Jr. BigLaw Associate in NY Taking Questions

[big - fat - box]

Delaware Chancery Court if interested in Corp/Transactional. Very hard to get, as with any competitive clerkship.

[Burning Sands, Esq.]

Great, thanks for the response! A few more questions:

1) What types of "assignments" do SA's do? Is it all doc review as well?

2) Is the pay the same for all 1st year associates across the board? A 1associate working in L&E will make the same as a 1associate in litigation?

3) Are you ever asked during interviews what department you would prefer working in?

Thanks.

1) Short ones that can be completed within a few weeks.  Typically legal research memo's or the like.

2) I assume that you mean is the pay the same for all 1st year associates within the same firm.  Answer being yes, generally this is true at Biglaw (I've never heard of it being otherwise in Biglaw).  Your firm's market rate applies to everybody by class year, no matter what practice group they belong to within the firm.  Class of '09 gets $160k, class of '08 gets $170k, class of '07 gets $185k, and so on.

3) Good question.  Yes.  This can often be a test to see if you've done your homework on the firm.  Study up before your interview.  Talk to recent graduates from your school at the firm if possible to get a feel for it.

[Burning Sands, Esq.]

Sands, another question...

I'm not sure if you did a clerkship at all or not, but my question sort of revolves around that. I am thinking I'm more interested in transactional work (says the 0L with no experience), but I'm also interested in clerking. Would you say that it's completely useless for a transactional person to pursue a clerkship or otherwise hinder their chances of being placed in a transactional group at a big firm?

I'm surprised to see such an insightful question come from a 0L.

It is true that most people who do clerkships are on the litigation side, but there are some transactional folks to do clerkships as well.

If you have any interest in Bankruptcy, that's a practice group that sort of straddles the fence between Lit and Trans, but can definitely lean more Trans.  A US Bankruptcy Court clerkship would be a good look in that case.

Otherwise I don't think anybody would discourage clerking.  Firms love it, no matter what practice you end up doing.  And if you talk to people who clerked, they all cite it as a valuable experience in their careers; many former clerks keep in touch with their judges for many years after their clerkship is over.

I didn't have the opportunity to do an official clerkship (regret) but I did get the equivalent by doing a judicial externship with 2 different federal judges while in law school, and I still talk to both of them to this day.  In fact, one of them is responsible for my current employment right now.

[EdinTally]

So nepotism, money, and knowing the right people can get you into a top law school with sub par numbers but that somehow stops after law school when entering the job market?

OK just checkin...

[Busy]

Burning Sands, my question is do you know where I can get materials on Equity and Trust law as well as Mercantile law for common law jurisdiction?

[Burning Sands, Esq.]

Burning Sands, my question is do you know where I can get materials on Equity and Trust law as well as Mercantile law for common law jurisdiction?

ehhhhh...amazon.com?

["Legapp" Stands for "Legal Application"]

Sands, any NY Bar advice?  I am waaay behind on the NY subjects, so I will be doing my best to learn prof resp, sec trans, com paper, and family law all this weekend (ok on ny practice, trusts, and wills).  Should I even bother with partnership and agency, and those little ny subjects?

Even Javits-specific advice would help... I've heard it's a nightmare there.... anywhere I can go to escape the crazy horde of recent law grads for lunch?

[Burning Sands, Esq.]

Sands, any NY Bar advice?  I am waaay behind on the NY subjects, so I will be doing my best to learn prof resp, sec trans, com paper, and family law all this weekend (ok on ny practice, trusts, and wills).  Should I even bother with partnership and agency, and those little ny subjects?

Even Javits-specific advice would help... I've heard it's a nightmare there.... anywhere I can go to escape the crazy horde of recent law grads for lunch?

In re exam day, see here.

In re NY bar advice, see here.

["Legapp" Stands for "Legal Application"]

Sands, any NY Bar advice?  I am waaay behind on the NY subjects, so I will be doing my best to learn prof resp, sec trans, com paper, and family law all this weekend (ok on ny practice, trusts, and wills).  Should I even bother with partnership and agency, and those little ny subjects?

Even Javits-specific advice would help... I've heard it's a nightmare there.... anywhere I can go to escape the crazy horde of recent law grads for lunch?

In re exam day, see here.

In re NY bar advice, see here.

Thanks for the links!  Your NY Qs sound horrible.... only 2/5 with a multistate subject mentioned?!  And your MPT scares me... but hopefully the NY Examiners got that out of their systems.  Back to studying...

["Legapp" Stands for "Legal Application"]

Silly Q but--did you bring your own lunch?  Are there places to eat way out on 12th ave?  I've never been to the Javits.

Also can we bring soda/water in, or only what's in thet little baggie Barbri gave us?

Thanks!