Freshman Fifteen: Tips Learned During My First Year of Practice

PRACTICE POINTERS

BY VANESSA SUAREZ

The “freshman fifteen” usually refers to the extra weight students sometimes gain within their first year of college as they learn to live away from home for the first time. Similarly, as a lawyer in my first year of practice, I am learning to live and succeed in the practice of law for the first time. I have gained my own “freshman fifteen” of practice tips, which I gladly share with all young lawyers currently, or soon to be, in my position.

CONSULT THE RULES.

As a new lawyer, it’s imperative to go back and read the rules. The rules are created for guidance. Even as an experienced lawyer, there is no substitute to rereading the rules you may already know too well.

BEWARE OF THE RULES— ALL OF THEM.

Law school teaches black-letter law and the nuances of state and federal legal rules. Part of the fun of new practice, however, is realizing that lawyers must also know and comply with local rules; court-specific rules; judge-specific rules; and, now, each COVID-19 standing order.

DAILY HOURS.

Entering billable hours is a tedious and easily postponed task. Do not postpone! Entering a day’s worth of hours is annoying but manageable compared to entering a full month’s hours, which can become an insurmountable task.

SHOW THE VALUE OF YOUR WORK.

Lawyers get paid to argue, but we don’t want to argue to get paid. Billable-hour entries should illustrate the task performed, but more importantly, the value the task added to the case to both the client and the lawyer with whom you are working.

GOOGLE IT!

Practicing law is all about efficiency. While lawyers spend years perfecting legal research, it’s easy to forget that the most efficient research is the research someone already did. Google provides informative articles published on most topics and, while it may not give you your answer, it usually provides a good place to start your legal research.

BE KIND.

It is important to zealously advocate for clients, but zealous advocacy does not require rude or unprofessional tactics. The legal world is small, and your reputation may travel faster and further than you may be aware.

CALENDAR EVERYTHING.

Even though it’s obvious, your calendar should be your best friend. Calendar everything immediately because it can be easy to forget upcoming deadlines with the unpredictable nature of legal work and the various client “emergencies” that inevitably arise.

COPY COLLEAGUES.

This both serves as a progress check for your superiors and provides a record of correspondence, which can be essential for lawyers. Copying colleagues also ensures a colleague can pick up where you left off in case in case you are not available later.

CREATE A WRITTEN RECORD.

If you can, email and notify clients and counsel after each meaningful conversation, decision, and agreement. Documenting can help avoid disagreements due to faulty memory.

NO COOKBOOKS.

Practicing law is an art; there is no cookbook. Take advantage of your inexperience and ask questions regarding strategy. The more you ask, the more you will notice that decisions (e.g., the tone of a motion) have a strategic purpose. This strategic thinking is second nature to your partner and, consequently, it is your responsibility to respectfully ask why certain decisions are made and take the initiative to apply the same mindset.

REDLINES ARE LIKE A MASSACRE.

First-year work product will receive redlines with enough red ink to match your massacred pride. It is important to remember that redlines also illustrate the attention and care your partner is putting into your growth as an attorney. Through redlines, you will learn to improve your work product to the level of the lawyers you are learning from.

HAVE A JOKE HANDY.

With the prevalence of Zoom hearings, you will inevitably find yourself in the awkward situation of waiting for attendees to arrive. These moments are too long to sit in silence and are the perfect time to share an appropriate joke. A good joke never took away from the strength of a legal argument, but could lighten someone’s day. Reach out to hear mine.

CHECK YOUR CHECKLISTS.

The internet is laden with checklists created by reputable law firms that serve as great resources to check your own work and gain new ideas.

BREATHE.

Yes, practicing law is a lot. Yes, you may want to cry. Just breathe. Learning to become your best requires hard work.

BACK TO THE RULES.

This cannot be overemphasized. Always go back to the rules. AL

Vanessa Suarez is an associate at Soltero Sapire Murrell. Her practice focuses on general civil and commercial litigation matters.