The unwritten rules of working in a law firm

This past month has been very quiet. August seems to be the month that everyone in my group goes on holiday, and one of the PAs aptly said "it's like a morgue in here!" I quite like having the office to myself, it means I can listen to my iPod while I work (shock horror). Of course what happened is that the NQ tried to knock and get my attention, but all I saw was this shadow appear suddenly by my side and I jolted and jumped out of my seat, gasping loudly and choked "AASRKJWRJHHSFGG!!" So embarrassing. Lesson learnt.

Which brings me to this week's topic: the unwritten rules for working in a law firm. These are particular to my group and what I've learned slowly over time, so some of these might not apply when I move to my next seat in September. 

1. 'Business casual'

For me this was the realisation that people in my group dress down - 'business casual' is the norm. This means you can hilariously spot a vacation schemer a mile away, as the awkward young person in formal attire.

Women have a larger range of clothing options (men just wear suits with no tie), which meant it took me a good few weeks before I'd gotten the hang of it. I wish that I'd had Cher's clothes matching program from Clueless...

2. Peek through a person's window before you walk into their office

The first time I walked into a partner's office to find that he was in the middle of a meeting:

3. Knowing the difference between an accusation and a question

I think I've finally figured out when a question is accusatory (and I need to justify) and when it's merely an information gathering exercise. For example, the question "Why did you do this?" could go both ways but I've found that in the vast majority of cases, the questions that sound like accusations are simply questions - the person just wants to know my reason for making that choice. Lawyers are just very direct people (except when they're not). 

4. When you're asked for your opinion, go for it!

I've already mentioned how, as a trainee, it can feel like you're at the bottom of the food chain. You might therefore become stunned if you're asked "What's your opinion on this?" But I've learned that in these scenarios, you have to go for it. Take a breath, think about what and why, and tell them in your most grown-up voice. You've been given permission to shine, so just don't do this:

5. Safe topics for small talk

I think I've mentioned this story before, but once I asked a personal question to a Senior Associate (SA) and they were taken aback and just said "TMI!" Hard to tell whether this is a group thing, a British thing, or a general "work etiquette" thing, but I've learned that the following topics are the only ones that get bantered around and are therefore safe for use:

• what you will do, or have done, on the weekend
• what you will do, or have done, on your holiday
• by extension, travel
• films or theatre
• food
• that's it

Situations that should have rules: to figure out in my next seat

I would love a handbook on some other situations that have cropped up where either I or my friends have had no idea what to do.

1. What if you think your supervisor is wrong?

I have not yet come across a foolhardy rule for this. A friend of mine who is an SA says that they hate when a trainee tells them they're wrong, as though the trainee knows more about it than they do. On the other hand, I know my supervisor appreciates when I point things out, and he'll just tell me if it's not an issue. 

Another friend just has no clue with her supervisor - if she points it out, they could get annoyed at her, but if she doesn't and it turns out to be an issue, they could get annoyed that she didn't say anything. Feels a bit like this:

At this point, my best guess is that you should point out what you think is an error (in case it does become an issue down the track) and don't do it in either an arrogant or in a meek way - somewhere in between is best. Sigh. To be confirmed in my next seat.

2. To hot food, or not to hot food?

My house mate helpfully suggested another situation where we'd like a nice clear rule in place. Some supervisors are fine with bringing hot food into the office, while others can't stand it. If they start doing this, I'd take it outside:

3. When do you CC?

The last, and most important, situation in need of guidance is "when do you copy in somebody to an email?" On one hand, you don't want to copy in your supervisor to a routine email on logistics with lots of mundane back and forth on the cost of hiring a printer. But you might want to copy them in on the first email, to keep them abreast of when you're contacting someone outside the firm. The miscommunication that happens when someone isn't copied in can be very awkward and confusing, but if you copy in someone too often it clogs their inbox. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO???

I hope this post has been somewhat helpful - I feel that in any workplace or social gathering, we need to read between the lines and work out the unwritten rules. I'm looking forward to the day these feel natural, and maybe one day, laying down some rules myself - hot food welcome!

London Legalspeak: Counsel Edition

Hi everyone!  

So last post I mentioned that I was recently able to attend a trial. For 5 out of the 6 months of my litigation seat, I've been working on one single case, which culminated in this trial. While now in August I'll be hoping for a bit more variety, the great thing about it was that I got to be a part of the trial mechanics from the creation of witness statements to the trial itself. The hearing had one day for oral openings, a few days for cross-examination, and a final day for oral closing arguments. It was a chance to see some of the best barristers' chambers in London go head to head. 

When it was going well for us, I was like this:

But then if things got tense, I was more like this:

This edition of Legalspeak is dedicated to the strange and funny way that counsel (i.e. barristers) speak. They probably take it for granted, but I thought it would be helpful if I translated some of the more common phrases I came across during the trial.

'It is surprising that...'
'My friend may have forgotten that...'

Translation: 

'That is clearly a false story'
'Sir, that just can't be right'

Translation:

To a witness: 'You candidly accepted yesterday that...'

Translation: you totally screwed up yesterday

Similar: 'Would it surprise you to learn that you said the complete opposite in your witness statement?'

Translation:

And then: 'I suggest to you that you are now not giving a straightforward answer because it is not helpful to your case'

Translation:

'I'm afraid my friend is leading you into legal error'

Translation:

'Sir, that approach isn't so much incredible as it is unprincipled'

Translation: daymm

And my particular favourite: 'Could you please read through that passage as quickly as you can. Take your time'

Translation: I'm running out of time with this cross-examination but I want to appear calm and in control.


Some other less funny, but still interesting turns of phrase that I came across:

• 'You will see on the documents that...': i.e. I'm totally generalising here.

• 'This is the proposition I am going to seek to make good': i.e. I'll soon direct you to the evidence that supports my statement.

• 'I'm going to take you there' vs. 'I'm not going to take you there': i.e. some documents are so important that you, the judge, should read it yourself, but otherwise you get the gist.

• 'And just to take it slowly, for my benefit...': i.e. I want to emphasise this point to the judge but I want to make it look like it comes from you.

I found the trial a lot of fun, and it was easy to slip into being a spectator and forget that I actually had work to do! With our submissions in, I will be doing a little follow-up work but otherwise, it'll be interesting to see what the rest of my litigation seat will be like! Only one month to go until I rotate: how did August creep around so soon?!