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At my firm you're a second year so we can differentiate you from the newbies. But you are still paid as a first year till Jan 1.
Yep. You're even billed out as a second year as far as I'm aware, haha.
January 1. You’re a first year. The first few months of 2021 were considered a “stub year” for the purposes of what you’re asking.
To deferentiate, some firms might call you a “rising second year” for those few months of overlap.
Coach
In big law, your seniority is based on your salary, not the time you spent at the firm. You are a first year until you get paid second year salary.
Technically, the class of 2022 is “law clerk” until they pass the bar exam and are sworn in as an attorney. Then they become “first year”
We call em first years internally fwiw - the law clerk/associate difference is only for outward relationships (email signatures). Internally, we know they'll get barred eventually. And we've also seen lazy 2nd years not bother to get sworn in till later despite passing the bar exam.
How does this work for laterals? If I’m coming in as a third year will I bump to 4th year on January 1 2023, or will I wait until 2024??
2023 usually