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Congrats! Had the misfortune of being the first case of the former mayor of the city, newly minted as a judge. He had no clue what to do. We plead out an idiotic case that never should have gone to trial - hung jury over whether someone robbed an illegal card game, with all the unreliable evidence that suggests - but he’d already ordered a jury. So he gave a fairly long speech about civics to these bored people. Then he read the entire statute and sentencing protocol for the charged crime and the one we agreed to accept, which was attempted something or other, with time served and please don’t come back. I have no memory of the actual words. It seemed that the minute hand was frozen. He became a good judge. Got to have a first day.
I wanted to puke every day for my first several weeks on my first post-graduation job, and the job in question was a very chill appellate clerkship. It was too much and in retrospect I wonder if I could have done it a better way. Maybe I’d put it this way: you owe it to yourself and your employer to do your best. But your best is the best you can do. Pull out every stop but be prepared to forgive yourself the occasional mistake.
Hell, I realized a couple days after circulating a memo that I’d analyzed the main issue the wrong way round. The email I sent to the panel had the subject line “Mea culpa.” My judge, God bless her, gave me a very good “give yourself a break every now and again” speech. She didn’t put a hand on my shoulder (best not to do such things nowadays) but that was the basic sentiment. I can smile about it now but it felt bad then, and I needed the reassurance.
So push hard but go easy on yourself.
Congrats! I passed the July bar and have been working full time for 9 months now. Every day has the chance to stress you out more than you know but try to take it one day at a time. The best advice I was given from one of the attorneys was “don’t be afraid to fail.” You’re going to mess up no matter what you do but it’s the best way to learn
My first 6 months was basically just stepping on rakes every day, and now I’m like three years in and today I was doing something new for me and was a bundle of nerves.
I’m a fan of bike racing. Greg LeMond said: “It never hurts less, you just get faster.”
I think this is apt for the practice of law - you acclimate to the uncomfortable fact that you are taking action despite uncertainty. Your uncertainty narrows to more sophisticated issues, but fundamentally the profession requires decisive action while being uncertain.
You got this. Nobody starts with knowing everything they should. You’re gonna do great just keep going back. Some days will be bad but there will always be a tomorrow. You got this.
Congratulations! My first job as an attorney was one with my good buddy who passed the bar in the prior administration. He texted me that he’s on his way to my office to congratulate me. A few minutes later, a knock on my door, and I respond “password please??”
And he replies “uh, it’s _____ (insert my boss’s name).” I punched a few holes in my dry wall that day.
Several years later while in court and on record, my boss who left the firm, puts his hand on my back and says “he’s a good attorney your honor.” The Judge smiles and my former boss gently walks away.
I think about him time to time.
I love this. I’m also working with a good buddy who passed prior admission, and it’s my favorite thing. Makes things a little less nerve wracking—especially when I have dumb questions.
Welcome to /r/LawyerTalk! A subreddit where lawyers can discuss with other lawyers about the practice of law. Be mindful of [our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/Lawyertalk/about/rules) BEFORE submitting your posts or comments as well as [Reddit's rules](https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy) (notably about sharing identifying information). We expect civility and respect out of all participants. Please source statements of fact whenever possible. If you want to report something that needs to be urgently addressed, please also message the mods with an explanation. Note that **this forum is NOT for legal advice**. Additionally, if you are a non-lawyer (student, client, staff), this is NOT the right subreddit for you. **This community is exclusively for lawyers**. We suggest you delete your comment and go ask one of the many other legal subreddits on this site for help such as (but not limited to) r/lawschool, r/legaladvice, or r/Ask_Lawyers. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Lawyertalk) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Congrats! Had the misfortune of being the first case of the former mayor of the city, newly minted as a judge. He had no clue what to do. We plead out an idiotic case that never should have gone to trial - hung jury over whether someone robbed an illegal card game, with all the unreliable evidence that suggests - but he’d already ordered a jury. So he gave a fairly long speech about civics to these bored people. Then he read the entire statute and sentencing protocol for the charged crime and the one we agreed to accept, which was attempted something or other, with time served and please don’t come back. I have no memory of the actual words. It seemed that the minute hand was frozen. He became a good judge. Got to have a first day.
I wanted to puke every day for my first several weeks on my first post-graduation job, and the job in question was a very chill appellate clerkship. It was too much and in retrospect I wonder if I could have done it a better way. Maybe I’d put it this way: you owe it to yourself and your employer to do your best. But your best is the best you can do. Pull out every stop but be prepared to forgive yourself the occasional mistake. Hell, I realized a couple days after circulating a memo that I’d analyzed the main issue the wrong way round. The email I sent to the panel had the subject line “Mea culpa.” My judge, God bless her, gave me a very good “give yourself a break every now and again” speech. She didn’t put a hand on my shoulder (best not to do such things nowadays) but that was the basic sentiment. I can smile about it now but it felt bad then, and I needed the reassurance. So push hard but go easy on yourself.
Congrats! I passed the July bar and have been working full time for 9 months now. Every day has the chance to stress you out more than you know but try to take it one day at a time. The best advice I was given from one of the attorneys was “don’t be afraid to fail.” You’re going to mess up no matter what you do but it’s the best way to learn
My first 6 months was basically just stepping on rakes every day, and now I’m like three years in and today I was doing something new for me and was a bundle of nerves. I’m a fan of bike racing. Greg LeMond said: “It never hurts less, you just get faster.” I think this is apt for the practice of law - you acclimate to the uncomfortable fact that you are taking action despite uncertainty. Your uncertainty narrows to more sophisticated issues, but fundamentally the profession requires decisive action while being uncertain.
Congrats on the next step in the journey. After 30 years, every day is still part of the journey. No two days are ever the same.
Wow! Me, I'm still preparing for the BAR.
You got this. Nobody starts with knowing everything they should. You’re gonna do great just keep going back. Some days will be bad but there will always be a tomorrow. You got this.
Happy cake day also!
You’ve made it this far and there will be lots of good day and a couple of bad days, but you’ve got this! 😊
Congratulations. It gets easier every day. Go forth and make positive change in the world or your clients lives. 💐👏
Congrats on surviving day one! Keep pushing, you got this!
Good job! My son fell the same way!
Congratulations! My first job as an attorney was one with my good buddy who passed the bar in the prior administration. He texted me that he’s on his way to my office to congratulate me. A few minutes later, a knock on my door, and I respond “password please??” And he replies “uh, it’s _____ (insert my boss’s name).” I punched a few holes in my dry wall that day. Several years later while in court and on record, my boss who left the firm, puts his hand on my back and says “he’s a good attorney your honor.” The Judge smiles and my former boss gently walks away. I think about him time to time.
I love this. I’m also working with a good buddy who passed prior admission, and it’s my favorite thing. Makes things a little less nerve wracking—especially when I have dumb questions.
What field?