

Post by lawdude31 » Sun Dec 09, 2018 12:11 pm

Pardon me for being clueless, but does a first year associate has their own assistant?

2013

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Re: Any Advice for a NEW corporate/securities associate

Post by 2013 » Sun Dec 09, 2018 12:50 pm

lawdude31 wrote:Pardon me for being clueless, but does a first year associate has their own assistant?
You share an assistant with other associates.

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