Associate Tips: Professionalism is Everything

From the National Law Journal: Professionalism is Everything. Thomas Coyne, of Thompson Hine, quips about what it takes to be a successful associate.

Follow the link for all the tips, but just to highlight and expound on a few:

Coyne talks about "client focus." As an associate, you don't really have "clients"--you have partners or senior associates who are effectively your clients. But that doesn't mean that you can't be client-focused. Of course, focus on the individual and idiosyncratic needs of your internal client, but always think beyond the legal issues your supervisor tasks you with. If you're always thinking about what the actual client needs and wants at the end of the day, that will give you a broader perspective and specific focus on where all those memos, motions, and briefs are going.

"Confidence and presentability." When I was in the tech industry, I probably had one of the messiest desks in the business. The culture cultivated this as a status symbol--the more your desk replicated your home, and a busy home at that, the more important you were seen to be. The same stereotyping goes on in law to a certain point. There are those attorneys who have messy offices; those who have voluminous but neat stacks of paper pillars about their offices; and those whose offices are nearly bare. At the end of the day, as a client, I'd rather see the latter. It shows organization and focus. And if I were to visit your office, it shows that you're there, at that moment, to serve me. Nothing else competes for your time. It's a ruse, but it's one I want to see.

"Charging and recording time." Similarly with the messy desk, some attorneys pride themselves in the rush of their schedules, and how they can't find the time to track time. That's not busy-ness; that's disorganization. Get in the habit of recording your time daily.

Just a few comments and reflections off the top of my head as I perused his list. Any tips and comments you'd like to contribute?