Summer Associate Gripes: No BlackBerrys, Too Much Food and Booze

Law Firms

Summer Associate Gripes: No BlackBerrys, Too Much Food and Booze

Posted Oct 9, 2008, 08:00 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Summer associates surveyed by American Lawyer were relatively happy with their experiences, giving their firms an average score of 4.541 on a 1-5 scale. They earned an average of about $3,000 a week and said, on the whole, that they were getting more interesting work. But that didn’t stop the complaints.

Some summers told of anxiety whether they would receive a permanent job offer, the American Lawyer reports. Others complained about distant partners, long hours, “skimpy” $55 lunch budgets, no BlackBerrys, and too much fattening food and alcohol.

"Fifty-five dollars is not enough for most nice restaurants in midtown," huffed one summer at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler in New York. One Foley & Lardner associate complained about the abundance of food, the story says. “Not every event needs cake," the person said. "It is not a good idea to have a reputation for making summer associates gain 15 pounds (the 'Foley 15')."

A summer at Weil, Gotshal & Manges focused on the drinking, the story says. “They throw numerous social events that last for eight hours, including heavy drinking, and then expect summers to behave 'appropriately,' " the person complained.

Seventeen percent of the 7,600 responding associates said they weren’t sure if they would get a job offer, compared to 12 percent who felt that way last year, the story says. Associates were particularly worried at White & Case; Mayer Brown; and Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. One Mayer Brown summer said more reassurance was needed, the magazine reports. "As it was, too many of my peers were too concerned about their standing with the firm. It made the atmosphere too tense, resulted in unnecessary competition, and harmed cohesion."

Yet all three firms said a high percentage of summers received permanent offers, including 110 out of 113 summer associates at White & Case.

Most of the law firms with top ratings from associates had relatively small summer classes:

Nutter McClennen & Fish in Boston.
Cozen O'Connor.
Crowell & Moring in Washington D.C.
Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor in Wilmington.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, which had 182 summer associates, the largest class in the top five.

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Posted by Lex Fortis - 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day, 15 hours, 19 minutes ago

It’s clear something must be done, and quickly, to improve the lifestyle of Summer Associates. A life coach would be a good start for managing all that available alcohol. And firms should definitely provide counseling for Blackberry Deficit Syndrome. But we have to hold steady on a $55 lunch, if only to manage obesity rates. Ok $60, but no more.
Posted by Ellen Barshevsky - 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day, 15 hours, 14 minutes ago

I Disagree with Lex.

There was NO such things as a blackberrie when I summered in NYC. I did NOT need it to do my job, so I do NOT see why they need them now.

Also, who wants to get FAT on the job? My boyfriend would still love me if I put on 15 pounds, but other women don’t have such good boyfriends. The law firm is really named Foley and Lardener? Lard means fat, so that should tell you something BEFORE you sign on to work there.

Finally, who wants to go out for lunch everyday? I have a salad with chicken and russian dressing and it costs only $6.55 and that is WITH tax. So I don’t complain.
Posted by associate - 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day, 14 hours, 28 minutes ago

It still strikes me that these people don’t understand why firms put them in long social situations with free alcohol. It’s not just to have a good time and party it up; they’re wanting to see how you handle yourself (i.e., if you’ll quit drinking when you should, or not drink at all).
Posted by RS - 1 month, 3 weeks, 16 hours, 46 minutes ago

Honestly…. this is lame. Blackberry is necessary for any attorney ever…. summer associate whatever. The whole point of being a summer associate is to get a glimpse of what it will be like to work at the firm. Blackberry use is something that will likely govern their life for years to come so they should be prepared from the start.

I can’t believe people are upset about TOO much booze and food. Go to the gym fatty…..

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