Thanks to Peter Daines for contributing this article!
If you’re looking for how-tos on succeeding at a law firm or general advice on practicing law at a law firm, you’ve come to the right place. However, I (Peter) think the principles and tips described have a lot of cross-over to many other professional fields. It may also apply to the job searching and educational parts of being a lawyer
Success in the law depends on 1) developing business (that you perform or delegate) and 2) having substantive legal results.
The reward for good work is more work. If you are trying to succeed at a law firm, this is what you want. You need people to give you work—that is how you maximize the all-powerful billable hour.
This article focuses on achieving substantive results, but there is a lot of cross-over between substance and developing future business. If you are good at the substance of law, then you will generally get more business from your colleagues, even without actively developing new client relationships. In addition, substantive success in the law depends heavily on having a nuanced understanding of what others want.
Law firm secret: The attorneys you will work with do not actually care how many hours you bill. If you bill an insane number of hours to their client, then they may be irritated that they have to write off that time (which might involve uncomfortable conversations with others in the firm). Or they might not write it off, and end up having to bill more time to the client than they think is appropriate. But in general, they will just want you to do what you are asked to do (and a bit more) and bill the amount of time that it actually takes you.
What they do care about is their relationship with their bosses (more senior attorneys, rainmaker attorneys, or clients). Succeeding at a law firm means making the other attorneys happy. Pretty much all you have to do is figure out how to make their lives as easy as possible—i.e., how to help them quickly and easily give their bosses what they want.
Being right matters less than not being wrong.
In law school, you earn points for all of the correct things that you say about the law. In law firms, you do get “points” for saying correct things. But you can also be penalized very heavily for saying a single thing wrong. “Wrong” can mean false, or it can just mean saying something in the wrong way. What matters is how easy it is for other people to work with you.
When you are starting out in a law firm, the lawyers you work with know more than you do. If you get the law wrong, they will not trust your work, and they will not give you more work.
The people that you work for want to keep getting assignments from the people they work for (the attorneys above them, or the clients), so they cannot afford to pass on work that does not look perfect. If there is anything wrong with your work, they will redo it before sending it up the chain. Next time, they won’t waste their time and the client’s money by assigning it to you in the first place.
The number one rule of success in a law firm is to ensure that everything that passes out of your workspace is perfect—ready for your boss to rubber stamp and pass on to their boss.
What does this mean?
- In many cases it is appropriate to literally draft a suggested client email and include that suggested draft along with your finished work product. Even if your boss didn’t ask you to.
- When you transmit your work product, your email should summarize your legal analysis, but it should also be accompanied by source materials and carefully-organized notes (possibly including pasted relevant text from source materials).
- Your notes should have an automated, interactive table of contents at the top. They should always carry simple, clear, and consistent formatting and organization. Clear and simple means the person trying to find a particular piece of information will not be stressed out when they are trying to do so.
For tips on how to efficiently set up and structure notes in Microsoft Word on literally any topic, see our advice on how to conduct legal research
Speak (and write) with absolute clarity and intention at all times.
Lawyers are almost never wrong. You might not be perfectly right all the time, but if you are a decent lawyer then you make certain that you never say anything that you aren’t prepared to later defend. You should be sure of anything that goes into your work product. If you are not certain, say why
If you make a mistake, own up to it quickly and directly.
Senior attorneys know that you are a junior attorney and that you have a lot to learn. But they need to know that they can trust you and they need to know that you are willing to recognize your mistakes and push yourself to do better moving forward. The worst possible outcome is that you let yourself come off as dishonest.
Success at a law firm is about doing well enough and impressing people enough that they give you more work. The people you are working with are in the same boat. If you know what their boss wants, you know how to make their life easier.
Mentors
- Campus Representative, The LAW Learners.
- Law, Amity Law School.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English
I love helping people. I inspire and develop the world by sharing my little experiences here every day. I have made it my mission to be a Legend in the Field of Law and help other students.
- United Nations Online Volunteer, United Nations Volunteers.
- Founder, The Chasmish Wakil.
- Project Manager, The Legal Crusade.
- Founder & Manager, The Legal Crusade.
- Asia Blog Editor, Kathmandu School of Law.
- Interned in Research, LawSikho.
- Student Member, Indian National Bar Association.
- Student Member, Singapore International Arbitration Center.
- Campus Ambassador, Legge Rhythms.
- Fellowship, LEAD India.
- Interned in Legal Research, Kalinga Kusum.
- Bachelor’s in Law, Lloyd Law College.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English
- Litigation and Intellectual Property Attorney based in San Francisco.
- Clerked for the Office of the California Attorney General and the Office of the U.S. Attorney.
- Senior Congressional Aide and Campaign Coordinator from U.S. Representative.
- J.D. from UChicago and B.A. from UCLA.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English, Spanish | Some French
I’m primarily interested in IPR, Media and Entertainment, Tech and Cyber laws. Owing to experiences in different fields through previous internships I have picked up the skill of comprehensive research and have had the opportunity to draft various legal documents such as petitions, writs, notices etc.
- Intern, ANM Global.
- Editor and Content Writer, Lawggr.
- Interned in Legal Research and Content Writing, lexlife.
- Legal Intern, Lexclaim.
- Legal Intern, Danish Aftab Chowdhury and Associates.
- Legal Intern, Murari Tiwari and Associates.
- Bachelor’s in Law, Delhi University.
- Bachelor’s in Accounting and Finance.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English
- Associate, Withersworldwide.
- Associate, Lalive.
- Staff Lawyer, Volterra Fieta.
- Lecturer in Law, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
- Associate, Baró Armengol Law Firm.
- Diplomatic Affairs Trainee, Spanish Embassy.
- Research Assistant, Institute of European Studies.
- Master’s in Public International Law, The London School of Economics and Political Science.
- Bachelor’s in Public International Law, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
- Exchange Student, International Law, University of California, Berkeley.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English, Catalan, French, Spanish | Some German
- Associate, Mayer Brown.
- Legal Policy Department Litigation Intern, ACLU of Northern California.
- I’ve also worked to defend youth and as a Judicial Extern.
- J.D., UC Berkeley School of Law.
- B.A. in Political Science and Legal Studies, UC Berkeley.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English, Spanish | Some French
Hi! I am one of the founders of this website. I graduated from U.C. Berkeley and Georgetown Law. Here is some of my background:
Legal
- Attorney Advisor at the National Commission on Service (constitutional law, reports, ethics, policy, a ton of legislative drafting).
- Privacy/Cybersecurity Litigation Associate at a big law firm in D.C.
- Litigation work, experience in national security/cybersecurity/data privacy with the Department of Defense, the FCC, the Department of State, and Ingenico.
Scientific
- Taught programming (Python) to law students with Prof. Paul Ohm.
- Supernova cosmology research with Nobel Laureate Saul Perlmutter at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.
- Supersymmetry research with the CMS experiments at CERN.
- Particle and astrophysics research at the U.S. Dept. of Energy, Fermilab.
Writing
- This website 🙂 and our Medium blog and our novels.
- Short stories & poetry, was a freelance columnist for The Boston Globe and The Washington Times, author of The Eyes of Mikra, a spy/war novella.
Other stuff
- Love music and have played the piano for 20 years. Classically trained in Western Honors Chorus & Hindustani/Carnatic.
- Speak English, German, French, Spanish, Kannada, Hindi.
- Love art.
I am always happy to help people, especially with general career planning and mental health advice. As a young woman of color, I am always particularly glad to meet Gen Z’ers and minorities of all stripes (race, gender, sexuality, etc.).
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English | Some German, Spanish, Hindi, & French
- Gideons Promise Fellow, Orleans Public Defender.
- Staff Attorney, Orleans Public Defender.
- Student Attorney, Alaska Public Defender’s Office.
- Law Clerk, Public Defender Service.
- Law Clerk, Orleans Public Defenders.
- Americorps Member, HELP Legal Assistance.
- Investigative Intern, Public Defender Service.
- Doctor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
- Bachelor’s in Philosophy, Cornell College
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Language: English
I have been practicing patent law for 40 years. I have served as in-house counsel to S&P 500 corporations and startups, and at NASA, the National Labs, and Universities. My law firm experience includes both boutique and major law firms. I have written patents in diverse technologies, such as: The Human Genome Project, NASA, medical devices, materials research, MEMs, etc. My clients in the University of California, Becton Dickinson, and Proteus Digital Health.
- Consultant, Business Development and Patent Drafting.
- Associate Director, Office of Technology Licensing, University of California, Berkeley.
- Intellectual Property Counsel, Proteus Digital Health.
- Senior Intellectual Property Counsel, Becton Dickinson.
- Senior Counsel, Heller Ehrman.
- Patent Counsel, NASA Ames.
- Patent Attorney, University of California.
- Patent Attorney, U.S. Navy.
- Patent Examiner, U.S. Patent Officce.
- Associate, Bernard & Brown.
- Attorney Advisor, Judge Daniel Davidson.
- I’ve also worked pro-bono to remove smoking ads from public transport and shelters, banning flavored tobacco in San Francisco, and carcinogenic industrial waste removal.
- J.D., George Mason University School of Law.
- M.S. in Genetics, George Washington University.
- B.S. in Genetics, U.C. Berkeley.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English
I am Marelize Bosch, a professional life coach. Focused on key areas such as teams and relationships, as well as migration coaching – I help people deal with the sometimes overwhelming decisions they have to make in business and at home. As a law professional with an LLB degree, a wife and mother, and recently an immigrant to Australia, I have personal experience in so many of the challenges that you may be facing. I offer a wide range of programs and services. With over 15 years of senior management and executive experience, I specialise in coaching from individual to team, both in-person and online.
- Professional Coach, Bosch Coaching.
- COO, National Consumer Tribunal.
- Registrar, National Consumer Tribunal.
- Senior Legal Advisor, CreditEdge Ltd.
- Legal Advisor, Somnium Investments.
- Bachelor’s in Law, University of Pretoria.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English
Hi! I’m one of the founders of this website. I graduated from USC in math and philosophy and Georgetown Law.
Here’s some of the hats I’ve worn before:
Appellate Attorney representing disabled veterans.
Law Fellow at the Northern Virginia Capital Defender Office. Virginia has specialized death penalty defense offices who get called in whenever the state tries to execute someone. I was performing research, writing motions, and interviewing possible mitigation witnesses.
Volunteer Attorney, at several different places.
—Rising for Justice, doing civil protection order defense (I swear we’re the good guys.) A disturbingly large fraction of protective orders aren’t people in danger of domestic abuse, but people who figured out this is a quicker way to get rid of someone than getting an eviction. Rising for Justice takes those cases.
—Institute for Justice, performing legal research for cases fighting civil forfeiture.
—Helpful Engineering, giving legal advice to engineers trying to produce supplies to fight COVID-19.
Miscellany:
I also write things. This website, Medium blogs, and I will write sonnets or song parodies about philosophy or current events on request.
I am not very good at fencing. My goal was to get good enough to effortlessly beat a majority of non-fencers, just in case it ever came up.
I’m better at chess, and would play tournaments occasionally if not for the quarantine.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English
I am a passionate storyteller and advocate. I am also an attorney, mediator, designer, and chef de cuisine. In my current position, I build the practices of mediators, arbitrators, and dispute resolution professionals so they can help more parties successfully navigate conflict and find smart and sustainable solutions to tricky, seemingly-intractable problems.
- Practice Development Manager, JAMS.
- CEO, Nikisky Consulting, LLC.
- Member, Mediators Beyond Borders.
- Vice President, France, Global Potential.
- Community Mediator & Trainer, New York Peace Institute.
- Food Literacy Educator, The Cookbook Project.
- Vice President of Membership, CPR Institute.
- International Arbitration, Employment & Labor Associate, Proskauer Rose LLP.
- Board Member, Stanford Club of France.
- Legal Advisor, Union of Overseas Voters.
- Legal Clerk for General Counsel and Hydro Group, Alstom Power.
- Programme Officer, 3D -> Trade – Human Rights – Equitable Economy.
- World Bank Zicklin Fellow, Wharton Business School.
- Legal Intern, Private Sector Team, Oxfam America.
- Law Clerk, Latham & Watkins.
- Political Consultant Account Executive, Terris | Barnes | Walters.
- Political Campaign Intern, Shaheen for Governor.
- French & European Law, Université Panthéon Sorbonne (Paris I).
- International Law, Northeastern University School of Law.
- Bachelor’s in Philosophy, Stanford University.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English, French | Some Spanish, Russian
I am currently the Senior Editor of an online legal publication by the name of The Law Review Anthology. This role has helped me develop well rounded research and writing skills. As a final year law student (Batch of 2020), from Government Law College, Mumbai, I have had a successful legal education, having completed 14 internships at some of the most prestigious firms in India. As a first generation lawyer, I did not have anyone to guide me due to which it took me some time to find my feet. I am sure that with a mentor many aspects of one’s career can become easier and quicker. I wish to pass down the knowledge that I gained over the past five years to my juniors who are trying hard to pave their path in this brutally competitive world. My passion to help is inspired by the words of Swami Vivekanand, “A person who is educated through the society and grows through it, but does not give back to it is a traitor”
- Senior Editor, The Law Review Anthology
- Diploma in Cyber law, Asian School of Cyber Law
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English, Hindi, Tamil
- Associate Attorney, Kilpatrick Townsend, & Stockton.
- I’ve also clerked at the U.S. Tax Court, interned for a federal district court judge, and worked as a legal fellow on the Hill.
- J.D. & L.L.M. in Taxation, Georgetown University Law Center. I was an Executive Editor for the Tax Lawyer.
- B.A. in Law and Constitutional Studies, Utah State University.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English, French, Spanish | Some Arabic, German, Japanese, & Mandarin
- Patent Attorney with experience litigating in Gujarat, India.
- I’m passionate about service and volunteer to provide education to underprivileged children.
- L.L.M. in Tech, Entertainment, and Media, U.S.C. Gould School of Law
- L.L.B. in Legal Studies, Sir L.A. Shah Law College
- B.S. in Biotechnology, St. Xaviers College
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English, Gujarati, Hindi
Third year BB.A L.LB. student from Mumbai, cricket enthusiast, and listener in the world of story-tellers.
- Content Writer, Libertatem.in.
- BBA LLB in Law, SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English
- Data Privacy Analyst with Syneos Health and tons of experience in the data privacy field.
- Lawyer with a Bachelors in Business and a Masters in Cyber Security.
- Interned at Philly’s DA’s Office and clerked for a Judge.
- Founded a Cyber Law Society.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English
I’m an international lawyer at the U.S. Department of the Treasury where I specialize in matters at the intersection of foreign policy, national security, and economics and finance. Previously, I served as an attorney at the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service and, earlier, as an associate in the International Trade and National Security group at a leading international law firm. I hold a J.D. from Georgetown University and a B.S. from Cornell University and am admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and the State of New York. In my free time, I enjoy going for long outdoor runs, completing New York Times crossword puzzles, and analyzing geopolitical trends and prospective investment opportunities.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English | Some French
- Research Associate, Prof. Narinder Singh. I researched bilateral investment treaties.
- Founder, HopeBright Legal Empowerment Foundation.
- Fellow, Teach for India.
- I’ve also interned in the law and in human rights.
- Bachelor of Law, ICFAI University Dehradun.
- Master of Law, University of Bern, World Trade University.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English