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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'll be honest here (after 10 yrs in biglaw) - you started in Dec, you don't have enough work/your hours are low, so you're spending your time on RECRUITING of all things?? Recruiting is complete BS and it does not matter AT ALL what the recruiting babes say about you being a great ambassador or whatever - they're ditzy people who bring in NO MONEY for the firm. The opinions that matter are the ones from those who bring in money -- i.e. billable client facing attorneys. I've known tons of biglaw partners and many (esp top rainmaker) do make snap judgments. So he sees that you've been here for 8 months and sees your hours aren't top of class and instead of seeking work anywhere and everywhere you can -- he sees you going to recruiting functions . . . . No wonder he thinks there's no spot for you, he already knows you're not wanting to kill it on the billing (and he doesn't know if you want it in your heart of hearts bc you aren't showing it to him).

Once these judgements are made in biglaw, they never change. Sure maybe the inevitable won't happen this Dec but rather next summer. But from everything I've ever seen, it WILL happen. So why wait around? If you love biglaw, why not call a recruiter now and try to lateral? It's not like you're a 9th yr with limited option - you're super marketable as a 2nd or 4th yr bc firms are just looking at you as a worker, not as someone they need to promote/not promote to partner in a yr.[/quote]

Op.  This makes 100% sense to me.  I think your advice is spot on as to what is happening at my firm.

As someone who did zero recruiting at DOJ, no one explained it to me.  I was told by recruiting that the partner asked for me and I considered it required  Truth be told, I've easily spent 150 hours on recruiting events, summer associate mentoring, interviewing and I'll be short 100 hours even if I have good billable months from now on. I do see that my colleagues don't even interview.  They bill.  Where was this advice 9 months ago when I was told to attend firm events, go to all the trainings, do pro bono, etc.  Why didn't the firm say "don't do anything, just bill"?  I thought I was being a super star with all my firm activities.

I'll absolutely refuse to play that role from now on. But lateral after only a year?  I can't imagine that another big law firm will let me. Coming from DOJ was not easy, which is why I took the cut.

Plus, I'm happy because I'm doing all these activities.  If I was just billing, I'd probably have been miserable this year.   [/quote]

PP that you're quoting - holy shit 150 hours on recruiting?? Yeah that's super excessive and whether you understood it or not, it IS seen as fluff work that is often done by the sorority girl types of associates who don't want to be associates - they want the money but as you say they don't want to bill bill bill - it's much more fun to be able to say "sorry I'm not in the office tomorrow so I can't make that meeting bc I'm committed to going to NYU for a day of interviews." Every firm partner has seen a ton of these (almost always female) associates and they have no patience for it. As the poster above says if working non stop as a junior associate makes you unhappy -- this job isn't for you; doesn't matter if you like the pretty offices and free coffee. I wouldn't be surprised if your teammates are seeing you as the team slacker they always have to cover for. If you like the shiny parts of the job but not sitting in the office until 9 pm, consider a move into recruiting and professional development - esp if you aren't attached to the idea of practicing law - they get the shiny offices and all but they go home at 5 pm and if they're staying late, it's to party at summer associate events.[/quote]

A really outgoing associate at my firm who wants to do all kinds of recruiting and summer events but does not want to be seen as a recruiting babe and wants to be a legit associate may do 40-50 hrs of recruiting A YEAR and even then not during their 1st yr at the firm when they're trying to make an impression - more like as 4th or 5th yrs when their reputation is rock solid.[/quote]

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