During on-campus interviews, an exchange between partner/recruiter and law student can be overheard. It happens during OCI season all over the country. All such exchanges involve the promise of early responsibility, and while there are variations upon a theme, the conversation generally goes like this:
Partner / recruiter: What sets our firm apart is that we offer early responsibility to associates.
Law student: That’s fantastic, because I am really looking for a firm that allows me the opportunity to take ownership of things and run with it.
Partner / recruiter: Well, that’s exactly our firm philosophy. We love to give you as much responsibility as you want. It’s what sets us apart from other firms.
Beautiful. Everyone is on the same page. The partner and the law student smile at each other, shake hands, an offer is extended, and the law student accepts. It’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Or is it?
Ignoring the fact that every law firm thinks they are unique in offering early responsibility to new lawyers (if they really all did so, how is it then unique?), let’s dissect what the partner and law student were really saying and see if they were on the same page. Here’s the same exchange, except now with translations:
Partner / recruiter: What sets our firm apart is that we offer early responsibility to associates. TRANSLATION: Our firm is unique. We allow our first years to be responsible for really important document review and legal research. We let them draft their own legal memorandums. Of course, a senior associate will have to review it first and mark it up before the partner reads it, but they get to write the first draft themselves. If they are really good, we even let them carry our briefcases to court. I mean, that’s real responsibility right there — imagine what would happen if the first year lost all the oral argument notes?
Law student: That’s fantastic, because I am really looking for a firm that allows me the opportunity to take ownership of things and run with it. TRANSLATION: What you say sounds exactly what I want. I am so excited to find a firm that entrusts me with direct client contact, witness interviews, and phone calls to opposing counsel. I am stoked that, unlike at other firms, I’ll be able to prepare substantive legal briefs, sign my own name to them, and go to court to defend my arguments. I’m going to be a real lawyer!
Partner / recruiter: Well, that’s exactly our firm philosophy. We love to give you as much responsibility as you want. TRANSLATION: So glad to hear that we are on the same page! We love to give you as much legal research and document review assignments as you want. Take ownership of those boxes of documents and go for it!
Sadly, the partner/recruiter and law student might as well have been two ships passing each other at night. They are simply talking past each other. It’s not that the law firms are intentionally lying to law students; it’s just that each side has completely different expectations and ideas for what “early responsibility” really entails.
Do you remember your OCI experience? What did law firms promise you? Were those promises fulfilled? If not, was it due to differing expectations, or do you feel lied to?
