How to Stand Out as a Junior Associate

As a junior associate, if I want to level up my legal career and start building a book of business in 2026, this is the sustainable, realistic approach that fits alongside a full workload and prioritizes becoming an excellent lawyer first. 1) Treat relationships as part of client service. I calendar them. One coffee or lunch every two weeks with someone I work with or want to learn from. One follow-up or thank-you note each Friday. One thoughtful LinkedIn comment a day on legal or industry content. Strong practices are built on trust. Consistency beats intensity. 2) Pick a lane before I feel ready. Not forever. Just for now. I want people to know what I am building expertise in and what types of questions they can bring to me. I reinforce that through the matters I take on, the skills I develop, and the topics I engage with publicly. 3) Be intentional with warm, specific outreach. No mass messages. No vague check-ins. I reach out when there is a real professional reason after working together after an event, article, or case after a role change and I am clear about why I am reaching out and how it connects to our work. 4) Turn everyday legal work into quiet visibility. When I learn something useful about case law, prosecution strategy, or industry trends, I share it. A short post. A comment. A conversation in the office. The goal is not self-promotion. It is knowledge-sharing and credibility. 5) Invest early in mentors and sponsors. I am thoughtful about who I ask, prepared when I show up, and deliberate in my follow-through. I focus on long-term relationships built around growth, feedback, and doing excellent work. None of this requires being the loudest person in the room. It requires showing up consistently while I am still learning and honing my legal skills. This approach has helped me stay focused on becoming a stronger lawyer while building relationships that compound over time. It is not flashy. It is deliberate. And it has served me well so far.

Many new associates will begin their careers at law firms this month. Having run a law firm over the past 16 years, I’ve learned what makes an associate stand out and excel. Here's how it's done: 1. Write concise emails A partner does not want to read a long email analyzing a particular question or issue. The partner does not have time to read and understand it. Your job is to take the issue at hand and distill it into a few bullet points that can be easily understood. 2. Know what you don't know. Feel free to admit it and ask good questions Partners expect that you need to learn. It is a lot easier to be around a humble associate who asks good questions than someone who thinks they know everything and constantly makes mistakes. 3. Always be improving It is noticeable to a partner when you make improvements. It doesn't matter whether your writing advances, you develop your research skills or you just get better at fielding and answering questions. If you make it a mission to learn and improve every day, it will get noticed. 4. Make a partner's life easier When a client sends a long email, if you can summarize it for the partner and even draft an initial response, you've just made their life 10x easier that day. If your draft responses become the actual responses the partner sends, you become irreplaceable. 5. Develop a good bedside manner If people like you and feel comfortable working with you, a partner will trust you to work directly with a client. If you are cold or off-putting you might be kept far away from direct client interaction. 6. Communicate with partners about the turnaround time for your work You might receive work requests from multiple different partners. Make sure you communicate and ask when something needs to be returned. This way here you are meeting the expectations of the partner (who is your biggest client btw). 7. Don't take advantage of work-from-home policies If you are lucky enough to be working remotely, make sure you are working just as hard as you would in the office. You should also always be available to partners during working hours. If you take advantage of the system, people will know. It will affect your career significantly. 8. Be a hard worker and work long hours Yes, I know..."hustle culture" is not cool these days. But, hard work never goes out of style. Partners notice who is working hard and who is on cruise control. This will affect your ability to be promoted and even keep your job. ============= Are there any tips you would add to my list? #attorneys #lawyers #legalcareers

The best junior person I ever worked with didn't stand out on paper. They were the most resourceful. When a deal came in, they didn't just run the model. They called the broker to understand the story. They researched the tenant. They found the angle no one else saw. Anyone can build a spreadsheet. The ones who stand out are the ones who think beyond it. → Why is this deal available? → What's the seller not telling us? → What would make this interesting that isn't in the memo? Scrappy beats smart when smart just does what's asked. The people who rise aren't the ones who execute instructions perfectly. They're the ones who add value the instructions didn't anticipate.

Early in my career, I stood out to senior executives by building a reputation as a "thought partner", here's how I did it (and why it works): 1/ Read all industry news (e.g. Adweek, Ad Age, Digiday, Fast Company). I stayed current on what execs cared and were talking about. 2/ Read everything from top VCs (e.g. Sequoia Capital, a16z, Kleiner Perkins, First Round Capital, NfX). Mary Meeker's Internet Trends Reports was good. I "lived in the future" and brought new ideas and startup/tech partnerships to the table. 3/ Watched random TED Talks to give myself a whack on the side of head and get out of my bubble. This built the muscle of connecting ideas across disciplines (good creativity hack). The key unlock was I shared my takeaways (and opinions) with the broader team / company. At weekly standups. All-hands. Internal newsletters. This developed my reputation of being a "Thought Partner." And I was invited into senior executive rooms to provide my opinion. In fact, just this week I caught up with a mentor (now the CEO of a well known company) and he phoned in a good friend of his (2x founder, both acquired) for us to talk about a new business idea. When my mentor introduced me, he still used the words "One of the best thinking partners I know..." Reputations stick. So build yours early.

Here's one of my favorite pieces of career advice: take actions that create more options. Having options means having greater autonomy. Something I wish I learned sooner is that sometimes you have plant seeds way in advance of when those seeds will actually bloom into options. I often discuss this principle with junior lawyers, when the question "When do I need to start focusing on business development?" comes up. My answer: Sooner than you might think, perhaps not for the reasons you think, and likely not in the way that you think. When: now Why: creating options How: building relationships internally, especially if you're at a midsize to large firm As a junior lawyer at a midsize to large law firm, you won't be originating work. But that doesn't mean you can't make a positive contribution for your firm—and create more options for yourself. Some of the long-term opportunities that may arise when you build strong relationships with colleagues, across offices and practice groups, include: - Getting brought in by your colleagues to help pitch and win new matters. - Generating referral work from lawyers you currently work with who move on to other firms. - Generating client work directly from those who move in-house. - Inheriting clients from other lawyers when they retire, move in-house, or otherwise transition out of the firm. These things won't happen overnight. But they won't happen at all if you don't start building strong relationships now. Here are some tangible steps you can take to position yourself for future success: 1. Rethink your value proposition. You're an important member of the team, not a worker bee. Even as a first-year lawyer, you can make a valuable contribution. 2. Make yourself visible. Be an active networker within your firm, especially with those in other offices and practice groups. Showcase your communication and leadership skills through internal presentations, writing for internal and external publications and participating in firm committees. 3. Take ownership. From client work product to internal firm initiatives, adopt an ownership mindset for every task you take on. If you hope to make partner at your firm some day, it’s never too early to start acting like one. Even if you're not interested in making partner, this mindset will serve you well in any endeavor you pursue. 4. Be proactive. Look for opportunities to contribute. Bring ideas to the table. Show enthusiasm. 5. Be a sponge. Pay attention to the habits and practices of the high achievers in your firm. The path to success has been marked by trailblazers who came before you. Follow their lead. If you're a junior lawyer, taking these steps will go a long way toward helping you succeed in both the practice and business of law, and create more options for you—from advancement in your firm to capitalizing on other career opportunities—in the future.

To all the new lawyers, here are six things you can do to make an impact at your firm in 2024: 1. Don’t Eat Lunch Alone. This is a saying I heard early in my career. Whether you’re a junior associate in a firm or have started your own shop, building relationships with colleagues in your firm or other lawyers in town is the single best way to advance your career.  Taking somebody to lunch or out for coffee is a great way to build those relationships. 2. Keep Learning. Your education as a practicing attorney is just beginning when you finish law school. Study your craft. A student’s mindset will help you get better faster. 3. Ask Questions. Early in my career, I was worried that asking questions might make me look stupid. I wanted to seem like I knew everything already. But when you're starting out, you don’t know everything. And everybody else already knows that, so you don't need to pretend. Asking questions shows you’re interested and that you want to get better. 4. Ask around for more work. In some firms, work just lands on your desk. But I know that's not usually the case. Associates who proactively pursue work get more assignments than those who wait for the work to come to them. You might worry that you're being annoying, and you don't want to overdo it. But being proactive shows you care. 5. Stay patient. I knew I wanted to be a trial lawyer in law school, and I was in a hurry to get in the courtroom. I spent five years supporting other lawyers before getting my chance to start trying cases myself. Waiting for the opportunity was hard. But by focusing on learning and being useful to my colleagues, I was better prepared to capitalize once my chance arrived. 6. Treat everyone with respect. How you treat people matters. There's that stereotype of the successful lawyer who treats their support staff, younger colleagues, and even court staff badly.   You don’t want that reputation. You also don’t know when you’re going to need a favor from someone. Are there any tips you'd add for new lawyers wanting to start off on the right foot?

“We loved you, but we’ve decided to go with someone more senior.” If you’re a junior associate, you’ve probably heard this line. Maybe more than once. It feels like it’s become a trend for some, and not a fun one. So…what’s going on? After months of speaking with candidates, reading hundreds of CVs, and hearing feedback from Partners and recruitment teams, one thing is clear: The definition of a ‘mid-level’ lawyer has shifted. Where 3 PQE used to guarantee certain responsibilities (i.e. leading on matters, managing juniors, driving deals) today, firms are often only seeing this from 4+ PQE. But why? Over the last couple of years many teams simply didn’t have enough work. Juniors qualified into quieter markets. Fewer deals = fewer chances to step up. Now, some of those lawyers lack the experience and skills that firms are searching for in their lateral ‘mid-levels’. If you’re a junior associate, here’s my advice: - Take ownership whenever you can. Ask to draft, ask to lead, be seen. - Build real relationships. Most jobs boil down to being about relationships. Create connections with mentors, Partners, recruiters, and your peers. - Be forensic with your CV. Firms are looking beyond the headline deals and firm names. They want to know specifically about your role, not just what your team did. And if your current team isn’t giving you enough chances? Maybe it’s time for a strategic move. Your future mid-level self will thank you. Sonder Consultants

✨ Ownership isn't just for the partners. ✨ Last week, a collaborative effort with my friend and colleague, Dareth Finn hit your screens. Dareth and I tackled something that's been on the minds of law firm leaders and junior associates alike: How do you help junior lawyers move beyond the “checklist mentality” and embrace an ownership mindset? Here’s the thing: Gen Z associates aren’t lacking intelligence or drive—they’re often just stuck in a cycle of completing tasks without seeing the bigger picture. And that’s a loss for everyone. We explored practical ways for new lawyers to stand out, grow, and make their mark: 🌟 Think bigger than the task. Every assignment is part of a broader strategy. Consider the "why," anticipate related issues, and go beyond the explicit instructions. 🗣️ Learn through feedback. Don’t just implement edits—ask why. Each revision is a window into how experienced lawyers think, and the insights can transform your approach. 🧩 Be a problem solver. Wrestling with challenges—and presenting thoughtful solutions—builds the confidence and judgment firms value most. The shift from law student to lawyer isn’t just about more hours or fancier titles. It’s about showing up with curiosity, initiative, and a commitment to grow. What does “ownership” look like in your career? Let’s talk about it. 👇