New York Lawyer
October 13, 2005

Q:
I will be graduating this year from a top-ten law school and have secured a position at the nationally prestigious firm where I spent my 2L summer. My firm is recognized for its collegial and civil work environment -- indeed all the associates and partners are very friendly. Work-wise, I had a wonderful experience this summer, and had no problem working with my fellow associates; however, I do not see myself as wanting to socialize with my peers beyond working hours. (My political beliefs conflict with the vast majority of those at my firm).

My question for you is, to what degree does this matter? My firm is a wonderful place to work, but I wonder if I should have searched for a firm where I would have had the best of both worlds; a pleasant working environment and associates that I'd want to grab drinks with at the end of the day. From my own experiences I already understand that finding a good firm is hard enough, but have I "settled," or is my work/life situation normal?

Submit Your Question

Find More Answers

A:

A phenomenon that occurs with people in their first "real" legal job (and indeed in other industries as well) is that they tend to think that this is just the way all law firm jobs are, and that they must settle. In other words, they don't realize that there's a big world out there with a wide variety of places to work.

So I commend you for asking this question before you've even starting work in a permanent position at this firm. The answer is, it's possible you're "settling." You have stellar credentials, you've already proven that you can get a job at a top firm, so why not target firms where you would feel more comfortable?

Having said that, you have of course experienced this firm already and found your colleagues congenial (if misguided politically, from your standpoint). There are many firms featuring people who might agree with you that are not so friendly and welcoming. Being surrounded by like-minded colleagues in a sharp-elbowed, hostile atmosphere would not be fun. So these decisions are never easy.

However, especially in the grueling environment of a top firm, you will want and value colleagues you can grab a drink with, chat with, be yourself around. Knowing from the get-go that you're at odds with the majority of people is a warning signal.

Ask around about the informal reputations of firms, and try to find out the places that feature more like-minded folks (or a healthy balance of views, the ideal in my book) as well as a congenial atmosphere. That way perhaps you won't wind up feeling like you settled. (If I can make a pitch for looking for a "balanced" workplace: spending too much time with people who think exactly as we do tends to lessen tolerance, not increase it. Therefore working in a setting with a variety of views allows exposure to different and often valid ways of thinking, even if they don't conform to your own.)

P.S.:

On a (somewhat) related topic, I wanted to respond to a few cranky conservatives who wrote in protesting my column of last week, about a senior partner who voices oppressive views of a right-wing variety. They pointed out that (a) conservatives are very much in the minority in East Coast law firms, and are usually the ones feeling oppressed and silenced; (b) the questioner's example of blaming the slow hurricane response on the New Orleans Mayor, and calling that "conservative," was out of bounds since that view was highly defensible; and (c) I am apparently a raging liberal and that explains both the question and the answer.

Responding in turn: (A) I agree that, in New York, conservatives tend to be in the minority and more often silenced than liberals. Stating my position more broadly, then: Any senior person who publicly voices political opinions in such a way that others, particularly those more junior to them, are routinely shut down is inappropriate. (B) It was the questioner who posited his colleague's view as conservative, not mine; it was just one example among many that the questioner had experienced; and honestly, do you really disagree that by and large liberals tended to blame President Bush and conservatives blamed Mayor Nagin about the hurricane response? (C) Whatever my political views, my advice will be more valuable if I am not linked to them to the point of needlessly alienating anyone. I will be careful in the future to answer similar questions more adroitly.

Sincerely,
Holly English
Principal Consultant, Values at Work