Manage Your Time -
Life On a
Professional’s Clock
One of the toughest problems is the change from student life to
law firm life. The work habits of many students do not match well with the
daily life of a firm. Law students work hard — your first year in law school
may be the hardest interval. in your career. But, when join a law firm you
follow the pulse and practice of the firm, its partners, and its clients.
To begin with the self evident - lawyers in most cities are at their desk at
8:30 a.m. Set the student sleep cycle aside. You must be available throughout
the normal hours of a law firm’s work day - later in your life you’ll earn the
right to set your own schedule, but not this summer.
Be early. Always. How early? Five minutes sounds about right to me. It’s a
matter of respect and efficiency. Being late for a meeting, of whatever
consequence, sends a powerful unmistakable message that you believe your time
is more important than the time of those who called the meeting. 
No one wants to hear about your late bus, the jammed subways, how tough it is
to get a taxi on the Upper East Side on Monday mornings, your four course lunch
at Burrito Folklorico, or whatever other explanation seems handy at the time.
You’re not clubbing with your crew in your Escalade where it’s de rigeur to be
late. You’re working for clients who want their lawyers to be accessible.
Use a diary system to track your appointments, projects, and time records. Your
firm may have an on line system for time entry. If it doesn’t you can use
Outlook ™, ACT™, or a BlackBerry™ or an old fashioned legal pad. What
matters is that you track appointments, commitments, and chargeable time in a
way that is accurate, current, and manageable.
Time the production and delivery of your work product to match the availability
of firm support services and the time schedule of partners. Learn what night and weekend
services are available for word processing, copying, and other support areas
who you need to talk to in order to make these arrangements and when you must
call to make these arrangements. Having a good relationship with the night-time
and weekend support staff can make or break your summer.
Learn the preferences and schedules of the people for whom you are working.
Some are early birds. Some are night owls. Some prefer that drafts of documents
be left on their desk chair. Others want drafts faxed to their home or e-mailed
as an attached document. If you do not know, ask the assigning lawyer or their
assistant. Do not be surprised if the schedule of the assigning lawyer changes
without warning. They are juggling dozens of competing demands and their good
faith intention to meet with you Wednesday at 10 a.m. may fall by the wayside
if a client asks them to fly to San Francisco for a meeting.