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October 24, 2007
The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Mark Herrman,an'83 UMLS alum and partner at Jones Day (his web profile reads "From Firestone tires to ephedra to Enron, Mark Herrmann has defended many of the leading cases of our generation") spoke to UM Law Students on 10/1/07 about his book, "The Curmudgeon's Guide To Practicing Law". The book is written in the voice of an older law firm partner who has seen it all and withstood the test of time. The "Curmudgeon" passes on advice to new associates on how to make it in the legal profession and in a law firm environment.
The first chapter of the book can be found on Jones Day's website at
http://www1.jonesday.com/files/upload/Herrmann_Chapter1_042006.pdf
Some pointers that Mr. Herrman shared from his book:
* No such thing as a first draft for summer and law firm associates. You should always try to draft your very best piece of work for a reviewing partner. Same applies to partners drafting work for their clients. Get the concenpt of "draft" as a sloppy first cut out of your head!
* Associates should always endeavor to get drafts to partners at least three days prior to the client deadline. Partners have their own internal deadlines dictated by their clients. It will win you any accolades to send a "draft" to a partner on the the client expects the final work product.
* Get involved in journals, whether it be law review or some other journal. The ability to write notes and articles beyond law school is critical to client and practice development.
You can listen to Mr. Herrman's aka/the Curmudgeon's talk on the OCS website here: http://www.law.umich.edu/currentstudents/careerservices/workshops/Pages/workshops.aspx
Posted by hafeezt at 05:00 PM | Comments (0)
October 23, 2007
Midsize Firms Go For Big Changes
The National Law Journal reports on how several mid-size firms nationwide are implementing monumental changes to associate billable hour requirements and compensation. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/lawArticleCareerCenter.jsp?id=1193043814292
Some startling innovations: wholesale abolition of billable hour requirements for first years ( Ford & Harrison ), reducing billable hour requirement to 1600 (Boston-based Lowrie, Lando & Anastasi),and presenting new associates with two compesnation tracks ( Chicago-based Chapman and Cutler), among others.
Posted by hafeezt at 09:48 AM | Comments (0)