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Trauma from the lack of training and support.
Ditto on the bad experience. However it helped me realize what I am and what I'm not willing to accept from an employer
It is good to go to the social events, especially when you start, even if you don’t feel like it. Say yes to every lunch, coffee, and happy hour invite that you practically can in those first few months. The window of opportunity when you’re new and shiny is limited, and you want to use that time to form connections and get to know your colleagues.
Was an oblivious K-JD at my first biglaw job and didn’t always go to the lunches and coffees that I was invited to because I was nervous. Several months in, I realized I hadn’t formed good connections with the folks I was working with. When I lateraled, I put in much more of an effort, even if it meant going out to lunch more than I wanted - I jokingly called it my “friendship lunches” when telling my spouse about it
My first boss had the best refrain that has stuck with me after over a decade of practice.
He was a seasoned trial attorney, I was his temporary contract attorney. He would constantly tell me: “You have the same law license I do.”
It instilled ownership, responsibility, and accountability from day one.
Fear.
Embrace and take advantage of the slow times. I would always panic when work slowed down and would be overwhelmingly worried that I wouldn’t have enough hours to hit my billables, but the slow times usually do not last so it’s important to use the opportunity to get out into the sun when you can because crunch time is often right around the corner.
Ask a lot of questions. Everyone already assumes you know nothing so you lose no credibility but can learn a lot.
You don’t need to ask the Managing Partner permission each time you need to go potty.
Funnily enough in my first role we needed to sign in and out of the room when we took a bathroom break.
Be as aggressive as possible early and often. Between the bar exam and my clerkship I wrote motions for this super old, super eccentric guy. He had me firing off multiple motions for partial summary disposition pretty much as soon as the answer was filed.
He was kinda crazy like a fox. He said everyone else waits until deadlines, so he did the opposite. He would do all the work up front. And people pretty much couldn’t handle it, and it worked.
I don’t do exactly what he’d did. But I can say the lesson about aggressive motion practice stuck, and I’ve never had it backfire.
Using partner/client time effectively. Go as far as you can and have a list of all your questions, then schedule time to get those questions answered. It helps you and them to be able to keep moving forward without as many interruptions.