By: Kenzie Dalrymple (Summer Intern)
Every lawyer in America has learned these principles amongst others. Trigger warning, these may bring back some scary memories. 1) IRAC; 2) the elements of a valid and enforceable contract; 3) the Model Penal Code; and 4) the rule against perpetuities (even though no one really remembers this). But there are so many things about the actual practice of law that no one in law school prepares you for. Either because there is just so much information that must be learned for the bar exam or because there is just no space for these things. Before starting as a summer associate at SW&L I had no idea what to do or what to expect. So, for all of the people out there that are going into the year being a summer associate or a fall associate or whatever kind of associate is left, never fear, because I am going to give you (out of the kindness of my heart) the tips, tricks, and advice that I’ve learned. So sit back, relax, and laugh with me as you read this. It’s supposed to be cringy. I’ll also say this is not an exhaustive list of advice. There’s so much more to it than what I can put in four pages.
1. You’re Going to Make Mistakes.
Please accept the fact that you are going to make a mistake or two. It’s inevitable, because you don’t know what you don’t know. If you are working in a firm that has summer associates, they understand that. That said, when you make a mistake, learn from it. There is no point in making a mistake if you are just going to make it again. So what I did was I logged it. I wrote down the mistakes I made in a journal and promised myself not to make that mistake again. Because if you just keep making the same mistake over and over again, you are demonstrating that you’re not trying to be better, and moreover, you’re not learning. Reader, that’s not you, and you know it, so don’t brush past your mistakes and don’t beat yourself up for making one.
Within the realm of making a mistake, ask for feedback, go into a summer associate position with an eagerness to learn! The practice of law requires you to have thick skin. So if you cannot handle constructive criticism at this moment, you must learn how. Plus, it makes you better at your job, and that should be the ultimate goal. Despite what it may look like when you see all of the comments or redlines, no one at a firm is actively trying to tear you down. That would be ridiculous and way too Legally Blonde. And no one in reality acts like that one mean girl in Legally Blonde, I can’t even remember her name because she was so mean, but she turned it around so it’s fine. Finally, it’s not about the mistake you make; it’s about how you react to the mistake.
2. Ask the Questions (Even the Dumb Ones)
ASK QUESTIONS!!! Ask about as many questions as possible. You’re only there for a short period of time, and there is nothing worse than having the opportunity to ask questions and fumbling because you were afraid it was going to sound dumb. Again, if a firm is hiring summer associates, they are expecting questions. Heck, they hope for questions. You are depriving yourself of a learning experience if you don’t ask the questions. Ask the question. It may be dumb; ask it anyway. You don’t know what you don’t know, and at the end of it all, hopefully you’ll know more than when you started. I will caveat that with one warning. Don’t ask at the wrong time. If the attorney you’re working with is literally busy, don’t ask a question. Wait for the right time to ask. Unfortunately, I have no other advice except to use your own intuition and critical thinking skills for that.
3. Get Organized. No One Is Going to Teach You How.
Be organized. In law school, professors teach that IRAC thing to help you be organized in your writing. Great. No one teaches you how to organize your emails, time, obligations, or documents. Keep your stuff organized. If it’s not organized, it can’t be found, and then you’re wasting time looking for things that should’ve been organized in the first place. Everyone has their own style of organizing things; find yours and stick to it. Or if that doesn’t work, find another. Some people use paper planners, some use Google Calendar, some have that gift from God that lets them keep everything in their head. I unfortunately am not one of God’s favorites, so I didn’t get that luxury. But that’s okay! I found my system, and it works.
4. Don’t be a Pick Me.
My father used to tell me that when you get to work, act as though you don’t need the job, but do your job as though it’s the last thing on Earth that you can afford to lose. In essence, and in Gen Z terms, “don’t be a pick-me.” No one likes that. Show the people that you’re working for just why they chose you. Through the work product, through your actions, and your personality. No one cares how much butt-kissing you can do. Show them who you are through your integrity, not your ability to make people like you. Practically, this means don’t volunteer to do something you have no idea how to do just to look eager, and don’t pretend you understood the assignment when you didn’t. Ask the real question instead. By not asking, it looks really bad and weighs against your credibility. Which is the absolute last thing you want. Again. Sounds intuitive, I know. But just food for thought as you go into it. (And a reminder to thank your Dad every once in a while) 🙂
5. Details Are The Job.
Details matter, and they matter a lot. When in the midst of everything, sometimes we forget to think about the small stuff. But that small stuff is so important. If you’re talking to clients, they may not know what to say or what’s really important. Or they think everything is important, and it is your job to get your decoder ring and organize it. (See? Told you organization was important). When talking to clients about the details, trust yourself. Trust that the reason you’re asking for a detail is because you know it matters. On a more practical note, the details also matter in writing. Again, sometimes I think we get so enthralled by the big issues, that we forget to remember to grammar-check ourselves, or organize the writing in a way that is actually readable. Which is totally understandable. Brain dumping is such a real thing, and it happens to me a ton. What I learned is that sometimes you need to take a moment to get away from the project and come back to it; then you will see things you didn’t before. But staring at that screen for nine hours wondering where you forgot a period isn’t going to help, and it’s going to waste time.
6. Law School Wants the Kitchen Sink. Practice Doesn’t Need It.
The practice of law is not in any way, shape, or form like law school. I say that with all the love in the world for law schools everywhere, but it just isn’t. In law school, they take a kitchen-sink approach to everything. If you’ve done law school finals, you’ll understand. The professors are trying to test your knowledge and understanding of a particular doctrinal topic, so they want everything. In practice, the attorneys aren’t professors. They don’t want the kitchen sink, and if you give it to them, it honestly might get kind of annoying. For example, an attorney asks you to draft a memo about a criminal defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial. Do NOT give them absolutely every rule that you know or have researched about the Sixth Amendment. That will be a 3,000-page memo. Instead, remember the exact issue that the attorney asks for information on and supply the analysis for JUST THAT ISSUE. I realize that sounds like common sense, but I promise it’s not. Just to note, don’t shut off the kitchen sink part of your brain entirely until after the bar exam. Because they, too, want that kitchen sink when drafting essays.
7. Everyone In The Firm Matters, Don’t Disrespect Anyone.
Paralegals and office administration are the backbone of a firm. They will help you and guide you when you are struggling. So, for the love of Lucy, do not treat them with disrespect. One, it’s rude, and two, there’s no need for it. They will help if you ask. Treating non-lawyer staff as less than is a sure-fire way to ruin your credibility, and it makes you look unkind and unprofessional. This was advice I received as a blanket statement, not because I personally experienced anyone treating paralegals and administration with disrespect. But it’s still worthy advice.
Okay, now that some of the heartfelt stuff is out of the way, enough of me being your emotional support 3L. This next part is a list of practical drafting advice that I wish I would’ve known before I messed it up myself.
8. Drafting Advice: The Five Documents Nobody Explains
When drafting documents for a Motion (which happens a lot), at least in the state of North Dakota there are typically five documents you’ll need: (1) the Notice of Motion, (2) the Motion itself, (3) the Declaration in support of the Motion, (4) the Brief in Support or in Response of a Motion, and (5) the Proposed Order/Judgment. Nobody told me this in law school, so consider this your cheat sheet.
The practical tip: your Brief cannot make factual assertions that aren’t backed up somewhere in the record, and your Declaration is usually where that record gets built. So make sure the Declaration is more detailed than the Brief. Think of it this way: the Declaration is where the client tells their story to the court, in their own voice, first. The Brief is where you make the argument built on that story. Get the story down before you build the argument on top of it. Not every firm sequences it exactly this way, but that’s the logic I learned to work from.
9. The Complaint Is the Most Restrictive Document You’ll Write
This one’s specific to family law, but the principle probably generalizes: you can negotiate down from what’s in your Complaint, but you can’t negotiate up. If your Complaint asks for standard parenting time and it turns out your client actually wants full custody, you’re stuck; you can’t retroactively claim ground you never asked for. So when you draft the Complaint, ask for the most you could reasonably want. You can always concede ground later; you can’t create it out of nothing.
10. Plain Language Has a Place: Just Know Which Document It Belongs In
Don’t let “sounding proper” get in the way of actually telling the court what happened. Depending on the judge, it’s entirely acceptable to lay out events step by step, so the court can follow exactly what you’re asking for and why. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as it’s happening in the right document. Tell the story plainly where storytelling belongs, argue where arguing belongs.
11. But in Transactional Drafting, Less Is More
Litigation, writing rewards, spelling things out. Transactional drafting is the opposite: words that create mischief, and a bloated contract just gives everyone more surface area to disagree about later. The same instinct that serves you well in a Declaration (be thorough, be plain) can work against you in an Operating Agreement (be precise, be spare). Knowing which mode you’re in matters as much as the substance.
A Note From Your Friendly Neighborhood 3L
Trust yourself. That first day is going to be a tad scary, and it’s normal to be scared, because scared means you care. But the firm didn’t hire you because they thought you’d be a bad choice. They saw potential in you that you might not even see in yourself yet. Keep that mistake journal from day one. Not because you’ll fill it with disasters, but because a year from now you’ll flip back through it and realize how short the list actually is compared to everything else you’ve learned to do without even noticing. That’s the real marker of growth. So go embrace your summer associate era. Because it’s all part of the experience.
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