THE UNNAMED ASSOCIATE SPEAKS #2: Be Careful What You Wish For

by the Unnamed Associate

There's definitely a pecking order at a law firm, no matter how big or small it may be.  For instance, there are many cases which are not officially "my" case, but on which I do the majority of the substantive work - research and writing motions, contacting the client, getting things set for hearing before the court.  But a colleague's name goes on everything, and he gets to handle anything fun which comes up.  This could be pretty annoying if I didn't have my own substantive cases to handle, and even so, it's annoying when something fun comes up – like a trip out of town – and I can't go because it isn't "my" file.

Earlier this week, however, I got to take my first business trip as a lawyer. I went to the state capital for some depositions – two days of depositions! This is very exciting to a new lawyer, because everything that is new and sounds important seems exciting. Plus, I get to stay at a hotel in a city not my own! What more could I want. I was so thrilled that I was sent this time, rather than the guy whose name is on the case.

It turns out there's a reason.

I prepared for the depositions by reading the entire (voluminous) case file. Of course, I can't bill for that – the client shouldn't have to pay to bring a brand-new lawyer into the file, but I wanted to be Ms. Prepared-For-Anything. When it comes to legal work, I'm a Girl Scout in my preparation. I arrived at the depos wearing my best suit, having no idea what to expect, and settled down to the two most boring days of my entire life.

The depos were of state employees (which is why it was in the capital) and it turns out the issue they were being deposed on has nothing to do with our defendant. Further, they were BORING BUREAUCRATS, testifying about various aspects of how the budget is put together and how certain projects receive funding, and why a particular project received the funding it did and not some other amount to do something different.  It was all I could do to stay awake in the stuffy little drab government-issue conference room, where they didn't even have a pot of coffee to keep us company! No perks for the government lawyers, I remember that from my law school job, but still – at least my office had a coffee pot!  One of the lawyers actually fell asleep leaning his head on his hand, and his mouth dropped open. He didn't snore, exactly, but there was definitely some drooling going on.  By the end of the first day, I felt like I had been dragged through a wringer or kicked down some stairs, I was so tired.  I retired to my nondescript unimpressive hotel, ate a cereal bar and fell asleep. No hanging out in the hotel bar, no sitting in the hot tub or having fun exploring the room features, no hitting the town for the famous local pizza. And the next day was more of the same, only worse – instead of starting at 10, the depos were delayed until after lunch, and dragged on right until rush hour.

The moral of this story? I suppose it's New Associate Rule Number One: Be careful what you wish for.

About the Author The Unnamed Associate is the pseudonym of a first-year litigation associate who works at a U.S. law firm. For more information, see her collected posts or Evan Schaeffer's introduction.

Comments

[Anon]

Why shouldn't the client have to pay for bringing a new lawyer up to speed? If multiple lawyers are needed on the case, the client needs to pay for all of their efforts.

Anyone? If I'm wrong about this please inform me. I expect to bill for these things.

[mythago]

I'm a little puzzled about that one, too. Does the client only allow a single lawyer to read the case file, on the assumption that any other review by any other lawyer (to 'get up to speed') is wasteful?

[mobar]

Some clients refuse to pay to bring another lawyer up to speed because they spent years watching high dollar attorneys pad the bill with bimonthly entries of ".5 Review file for status."

In this case, I'd say the client would be perfectly justified refusing to pay for Unnamed Associate's review time. It was all unnecessary. UA seems to have missed the moral of the story. If you're being sent out of town for a depo on a file you've never worked on, first - be happy. Travel time is good billables. Second, understand that they wouldn't be sending a first year associate out of town for a depo on a new file if the associate was expected to do any actual lawyering at the depo. Third, whenever you get sent out on a depo - for heaven's sake... find out who is being deposed and what their relation to the case is. How she managed to look at the entire voluminous case file without realizing in advance the deponents had nothing to do with her defendant is amazing to me.

And now, in violation of the rule of triples, the fourth and most important thing - never skip the hotel bar. What the hell were you thinking?

[Ted]

The way to stay awake at a deposition when you're the cannon-fodder third-party there to ensure that noone is smearing your client -- and to maximize its learning value -- is to mentally take the role of the deposing or defending attorney and critique the questioning or objecting. How would you do it differently? Why?

Mobar's critique is spot on.

[Telly]

Bring a newspaper to those depositions. Or play games on your blackberry. Hit on any cute attorneys present. As for "hitting the town", you have to be proactive on that one. Too tired after sitting at a deposition where you didn't do anything? Really? You must be really boring, UA.