How to Succeed as a Lawyer | The 5 Most Common Law Firm Associate Mistakes!

[@makecowsnotwar]

I start on Monday. Thank you for this playlist!

[@AngelaVorpahl]

That's awesome!! Congrats!! What type of law will you be practicing?

[@makecowsnotwar]

@@AngelaVorpahl A variety of civil litigation and transactional stuff. They told me I'll be working on a little bit of everything at the beginning. All my internships were crim. Now the stress of defending capital cases will be replaced with a whole new schema of psychological torment and professionalism. We'll see how it goes.

[@AngelaVorpahl]

​@@makecowsnotwar That's fantastic that you'll have the chance to try both litigation and transactional work! Both will teach you really great skill sets, and it's so valuable to see (for example) how deals can lead to litigation later. It's definitely going to be a steep learning curve, so be patient with yourself and give yourself time to learn it and get used to it -- the best teaching tool is always repetition over time. I would also encourage you to give the law firm the benefit of the doubt! All offices are different, but you can absolutely have an enjoyable experience working at a law firm, especially if you go in with an attitude of being curious and excited to learn areas of the law you've never learned before, and focus on how you might be able to use those skills in your next legal job or the next step of your legal career! :)

[@jayvet8402]

Angela can you do a video on part time law school vs. Full time? I love your videos thanks for all the information.

[@AngelaVorpahl]

Ooh I like that one! I'll put it on the list!! Thanks for the suggestion! :)

[@jamescollins2638]

Thank you so much for point #3 on mistakes. I think you could do a whole video on dealing with mistakes as an associate.

[@AngelaVorpahl]

Omg I would LOVE that! It's definitely a fear-inducing situation that too often we're left to deal with on our own as young associates. What associate year are you? :)

[@jamescollins2638]

​@@AngelaVorpahl I'm still in law school, but I will start big law next year! Thanks so much for your videos!

[@AngelaVorpahl]

@@jamescollins2638 So exciting!! It's going to be an adventure for sure!

[@iswish_41]

I start on September 20… Lol I’m so nervous. Thanks for all these videos!

[@AngelaVorpahl]

That's so exciting!! I'd love to hear what you think of it once you start!

[@iswish_41]

@@AngelaVorpahl of course! I'm switching careers from being an aerospace engineer to big law.

[@AngelaVorpahl]

@@iswish_41 That's so freaking cool! Keep us posted on how it goes!

[@Aaron-tx5ob]

I just accepted a summer associate position at a "biglaw" firm and these videos have been such a huge help as I try to gain clarity about the challenge that awaits! You're seriously doing great work here. One video I'd be interested to see is one where you share your thoughts about law firm politics. I think I'm grasping the importance of maximizing the excellence of my work product but the political dynamics of these firms is something I'm still feeling anxious about. Thank you for all you're doing to help us soon to be baby lawyers!

[@AngelaVorpahl]

That's so amazing!!!!! Congratulations!!!! I'm so pumped for you and I'm so glad the videos have been helpful!! :) I will definitely add your idea to the video list because navigating different egos and personalities in a law firm is a big part of not only how to be successful but also how to protect yourself and your time as an associate! Stay tuned for that and let me know how the summer goes!!

[@Aaron-tx5ob]

@@AngelaVorpahl Will do, Angela. Keep up the great work and thanks again!

[@NN-ny9pz]

Hey, Angela. Do you have any insight into the hiring process for non US lawyers?

[@AngelaVorpahl]

Hey!! The process to become licensed to practice law in the U.S. will differ by state, but the most common scenario is someone licensed to practice law in another country can come to the U.S. to get a one-year LLM degree and then sit for the New York or California bar exam. In terms of getting hired after that process, I have heard it is very competitive, and that firms look to hire foreign-licensed lawyers who have proficiency in a language that routinely appears in documents in their cases or deals with clients from that particularly country. If going through the traditional process of getting a U.S. law degree is an option, my understanding is that you will have far more employment opportunities upon graduation. I hope this helps!

[@TheDarkstarsk8allday]

Very insightful

[@AngelaVorpahl]

I'm so glad the video resonated with you! Are you a current or future law firm associate? :)

[@TheDarkstarsk8allday]

@@AngelaVorpahl current actually. I just landed my dream job after a very rocky employment history. I used your tips and have always kept them in mind. Especially what you said about treating a first draft as a final. I double and sometimes triple check all of my work. The less work my boss has to do the better. So far I’ve experienced excellent results :-)

[@AngelaVorpahl]

@@TheDarkstarsk8allday That's awesome! I'm so excited for you!! :)

[@AngelaVorpahl]

👉🏻 Download the FREE GUIDE: “Best Questions to Ask in Law Firm Interviews": launch.angelavorpahl.com/best-questions-to-ask-visit Questions about being an associate in a law firm? Ask them below and I'll be happy to share all I know! :)

[@nicky5684]

Taking that extra time to do the leg work won't result in over billing, no?

[@AngelaVorpahl]

Hi, Nicky! If what you're doing is motivated by and calculated to lead to the best outcome for your client then that's definitely not over billing. In a scenario in which your partner tells you ahead of time that a particular client is very cost conscious, and the "extra" effort I'm putting in would be more than an hour, then yes, in that case I would tell the partner what I plan to do and ask if they would like me to move forward on it before sending them the finished project.