The initial weeks of an attorney’s first job out of law school are filled with excitement and optimism. Finally embarking on your chosen career after seven years of school and a long summer spent studying for the bar exam is exhilarating. But as fall fades into winter and you become more familiar with your new colleagues and the tasks that now occupy your days, it can be easy for some of your initial enthusiasm to wane. At that point it is critical to recognize the opportunities in even the most basic tasks you are assigned to and seize them.
Importantly, all of the work you do during your first year is a chance to build your reputation within your new firm. If you previously summered at your firm, you will likely be working with a larger group of attorneys and will certainly be working on longer projects. If you did not summer at your firm, this will be the first time your new colleagues will have the opportunity to interact with you outside of the interview context. Partners and senior attorneys want to work with associates who are not only talented, but also are easy to work with and enthusiastic. Approaching each of the projects you work on in your first year, no matter how small or unimportant you may think they are, with a critical eye to how the work you are doing fits more broadly into the case or deal and your firm’s ongoing relationship with the client can help ensure that you are someone others want to continue working with. This becomes increasingly important as you become more senior and can no longer rely on the sort of centralized assignment processes that many firms use to distribute work to junior associates.
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