Shannon BurkeAssociate Attorney, Schiller DuCanto & Fleck LLPAdjunct Professor of Law, DePaul University College of Lawburkeshr@yahoo.com

CONNECTING STUDENTS WITH LAWYERS: WORKING WITH TODAY’S SENIOR ATTORNEYS

What we will cover today

• Reminding students what senior attorneys expect.

• Discussing ways we can teach students how to meet and exceed those expectations.

• Giving the students a confidence boost.

Expectations• What to do at the first (and often only)

meeting with the senior attorney• Bring a pen and paper

• Understand the assignment• Repeat what you hear the senior attorney asking

you to do (which may be different than what the attorney thinks s/he is asking you to do).

• Learn the substantive goal of the assignment.

• Learn how the senior attorney will use your assignment (ex: copy and paste your boilerplate language, have you find cases that support our argument or that the other side might use, make “out of the box” arguments, etc.).

• Demonstrate client-cost awareness: How much time should you spent on the project?

• When is the assignment due?

• Request and/or obtain the required documentation (ex: if you are drafting the Response to the Motion for Summary Judgment, you will want to get a copy of the Motion for Summary Judgment).

What do senior attorneys expect of new(er) associates?

Expectations

• Performing quality and cost-effective legal research • Cases that are in your favor

• Cases that need to be distinguished – and then distinguishing them

• Drafting basics• Include the question the senior

attorney asked you to answer

• Include a clear and precise answer

• Then give the legal support

• Draft documents that need minimal substantive revisions

• Draft documents that require NO grammatical revisions

What do senior attorneys expect of new(er) associates?

Expectations

• Many times, the senior partner will call the new(er) associate from court and need caselaw, statutes, or court rules – quickly!

• Should you email the information as an attachment from Westlaw/Lexis?

• Should you draft a short email with the one word/sentence answer?

• Should you draft a lengthy explanation?

What do senior attorneys expect of new(er) associates?

Expectations

• Orally communicating your results• Repeat what the senior attorney asked

you to do.

• Explain your research results (positive and negative).

• Clear, concise, precise

• Following-up with the senior attorney• Before the assignment is due: • Clarify your assignment

• Explain pitfalls, tangential issues that you found that may be relevant, etc.

• Be sure you are researching/drafting what is required

• After the assignment is due:• Ask if you will need to draft a reply in

support of your motion (or other similar document) so you can budget your time appropriately

What do senior attorneys expect of new(er) associates?

Expectations

• Displaying “professionalism”• In the office

• At court

• Bar association functions

• Community involvement

• Exchanges with clients

• Formal writing

• Emails

• Texts

What do senior attorneys expect of new(er) associates?

Incorporating lessons into the classroom

• Mock “initial” meeting• Orally give students the assignment

• Gentle critique

• Hand out written assignment at the end of the meeting

• Mock “presentation” meeting• Have your student orally present his or

her research to you.

• Have your students email you!• Different formats• General, every day, professional

interactions

• Short emails (i.e., sending a partner an email while s/he is in court)

• Lengthier emails (i.e., thoroughly but concisely answering a question)

Something “extra” that new(er) associates bring

• Although the new(er) attorney has much to learn, s/he also has much to teach!• Our students have grown up with

home computers, the internet, email, texts…• Senior attorneys will want to

capitalize on new(er) attorneys’ high comfort level with these technologies• Ex:• Firm website creation

• Linked In

• Twitter

• Facebook

• Blogs

• Articles

• Short videos

• Other forms of social media marketing

Shannon BurkeAssociate Attorney, Schiller DuCanto & Fleck LLPAdjunct Professor of Law, DePaul University College of Lawburkeshr@yahoo.com

THANK YOU!