The most influential training we ever received as young associates (we're now senior associates) came in two forms. First, we went to lunch with senior associates—where no topic about work or life was ever considered out of bounds. Second, one of us was staffed on a case with the firm's managing partner that regularly required sharing a two-hour car ride—where slightly more topics were considered out of bounds (but not many).

In those moments, we learned about the economics of law firms, how many hours an associate was actually expected to work, and how to delicately tell a partner that, "yes, other people actually assign me work, and, yes, there are still only 24 hours in a day." These informal, in-person interactions were essential to our development as lawyers.