LEXIS AND WEST LAW
Firms have various billing arrangements with LEXIS and WESTLAW. Summer associates must understand firm preferences for *which service to use *how it is billed *and restrictions on it’s use for browsing, printing and downloading.
Arrangements with LEXIS and WEST LAW include *by the minute charges *bulk flat fees *blended arrangements *flat rates for certain research, but far higher rates for printing and specialized research. Within the same firm you may find that different practices apply for certain clients.
You grow accustomed to free computer research during law school. This clever marketing ploy makes enormous sense for Thomson Reuter and Reed Elsevier and it occasionally leads summer associates astray when they join a firm which does not have unlimited or flat rate billing for on line services. Nothing makes assigning attorneys go ballistic more quickly than $5,000 of uncollectible on-line research charges.
JUGGLING ASSIGNMENTS
One of the toughest challenges for young lawyers is managing their own workload. It is difficult to estimate the time that a project will take. Working for several partners simultaneously places a great burden on you You want to appear energetic and committed. But you do not want to take on so much work that any partner is left disappointed. If you decline to take on work and appear under-deployed or slothful, supervising lawyers may think you are lazy or not committed. It is a tough challenge with no easy way out. The best advice here is not the most pleasant: it is better to be 110 percent busy than it is to be 70 percent occupied.
In an era when productivity, value, and client service are critical, all professionals must learn this skill. Those who master juggling and are efficient about their own time often mature into lawyers who manage groups, departments, and client relationships. It is hard to be efficient during a summer program. There are CLE programs, lunches, administrative matters, and social distractions galore. You are trying to; develop personal relationships with peers, associates, and partners; find your way through the administrative intricacies of a new professional home. All of this makes it difficult to get your work done. Don’t let the days drift away.
You must be an efficient self-starter and keep your eye on the firm’s interests. If you succumb to the social agenda and all the distractions of the summer program you may find yourself in a hole. This does not mean you have to be a drone. It does mean that you have to maintain your focus. With apologies to Clint Eastwood and deference to HEARTBREAK RIDGE, summer associates must adapt, improvise and overcome.
Flexibility and adaptability are hallmarks of professionalism. Sometimes the shape of an assignment changes half way through the project. You identify a legal issue that was not foreseen. * A group of cases turn on factual distinctions that require you to seek additional advice. *You hit an absolute dead end on researching an issue. Do not fall into a black hole and disappear into the next galaxy. Go back to your assigning attorney and explain what you have done and the problem or wrinkle that has arisen. They may well steer you in another direction or be able to reconfigure or simplify the assignment. If you hit an explosive issue that was not identified, bring it to the attention of the assigning attorney as soon as possible. Do not wait three weeks to say “gee, I think we may have blown a filing deadline.”
The next article will appear on January 1st, Topic: Split Summers