How to get experience in biglaw Forum
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Anonymous User
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How to get experience in biglaw
I’m a mid level lit associate in a big city. I have gotten really good at proofreading and managing up with partners, but I’ve never taken a deposition, and my court experience is very limited. To make matters worse, the constant criticism from partners and colleagues that is inherent in biglaw sometimes makes me seriously doubt my abilities. I want to get actual lawyer experience but I’m worried that just isn’t viable in big law. For those of you have have been in similar firms and found a way to get critical experience, how did you do it?
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Anonymous User
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Re: How to get experience in biglaw
For litigators, pro bono. I am lucky to be at a firm that counts every pro bono hour just like a billable hour with no cap, and associates here often do their first X, Y, Z in a pro bono matter before doing it in a paid case. I am a second-year and have a good chance at getting an oral argument at a federal COA on a pro bono matter; that is experience I would never get from a paid matter in biglaw at my experience level. Be aggressive about seeking out the type of matters that will include what you're looking for - your firm's pro bono coordinator could be a great resource for identifying cases where there could be depositions, etc.
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Re: How to get experience in biglaw
I am a big firm associate in a big city who has gotten a fair amount of "real" experience. I assume you already know that the way associates typically get hands on dep or court experience is through pro bono and you are talking about how to get experience in billable work.
As a midlevel litigator, you should be pretty up on the personalities in your department and what kind of cases they each handle. Certain personalities will certainly be less hands on than others and less hierarchical. Try to get on smaller matters with them that don't have a junior partner running interference and they will likely throw you a deposition or discovery argument on those matters since you know the case better than they do and they don't want to bring in a more junior partner. One-off litigations for non-repeat clients are perfect for this because typically the junior partners all want to service the institutional clients so they can grow their own book.
Another strategy is to be the "go-to" midlevel for a junior partner. Junior partners, IME, get it worst of all in terms of hours and unpredictability since they are being pulled between a lot of different rainmaker partners and cases. If a junior partner likes you and thinks you are good, they'll feel comfortable delegating more and more to you, eventually including depos they don't have time for. However, the more time you spend working for a junior partner, the less time you will get with the key partnership decision-makers in your group, so try this only if you have someone you really like.
Fast paced matters like M+A lit, bankruptcy lit, and PI hearings, always wind up with the team being short staffed and you can sometimes grab a depo, especially if you have really important witnesses you are defending and it is more important for the partners to defend rather than take. I've seen people triple-track depos in these kinds of matters or take a depo in the morning and have the hearing after lunch. The drawback of this over more commercial lit type work is that these cases are short sprints - they are all hands on deck for a month or two, which means long hours and sleepless nights.
Also, try to speak up when it comes time to take a custodial depo of the opposition's IT guy, or in cases involving third-party discovery a depo of any non-key witnesses. If you can articulate reasons why the case needs that depo, even if it is a short one, the partners are more likely to let you take it.
As a midlevel litigator, you should be pretty up on the personalities in your department and what kind of cases they each handle. Certain personalities will certainly be less hands on than others and less hierarchical. Try to get on smaller matters with them that don't have a junior partner running interference and they will likely throw you a deposition or discovery argument on those matters since you know the case better than they do and they don't want to bring in a more junior partner. One-off litigations for non-repeat clients are perfect for this because typically the junior partners all want to service the institutional clients so they can grow their own book.
Another strategy is to be the "go-to" midlevel for a junior partner. Junior partners, IME, get it worst of all in terms of hours and unpredictability since they are being pulled between a lot of different rainmaker partners and cases. If a junior partner likes you and thinks you are good, they'll feel comfortable delegating more and more to you, eventually including depos they don't have time for. However, the more time you spend working for a junior partner, the less time you will get with the key partnership decision-makers in your group, so try this only if you have someone you really like.
Fast paced matters like M+A lit, bankruptcy lit, and PI hearings, always wind up with the team being short staffed and you can sometimes grab a depo, especially if you have really important witnesses you are defending and it is more important for the partners to defend rather than take. I've seen people triple-track depos in these kinds of matters or take a depo in the morning and have the hearing after lunch. The drawback of this over more commercial lit type work is that these cases are short sprints - they are all hands on deck for a month or two, which means long hours and sleepless nights.
Also, try to speak up when it comes time to take a custodial depo of the opposition's IT guy, or in cases involving third-party discovery a depo of any non-key witnesses. If you can articulate reasons why the case needs that depo, even if it is a short one, the partners are more likely to let you take it.
