Baldwin: A young lawyer’s recipe for survival and success

Baldwin

By Steven A. Baldwin

Being a first-year associate is a lot like being on a TV cooking competition show. On many of these cooking shows, chefs are often faced with unlikely ingredients and improbable situations that challenge their culinary expertise under severe time constraints. To survive, a chef needs to carefully select ingredients to create a winning recipe. As a first-year attorney, you are required to use the tools provided to you in law school to tackle new issues, which are often challenging and unique. My personal recipe for surviving the first year of practice has many ingredients that, when mixed together in the proper proportions, should result in success. They are:

Knowledge: This is the first and most important ingredient. Although aspiring lawyers acquire a great deal of knowledge in law school, those three years of learning are the equivalent of pre-heating the oven. No matter how much you think you know when you graduate, it is not enough, and it is imperative to keep learning.

Diligence: Being a lawyer is hard work — much harder, it turns out, than being a law student. Expectations in terms of work product, billable hours and building client relationships is enormous, and young lawyers need to be prepared to work long hours with intense focus. Sticking with my cooking theme, like a sous chef who needs to hone his culinary skills and put in the time to work his way up to head chef, a young lawyer should be willing and able to put in the time and effort to climb the ranks. No sous chef is going to become the next Rene Redzepi or Masaharu Morimoto overnight. Similarly, no associate will become a partner without putting in many years of hard work.

Organizational skills: Easy access to relevant information is extremely important. And, like a well-organized kitchen will help reduce prep time, a well-organized case or matter file will enable a new lawyer to manage his time in a more efficient and productive manner. Do not underestimate the usefulness of technology in this effort. Create file folders, mark calendars, set reminders and save documents and important notes and emails. For me, creating daily “to-do” lists was also very helpful. In addition, always remember that your legal assistants and paralegals can greatly assist with organizing your case files and workload.

A mentor: Being a new associate is challenging and can be overwhelming at times. To facilitate the indoctrination process, finding a mentor you can meet with to discuss legal issues or to get advice about matters relating to firm protocol and expectations is helpful. My suggestion is to find a mentor who is senior enough to have a great deal of experience, but not so senior that you may feel uncomfortable approaching him or her with questions. At this point in the recipe, you don’t want to burn the end product, so don’t be afraid to ask questions as long as you have analyzed the issue and your questions are well thought out.

Involvement: As a young lawyer, becoming a master of your trade is critically important. Nevertheless, as you gain more experience, that level of expertise is also expected and in this day and age, the business of being a lawyer is not limited to what you know. At some point, you will also need to be in a position to bring business into the firm. A first step to achieving that goal is to get involved in activities that will get your name out there and will make you more visible to potential clients. If given the opportunity, attend a golf outing with your client or accept a speaking engagement or an invitation to write an article. Like trying a new restaurant, if someone likes what is served, they will come back for more.

Down time: Like finding a truffle in the wild, this ingredient is often hard to come by but is necessary in order to successfully survive your first year of practicing law. If you do nothing other than work, you will likely be miserable and will not survive the long haul. It is important to find something outside of the office that you find relaxing and that makes you happy.

Whether it is playing golf or tennis or taking yoga classes, I truly believe that finding something that helps you clear your mind and relax will make you a better and more productive lawyer. You do not need to go too heavy on this ingredient during your first year, but using a sprinkle here and there each week is a good idea.

After mixing these ingredients in a way that worked for me, I am happy to say I am now officially a second-year associate. For those lawyers just out of law school, I hope you find my recipe helpful. For more seasoned attorneys, I hope this recipe reminds you of what it was like to be a first-year associate and will inspire you to help the newly minted attorneys in your firm put together their own recipes for success.•

Steven A. Baldwin is an associate at Plews Shadley Racher & Braun LLP. Opinions expressed are those of the author.