Tough Sensitive and Controversial Issues

Drugs And  Alcohol

        Do not be stupid about drugs. No matter where you live, where you work, or what the law may provide, you are committing professional suicide if you use any form of drugs, at any time.

Do not abuse alcohol at firm events. Ever. This is not a fraternity. I do not care if three other people at a firm cocktail party have a blood alcohol level that is higher than their shoe size and their I.Q. put together. It is not funny. It is not appropriate. And it is not in your long-term professional interest to be one of the folks who lawyers talk about for years.

Even if your firm has a legendary ‘frat boy’ or ‘hard partying’ reputation, you are far wiser to err on the side of caution. Did you hear the one about the lawyer who drove the golf cart into the swimming pool at the summer outing? ❏ How about the one about the lawyer who couldn’t swim and dove fully clothed off the high dive board? ❏ How about the summer associate who fell down getting out of the taxi after a four hour lunch and went face forward in front of the managing partner. True? Yep. Funny? Nope.

Casual Friday

       Casual Friday is a fact of life. What began as a sensible experiment during the recession is a national trend. Today, most law firms — from Wall Street to San Francisco to Atlanta to Chicago — are casual in one form or another —- all the time, Fridays only, or summers only. Still it remains a challenge for summer associates to make the right choice.

It goes without saying that a summer associate should know and follow the firm’s policy. It is equally clear that a summer associate who errs on the side of being conservative will never be faulted by partners for their choice. Try to be conservatively unmemorable during the summer. The last thing you want is for any partner to remember anything you wore. You are a professional, not a punch line. And yes, George and Virginia, partners notice and gossip about it.

What is the summer associate to do? Square your wardrobe with the expectations of your clients and invest in your future. What you wear to the Ace Hardware, the Last Chance Tortilla Factory, Double Latte Heaven, or the Empire Diner is not what you wear to Harris & Baldwin on Friday. It is as simple as that.

       The problem is, by and large, not with our women colleagues. For reasons known to the denizens of Madison and Fifth Avenues, they invest more time, effort, and money in selecting, purchasing, and wearing casual clothing. Immerse yourself in Mad Men on Bravo - you don’t have to buy a hat - but a few conservative suits can help you down the path to greatness.