Recently in Firm Life Category

There's a new trend in office furniture. It's the treadmill desk. Basically you are walking on a treadmill with an attached desk in front of you. It's part of a movement to decrease sedentary lifestyle while boosting health and increasing productivity while at work.

Thanks to Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic, treadmills are getting dusted off and finding a new use now as treadmill desks become the new trend in geek culture. These desks have been sprouting up lately and perhaps you've noticed them in your office.

It’s summertime! Unlike your younger years as a carefree college kid delivering pizza, this summer you’ll be doin’ time in an office. You’ll spend your days researching law, handling client intake, or if you have a really unique boss, writing movie scripts!

In the old days, most law students would spend their summers working for a judge, a BigLaw firm, or in a public service internship. Today’s reality is a bit different, and you could be working anywhere from BigLaw to a craigslist-sourced crapternship™. No matter where you work, however, keep these tips in mind:

Lawyers living lasciviously. Litigation ensues. Claims and counter-claims are rushed to the courthouse, and the press. Now, the stakes get even higher, as the plaintiff has just amended her sought damages from $7 million to $13 million. Meanwhile, according to Reuters, the firm, Faruqi & Faruqi, has stated that they plan on amending their counter-claims as well, though we have no idea if they'll ask for more than their initial request of $15 million.

Really, $15 million from a debt-ridden recent law grad practicing foreclosure law in Nebraska? Good luck with that.

Ja Rule once crooned romantically, “Where would I be without you?” Though one should (almost) never become romantically involved with the support staff, lawyers, associates especially, often maintain a dependent and (almost) intimate relationship with that person. You rely upon your administrative professional —that’s a P.C. term for secretary or paralegal — for everything from proofreading to research to remembering to send flowers on your mother’s birthday.

Today is the official day for showing thanks to those people in your life that make your job easier. And much like your significant other won’t remind you about that anniversary, your admin (probably) isn’t going to remind you about his special day either. A few words of thanks isn’t enough — this is the day for the big, grand, gesture. Here are a few ideas:

It's 12:17 and I have not yet eaten today. Many of you are in a similar predicament. Our rush for productivity means we skip meals or eat fast food at our desks. We try to work through lunch to maximize productivity, or because we think it'll allow us to get out of the office sooner.

It won't. And it often doesn't. Breaks ironically help us to maintain productivity and to keep on schedule. So, while you may think that skipping lunch means you'll be headed home an hour earlier, the mental slowdown from trying to work eight-straight will probably mean that you'll end up staying late to finish that last bit of motion work.

Lunch is the perfect place to start, not only because I'm hungry, but because it is a common victim of the schedule crunch. Here are five ways to make that break better:

As the nearly two-year-old lawsuit reaches the summary judgment stage, more details about the inflammatory accusations made by John Ray III against BigLaw firm Ropes & Gray, as well as the firm’s defense, are being made public, and at this point in the proceedings, it’s not looking great for Mr. Ray.

Previous reporting by Above The Law brought us the Ray’s story. The ninth-year associate was let go after the firm reportedly felt that his work was well below partnership standards. They also stated that his “fractured relationships with colleagues” and “inappropriate behavior” with subordinates contributed to the decision. That inappropriate behavior allegedly included sleeping with a paralegal.

They knew from a young age that Clark Kent was destined to be far more than your average farm boy. In fact, to refer to him as a mere farmer does not do his mighty skill set justice, just as referring to Orrick’s Robert Yablon as an “associate” does not even begin to describe the young man’s accomplishments.

“Rob is the full package,” Joshua Rosenkranz of Orrick’s Supreme Court and appellate practice section told Bloomberg in a phone interview last week. “He is analytically brilliant. He is highly strategic. He is able to articulate in crisp clear prose the nub of the answer to any question, and he’s unflappable.”

So that’s why they called this blog Greedy Associates. It’s all clear now. We never imagined that law firms would inflate bills, or stick unnecessary associates on cases for training or bill “churning” purposes.

Never.

The New York Times’ DealBook broke the “news” story: law firms inflate bills. More specifically, DLA Piper may have allegedly inflated the bills of a former client, Adam H. Victor. The client, who had a long-term relationship with the firm, hired them to handle one of his companies’ bankruptcies. The fee dispute became contentious, DLA Piper sued Mr. Victor, and he counter-claimed over the “sweeping practice of overbilling.”

This is the firm life. Even in boom times, advancement up the ladder was a numbers game. Today? When partners are being laid off? This is Lord of the Flies, and you ain't Piggy.

Does that call for sabotage? Rumor-mongering? Back-stabbing? No. Once you're labeled a snitch, no one will trust you - even if they benefited in the past from your loose lips. That doesn't mean you can't benefit from a little office gossip, however.

It's March. Many of you have landed a summer associate gig, clerkship, or internship with a small firm. The rest of you will soon (we hope). That means you're going to need to start preparing your wardrobe. After all, those ironic anti-lawyer t-shirts that read "Dewey Cheatem & Howe" and "Jack Schitt, Esq." aren't going to fly at most firms. It's time to step your game up - either to business casual or if you're really lucky, the BigLaw ballin' barrister look.

Now, you might be confused as to what business casual entails. We've got your back on that.

As for suits, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, don't buy online. You can't check fit online, and suits vary greatly from brand to brand. When you do check the fit, the jacket is by far the most important piece. Your shoulders should fit, with a bit of room to move, and not look like you are wearing linebacker pads. Also, you'll need to button the jacket without it looking like it's going to pop.