This quarter, we’re talking about the intangible qualities and traits that employers are looking for, as well as tips for how you can improve and demonstrate those qualities during your summer positions. This week, we’re discussing sociability, collegiality and fun.
Sociability
Lawyers are in the people business, and social skills are an important part of an attorney’s toolbox. Whether you realize it or not, as a summer associate, intern or extern, you will be graded on your sociability. This means that social invitations from senior lawyers are not really optional, and it is important to treat them as a work event.
Tips for improving your “sociability” grade:
- Be careful about alcohol: As Kimberly Egan wrote, “A senior lawyer’s offer to get a drink is not an invitation for interns or associates to let their hair down and get sloppy. It’s not a career-enhancing move to be thought of as a lush.”
- Never eat lunch alone: Before you get sucked into the work-through-lunch-mentality, lunches are a great time to practice your social skills. Remember the tip about current events? The one about mentors? Lunch is a great opportunity to meet practicing attorneys and start building your lawyer community.
- Say YES! to invitations: When I worked in London as part of my study abroad experience, our internship coordinator told us that the best sign that you are doing well in your job is when your supervisor asks you to join the group for a pint at the local pub. I’ve found that generally holds true for lawyers as well – once you’ve shown that you are interesting, competent and friendly in the office, then your superiors will want to get to know what you’re like outside of the office.
Collegiality
Collegiality is also key in the workplace. The best attorneys never complain about the difficulty of a project or about being “busy.” Being busy is how lawyers make a living. Lawyers who turn down work when they are not on target for their billable hours develop a reputation for laziness, unprofessionalism and even incompetence. Collegiality is about being optimistic, positive, helpful and a “team player.”
So what do you do when you really are busy?
- Use your time management skills: “I can have that for you today, but it will be much better if I can give it to you tomorrow/on Monday.”
- Talk to your mentor and/or supervisor about how you’re managing your time. Ask if they can give you tips for how to be more effective at your tasks, and how to better communicate what you’re already working on.
- Check in with your supervisor to make sure you’re following the right leads. There’s nothing worse than spending 3 hours researching cases only to discover that you’re following a trail that doesn’t apply to your fact pattern.
Fun
Most of the attorneys I know live by the “work hard/play hard” philosophy. The best lawyers are never too busy to have fun – especially when they have fun lawyering. Lawyering is one of the most flexible and intellectually rewarding professions. How do you keep having fun?
- Find your niche: The clients you develop, the practice you build, and the expertise you maintain are largely up to you, as an individual. Seek out practices that interest you, and allow for these to change over time.
- Meet great people: Law offices are great places to meet interesting people with interesting challenges. Whether they are colleagues, clients, or friends in the community, take the time to get to know the people around you.
- Learn how to be an exceptional lawyer: Doing a difficult job extremely well is a wonderful feeling, and well worth the effort.
