Newspaper and TV reports have cited anonymous sources who have a knowledge of the situation, but U.S. Attorney Rachel Palouse released a statement Thursday confirming that three people had stepped down, though she did not comment on what led to the decision.

Hmmm.

Read more at Fargo Forum

“Oh, and please be sure to bring a copy of your law school transcripts.”

What? Did you hear that correctly? Aren’t grades a little irrelevant at this point? Well, before you freak out, take a minute to remind yourself of why Dream Firm wants to see those grades. In my opinion, there are two big reasons:

• Scholarship: Naturally, law firms want solid evidence that you know your stuff and that you have the course background to understand the specifics of your practice and the basics of other practices that may overlap (yes, everyone should be familiar with tort, contract and civil procedure basics). Your transcript is one of the few palpable indicators upon which Dream Law can rely.

• Consistency: A quick look at someone’s transcripts can tell Dream Law whether that person maintained a consistent level of commitment to his or her education. Hopefully, this translates into a consistent work ethic on your part. If they see that you suddenly slacked off in your third year, you may have some explaining to do. Alternatively, if Dream Law sees plenty of extracurricular activities on your resume and consistent grades, they can be confident that you are capable of handling the juggling that so many law firms demand these days.

So next time you have to cough up your transcript – fear not. Take a look at your grades in conjunction with your resume and find your own strengths and weaknesses so that you can come to the interview prepared to talk about them. Certainly, a well prepared candidate is far better than one caught off guard.

One of my personal favorite resources - Findlaw:
http://newsletters.findlaw.com/nl/

The American Bar Association:
http://www.abanet.org/abastore/index.cfm?section=magazines&fm=static&url=http://www.abanet.org/abastore/front_end/static/mjn_home.cfm&r=1

When the work slowed down a little, though, I got wise, started thumbing through these newsletters and began to see what I was missing. Industry publications (whether based in the legal side of an industry or the day-to-day operations and trends within an industry), contain valuable information, including:

• The status of and strategies used in ongoing cases that may be similar or relevant to those you might be handling;
• Recent decisions, deals or settlements that may affect the work on your plate;
• Summaries of industry trends that may be setting industry standards for your clients.

A supervising associate, partner or client will always be impressed if you are able to stay current (or even get a step ahead) on issues in your and your client’s industries. Taking ten minutes in the morning to scan an industry publication will be well worth it.

The moral of this story?

• Do not use your firm email account for personal emails or to disparage people you work with or for…ever. This includes clients.

• Be careful with the websites you are visiting and what you are writing on them while you are at work. Chances are someone is keeping track.

• Watch what you are saying over the firm’s phone, especially if you are being broadcasted on speaker phone. You never know who is listening…even to voicemails. I recently heard a story about a paralegal who thought she had hung up after leaving a professional message, using her speaker phone, for a senior associate. Lo and behold, she was still recording and proceeded to trash talk the senior associate to her colleague for a good four minutes until the system cut her off.

Call it reverse networking, if you will. There’s no better way to erect a road block in the road to success than to get caught bad mouthing your colleagues. Like my mother always told me, if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all….or at least be careful about who you say it to and how you say it….

Hours, followed by unrealistic client demands, followed by stress, caused by hours and unrealistic client demands.

Another person stated simply:

The billable hour system is awful and has created ridiculous incentives.

I can’t say that I disagree. At one firm, my boss actually sat the junior associates down and said that we shouldn’t leave the office unless we had billed at least ten hours that day. There was one problem with this: when the work’s not there, it’s not there. I can recall one week where I billed maybe 20 hours, but never left the office before 8 p.m. The next month, I billed almost 300 hours and had to cancel a vacation. I had absolutely no control over my life outside of the office…and it was miserable for a while there.

It’s not as if I didn’t know what I was getting into, though. Those of you who signed on to work at Big Law LLC most likely knew that, in exchange for the hefty paycheck, you would be sacrificing much of your personal life. This sacrifice comes with plenty of benefits. You’re likely gaining valuable experience (yes, that includes document review and due diligence), working with big name clients, making a few more dollars to pay down those student loans, and slapping the name of a reputable law firm on your resume.

These sacrifices also render you an attractive candidate for a mid-level position at Lifestyle Law LLC or in-house. Indeed, I’m convinced that the fact that I spent two years essentially handcuffed to my desk landed me a position at a smaller firm, with some big name clients and (gasp!) predictable hours! So remember, before you pull a Norma Rae and walk through the halls with a big sign saying “UNION!”, to keep your eye on the prize and power through it until you know that you’re ready to make a switch.

Of course, making the switch is easier said than done, but that’s a different entry, for a different day…

For a fairly accurate dissection of a billable hour day, check out the following site. My only issue with this breakdown is the presumption that you’re afforded the luxury of a one hour lunch break…

http://www.law.yale.edu/outside/html/Career_Development/cdo-billable.htm

So, how do you get rid of that student loan debt faster? The answer to the question may just be a simple matter of common sense and self discipline. First and foremost, don’t let those big paychecks fool you into leading a lifestyle you really cannot afford. Remember that that paycheck came with a price tag. Here are a few tips that will help you avoid blowing your newfound earnings and get you on the path of loosening those handcuffs:

• Take a good look at your loan repayment plan. Choose one that covers the monthly interest while paying down a decent portion of the principle. While those short-term “interest only” payment plans carry lower payments, avoid them if you can. Otherwise, after a couple of years, you’re still exactly where you started and nowhere closer to making the career switch you desire.

• Do your best to throw in a little extra with each monthly payment, especially on those high interest private loans. Send the extra payment separately, stating that it should be applied to the principle of a particular loan. Otherwise, your payment may automatically go to the accrued interest instead of the principle. Make yourself a simple template to go with the extra payments, filling in the blanks each month. While an extra $75 may not seem like much, it will certainly reduce your interest payments over time.

• Look into consolidating your federal loans. While there can be pitfalls in doing this (to be discussed at a later date), the benefits include (i) fixing a permanent low interest rate on your federal student loans, depending on when you consolidate and (ii) getting one bill from one company each month.

• Take a long hard look at your budget. You can find extra money to pay off those loans in all sorts of places. For example, take “light” vacations. Stay domestic instead of going to Fiji, or, at the very least, make an exotic vacation an exception and not the rule. You can also embrace public transportation – it’s a beautiful thing. Another habit that can easily break the bank is eating at the office. While most firms will reimburse you for dinner if you stay past a certain hour, they rarely pay for breakfast and lunch despite the fact that you are often glued to your desk at mealtime. As a New Yorker, I easily saved over $50 a week when I started bringing lunch to work. What you save here can be redirected to your student loans.

• If you’re fortunate enough to receive an annual bonus, dog-ear a significant portion of that bonus for those student loans. A thousand dollars toward the principle will result in a significant reduction of interest payments, and shorten the overall amount of time it will take you to pay off your loans.

While it seems easier said than done, exercising a little more self control when you see that paycheck hit your bank account will result in tangible long term benefits…especially when it comes to your career options.

The key to a successful legal career is “networking, networking, networking.” You hear this phrase all the time as a mid-level associate, but do you hear it often enough as a law student or a junior associate? Perhaps, but probably not in the right context. As a mid-level associate, you are likely focused on going in-house or cultivating relationships with clients of your own so that you can make partner one day. As a junior associate (and even as a law student), your focus is on getting to know your practice, building relationships with your peers and superiors, and perhaps even getting hired elsewhere.

Networking opportunities for the new kids on the block are everywhere. Junior associates and law students alike are constantly bombarded with invitations from law schools and bar associations to various speaker series and receptions. These events are veritable breeding grounds for meeting new resources, peers and (as in my case) future employers. While it’s very easy to tell yourself that you don’t have the time to attend and that you really don’t need to be making any contacts this early on in your career, do not throw those invitations away. Do yourself a favor and R.S.V.P. to those events that interest you or concern the skill set that you are trying to develop. In fact, set a goal of hitting at least one every couple of months and introducing yourself to at least two people there. While I can’t offer a statistic on this, in my experience, those attorneys that get out there earlier in the game wind up winning more often. Those who skip the networking altogether wind up at a difficult crossroads eight years down the line…

If you’re not getting those all important invitations in the mail, visit the websites of your bar association and law school so that you can at least get on their mailing lists. It’s never too early to get yourself out there, especially since doing so will ultimately make you a better, well rounded attorney.