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Anyone here from Investment Banking at Houlihan Lokey, Evercore or Lazard in London (UK)? I’m currently working in Corporate Finance M&A in GT UK. I’d want to move to one of these banks next year so would like to know about work culture, teams, opportunities, salaries and bonuses. Appreciate your kind help on this
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I feel the same way. I tried not to answer emails after hours because it reinforces the idea that I’m always available
Don’t respond after 8 pm. If someone questions it, say you already went to bed. We’re not obligated to stay up late just in case someone sends an email.
I also do this. Worked well so far (knock on wood). Doesn’t hurt that I’m generally extremely responsive during my waking hours.
I just don’t respond after a reasonable hour in the evenings unless a true emergency or I just feel like it. That’s what I expect from associates as well. But I’m at a super-regional firm with lots of big law refugees, so many of us left that crazy behind on purpose, and this approach is generally accepted as fine.
A3 - this is the way. If we constantly respond to non-essential emails after hours, we train folks we are “supposed” to do so. Good for you for having a reasonable boundary! Fingers crossed more big law folks follow your lead. A bunch of good attorneys would benefit…
I like to respond to after-hours emails non-substantively (will do!/looking into this tomorrow). Gives me the “brownie points” of being hyper-responsive without needing to actually do any work.
I just started putting my phone on the charger at 8pm and not checking it until morning. I stopped getting so many emails at night when I stopped answering them.
Because there are 24 billable hours in a day.
“Makes me feel like my value is tied to responsiveness, not results.”
It’s both.
Unless it actually needs to be done that night, I simply respond with some version of “will do” or “I’m on it” and “you’ll have it tomorrow”
Turn off your email notifications on your phone (but still check periodically, just not that late). It will change your life.
Don’t turn on email notifications on your phone at all. Just check when it works for you.
Look I hate to be heavy on this, but the reality is that you are in competition with other associates for promotion, and responsiveness is one key factor. Sometimes a partner’s or a client’s schedule requires or is benefitted by a late night answer. You’ll never really know in every case. If you aren’t as responsive as other associates, you’ll need to compensate for that in other ways (like knowing more than others, better work product, better client management skills, etc.). But if you care about promotion, a lot of partners want to see that your head is in the game 100% of the time and you’re available almost around the clock. Unfortunately that means some partners might think it’s possible (or expect) that you would answer your emails up to or after midnight. They think that if they are up working, you should be working twice as hard and long. It’s a recipe for burnout, but that’s the way it is.
At my last firm I remember having conference calls with partners and other associates at 11-11:30ish at night. Once pulled a double all nighter on a deal with another associate which was crazy. Since going in house I think the latest I’ve worked is 8pm maybe once or twice. I have not sent any emails past then.
I generally agree with this but when I’m in a stupidly busy patch right now I’m just constantly firefighting and trying to get everything done and don’t have time to draft all my emails and hold them until the morning, just need to get stuff out and move onto the next task.