Junior transactional attorneys often bemoan that "law school does not prepare you for practice," asserting a bias, correctly or incorrectly, for litigation above all else in its curriculum. As a result, it is not uncommon for these same fledgling associates to often feel lost when they first land at a firm. As the first lawyer in my family, my only understanding of the legal profession was through law school, summer internships, and TV's "Law and Order," so I get it. Culture shock smacked me hard when I started in my transactional practice. Between learning what due diligence entails, figuring out commonly used financial jargon, and the other daily intricacies of the job, I seriously questioned what I had gotten myself into—and why my job felt so different than law school. But slowly, I began to find my footing as a transactional attorney, through trial, error, and plenty of help from those who already walked this path. Since they were so sage and generous, I am paying it forward with my Cliffs Notes of those insightful conversations, tips that helped me acclimate to transactional law.