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How to keep constantly outshiningin your Career

published February 24, 2009

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( 18 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.
<<First-Year Associates

The first year of your law firm is full of excitement and stress. While you set foot into the real legal world, you need to keep certain things in mind to be able to advance in your legal career.


 
  • Understand the firm culture: Spend your first month identifying the “firm personality.” Get familiar with the prevailing culture: how do associates address the partners, what are the expected billable hours, what type of departments are more sought after, etc. Try getting the insider’s story on your boss’s likes and dislikes.
     
  • Surpass expectations: Your employer does not expect much from first-year associates. You have the opportunity to prove them wrong. Be available at all times. Come early and leave late. Work, work, work! Show that you are eager to learn. Know your clients and do your research well in advance. All this will make you stand out from your peers.
     
  • Do not be a part of office politics: Don’t be a gossip mongrel. While it may be beneficial to be aware of gossip and rumors to understand the firm culture, don’t ever comment on them or believe them. It may be tempting, but it could be catastrophic to your career. When in such a situation, just shrug your shoulders and say “That’s really none of my business.”
     
  • Develop a rapport: Be nice to everyone: fellow associates, partners, and secretaries. Find out what is common between you and your colleagues. Become the kind of person with whom they like to work. Pay attention and follow what your boss says. You work in a team, so become a team player.
     
  • Drop your attitude: You may have been famous at law school. Your recent success at the bar may have gotten over your head. Drop all tantrums when you join a law firm. You are at the bottom and everyone else is like you. Your law firm will not entertain your attitude, nor will it give in to any irrational demands.
Mid-Level Associates

Now that you are all settled, you seek more opportunities and expect senior-level or partnership prospects; but are you partner material? Do you have what it takes to taste success early in your career? It is important that you lay the foundation during your mid-level career by taking up more responsibilities and handling them with the right attitude.

 
  • Pick your niche: By now, you must have worked on various cases and analyzed your interests. It’s time that you pick a practice area and specialize in it. This will create your identity in the firm and make you the go-to person for any case related to that practice. It will also create your niche in the market.
     
  • Know it all: Become well versed with your firm’s clients, important cases, business decisions, top management structure, etc. Make sure everyone knows you, too. Meet and chat with as many people as you can. Your networking abilities will take you places and also secure your future with the firm.
     
  • Become a rainmaker: Though your employer doesn’t expect you to, if you are able to bring new clients to your firm, you have all the chances to reach partnership early. Your networking skills come into play here. Go out, keep your eyes and ears open, and communicate. You never know; your new client might be sitting right across your dinner table at a next-door restaurant.
     
  • Be your own manager: Take initiatives at work. Move beyond simple research and writing, drafting motions, and recording custodian depositions to handling the entire caseloads. Follow how partners tackle cases and apply their methods to try solving your case entirely by yourself.
     
  • Get involved in community services: Doing pro bono work will not only allow you to handle your own case, but will also give you personal satisfaction. You will always feel good about yourself knowing that you are serving those who cannot afford a lawyer. By going pro bono, you’ll also get to interact with other attorneys, which you normally may not be able to do.
Partners

The partnership track at most law firms is around eight to ten years. Once a partner, you will have double the responsibilities and more say in the firm’s business decisions. You will be expected to bring new clients and to supervise and mentor attorneys and other staff. Partnership brings with it a whole new load of responsibilities which require building strategies.

 
  • Client satisfaction tops the charts: At your level, the client is the most important aspect of your career. It is your duty to ensure that you and your firm surpass client expectations. You also need to consistently generate more new clients for your firm’s growth and to make more profits.
     
  • Become the leader: When you are promoted as a partner, you should realize that you are a part-owner of the firm. You need to handle the firm like it’s your business. You are the leader, so act like one. Formulate compensation policies and listen to employee grievances. Be concerned about the firm, its clients, its goodwill, how to develop its business, and everything else related to the firm’s success.
     
  • Become famous: By now, you are well established in the legal industry and renowned for your specialization in a niche practice. Go out and strengthen your public relations. Be available to be quoted in famous magazines or journals. Write books or articles that address legal or political issues. Become a guest on a television show to share your views on important Supreme Court trials.
     
  • Be friendly with other partners: Don’t entertain office politics or carry a huge ego: it is not in your best interest. You should realize that anyone in the firm can be important to your career. Don’t backstab or create rivalries; they will only come back to you. Be professional in every respect and play by the rules. While making any major decisions, involve other partners.
     
  • Manage your team: If the books of business increase, hire more people to distribute work evenly, but in every aspect, maintain a vision and plan for any future contingencies. Identify the right person for the right job and delegate responsibilities accordingly. Understand the strengths and the weaknesses of individual attorneys and other legal staff in the group and assign clients/cases accordingly.
Whatever stage you are in or are about to cross; it is important that you maintain a focus and do what you like doing. You have a lot of career prospects once you make your mark in the industry. The right guidance is the key; look around for a mentor and climb your way toward a successful and prestigious legal career.

published February 24, 2009

( 18 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.

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