One of the worst experiences in law school has been the ritual of submitting applications for summer employment and then going through a series of 20-minute screening interviews that would put a marine drill sergeant to shame when it comes to humiliating and dehumanizing you. Here are my top-ten (least) favorite questions, and how I actually answered them as opposed to how I would have liked to answer them.
1. Why are you interested in this firm?
What I said: Your firm handled (insert name of case I read on their website) which I found to be exciting because it was just like another case I was reading in this class I got an A in. I've also asked some (read: none) upper class-men about your office and they said it's a great work environment.
What I thought: I looked through your attorney roster and saw that you hire people who do not appear to have any honors and come from bad law schools. That made me think that I have a chance to work here.
2. Why did you go to law school?
What I said: I went to law school because I want to be able to make a difference. Legal work allows me to be competitive and to work for justice, both of which are important things in my life.
What I thought: That's a good question, and I ask myself it daily. I'd have to say the answer is, stupidity.
3. Do you think your grades are an accurate reflection of the kind of work you will do as an attorney?
What I said: Law school has been a challenge, and I think my grades reflect that. More important than my grades, which by the way have steadily improved over my academic career, is my dedication to the work I do. My performance during my summer jobs is the best indicator of how I will work, and you will find that my previous employers were all pleased with me (or at least forgot who I am and so will not remember the fuck ups).
What I thought: My grades are absolutely a good reflection of how I will work. I will put in the minimum amount of effort needed to not get fired, and I will approach my job with contempt and disinterest.
4. What would you say is your greatest weakness?
What I said: My greatest weakness is that I get too personally involved with my work. For instance, when I am working on trial prep, and then the case settles favorably, I feel as though it should have gone to trial anyway, despite knowing that the settlement is what's best for our firm and our client.
What I thought: Pussy. If there are any females in your office, you can be certain I will work twice as hard to get into their pants as I will to make my billables. And yes, since you require us to bill 1,900 hours, that means I will be sexually harassing my co-workers 3,800 hours a year.
5. Tell us about a recent mistake that you have made.
What I said: I accidentally misfiled a case at work that was set to go to trial the next week. As soon as I realized this, I alerted my supervisor and disaster was averted.
What I thought: An even bigger mistake I've made has been wasting 20 minutes of my life in this interview instead of taking a dump, that would have been much more satisfying and productive.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Law Firm Jobs
With firm revenues peaking as high as $1 billion annually, it stands to reason that savvy financial management is critical. Firms deploy their assets in hedging transactions, foreign currency swaps, and numerous other complex market strategies on a daily basis. Law firm chief financial officers (CFOs) earn salaries in the high six figures, making them monetarily competitive with some of Wall Street's top investment bankers.
The successful CFO of a large law firm will have extensive experience overseeing international operations, financial consolidations, and identifying and mitigating foreign exchange risk, be intimately familiar with the process of acquisition, including valuation, due diligence, and integration. On a day-to-day basis, the CFO will plan, direct and control overall financial planning, accounting, forecasting, and cash management functions of the firm, handle the annual budgets and forecasting, evaluate the firm's practices and analyze cost, budgets, operating policies, trends and increased profit opportunities, and protect the firm's financial stability by ensuring that internal controls are adequate to safeguard assets and accounting systems are sufficient to generate accurate and timely financial reporting. With an eye to the firm's future, the CFO must possess strong skills in business planning, analyzing growth opportunities, and valuing potential acquisitions.
The successful CFO of a large law firm will have extensive experience overseeing international operations, financial consolidations, and identifying and mitigating foreign exchange risk, be intimately familiar with the process of acquisition, including valuation, due diligence, and integration. On a day-to-day basis, the CFO will plan, direct and control overall financial planning, accounting, forecasting, and cash management functions of the firm, handle the annual budgets and forecasting, evaluate the firm's practices and analyze cost, budgets, operating policies, trends and increased profit opportunities, and protect the firm's financial stability by ensuring that internal controls are adequate to safeguard assets and accounting systems are sufficient to generate accurate and timely financial reporting. With an eye to the firm's future, the CFO must possess strong skills in business planning, analyzing growth opportunities, and valuing potential acquisitions.
Law Firm
Law Firm Staff provides both temporary and direct hire placement solutions for law firms and corporations seeking the very best attorneys, paralegals, legal secretaries, and other administrative personnel crucial to the running of a successful law practice.
Our sole focus is to place experienced and highly skilled legal professionals in positions at the best law firms. We take extraordinary care to ensure the best match between candidate and employer, and we are highly committed and confident about the work that we do.
Our sole focus is to place experienced and highly skilled legal professionals in positions at the best law firms. We take extraordinary care to ensure the best match between candidate and employer, and we are highly committed and confident about the work that we do.
Law Firm Partner
If you’ve ever read any John Grisham novels, especially his book, The Firm, you’ll know that in big law offices, being a law firm partner is the goal of most incoming associates. Before a lawyer makes partner, they generally must spend several years as an associate, working long and difficult hours, many of them billable, to be considered for the position of law firm partner. Grisham somewhat simplifies the types of partners in law firms, and there are some important distinctions between the types of partners that bear some scrutiny. Law firm partners are essentially split into equity and non-equity partners, which confer different benefits, salary and power.
The trend in large law firms is to award associates who have put in the time for several years and shown great promise as lawyers by offering them a promotion. Often this promotion is to a non-equity law firm partner. A non-equity partner is not a part owner in the business, and does not have a voting interest in the company. They may eventually make equity partner, but studies show that many lawyers retain partnership with non-equity status instead of ever becoming a part owner of the firm. If they do their jobs well they’ll get hefty bonuses and very good salaries; but they won’t be entitled to an equity partner’s share of the profits.
The equity law firm partner becomes a part owner in the business, and gets to share in the profits. Law firms may also make the distinction between senior and junior partners. The partners more senior may have claim to a higher percentage of yearly profits. An equity law firm partner also gets to vote on decisions made by the firm, which can include voting on matters of financial direction, creating another law firm partner, or determining which clients to represent.
The trend in large law firms is to award associates who have put in the time for several years and shown great promise as lawyers by offering them a promotion. Often this promotion is to a non-equity law firm partner. A non-equity partner is not a part owner in the business, and does not have a voting interest in the company. They may eventually make equity partner, but studies show that many lawyers retain partnership with non-equity status instead of ever becoming a part owner of the firm. If they do their jobs well they’ll get hefty bonuses and very good salaries; but they won’t be entitled to an equity partner’s share of the profits.
The equity law firm partner becomes a part owner in the business, and gets to share in the profits. Law firms may also make the distinction between senior and junior partners. The partners more senior may have claim to a higher percentage of yearly profits. An equity law firm partner also gets to vote on decisions made by the firm, which can include voting on matters of financial direction, creating another law firm partner, or determining which clients to represent.
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