Helping law students and BigLaw associates identify and close their skill gaps
About
What's Not Taught
Practicing law is a whole new world for many people - particularly first-gen college grads, first-gen law students, first-gen attorneys, and first-gen BigLaw attorneys. No matter your background, you haven't practiced law until you've practiced law. The journey to becoming a trusted advisor takes time, and the path to professional excellence isn't littered with signposts.
To provide some context on my background - I practiced in the Corporate and Securities group of a BigLaw firm for five years before moving to a global media and entertainment company and a growth-stage tech company. My corporate experience includes M&A (marquee, cross-border, and de-SPAC transactions), capital markets transactions, corporate governance, PubCo board and committee management, ESG, domestic and international subsidiary management, and Exchange Act filings.
Over time, I've learned that the practice of law - and crafting a career within this field - is equal parts art and science. After mentoring and speaking on panels for nearly a decade now, I'm focusing my efforts on reaching a broader audience of new attorneys who may have the same questions I had.
You don't know what you don't know. Let's get you oriented.
To provide some context on my background - I practiced in the Corporate and Securities group of a BigLaw firm for five years before moving to a global media and entertainment company and a growth-stage tech company. My corporate experience includes M&A (marquee, cross-border, and de-SPAC transactions), capital markets transactions, corporate governance, PubCo board and committee management, ESG, domestic and international subsidiary management, and Exchange Act filings.
Over time, I've learned that the practice of law - and crafting a career within this field - is equal parts art and science. After mentoring and speaking on panels for nearly a decade now, I'm focusing my efforts on reaching a broader audience of new attorneys who may have the same questions I had.
You don't know what you don't know. Let's get you oriented.
Advance your career
Don't understand BigLaw?
Get the information you need to build a successful career in private practice - at every stage of development - and beyond!
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Courses
From Summer Associate to BigLaw Attorney:
An Early Career Roadmap
Here's a roadmap of how an early career in BigLaw typically looks:
Summer Associate
During the summer(s) between their 1L and 2L academic years and/or their 2L an 3L academic years, law students "summer" (or, in other words, intern) at one or more law firms. Summer associates (or "summers") may rotate through one or more practice groups within the firm.
Stub Year
The three- or four-month period between when a junior associate joins a law firm (usually in September or October) and the following January that begins their first "official" billable year is called the stub year (note: January assumes the firm's billable year tracks the calendar year).
The stub year creates some confusion as to how associates count their class year, as some people advance their class year as of the date they started at the firm (i.e., including the stub year) while others advance their class year beginning on January 1st of each year (i.e., excluding the stub year).
The stub year creates some confusion as to how associates count their class year, as some people advance their class year as of the date they started at the firm (i.e., including the stub year) while others advance their class year beginning on January 1st of each year (i.e., excluding the stub year).
Junior Associate
Years 1 and 2 of a new associate's practice. Junior associates are responsible for building the foundation of their practice through "boring" but invaluable exercises such as diligence, taking depositions, document scrubbing, etc.
Mid-Level Associate
Years 3-5 of a new associate's practice. Increasing independence and responsibility for drafting documents, overseeing junior associates, interacting with clients, etc.
Get in touch. We'd love to hear from you!
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If you're inquiring after Jay's availability to give a keynote address or teach a live course, please note the proposed dates in your outreach. Thank you for your interest.
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