11 March 2009
Introducing Grad Girl
Our newest contributor is Grad Girl, a recent BA/LLB (Hons) graduate who has now entered the high-flying world of a Top Tier corporate law firm as a Graduate Lawyer. Please make her feel welcome and follow her as she navigates billable hours, precedents, document management, mentoring partners, Practical Legal Training, copious amounts of coffee, and other such delights.
So, here I am. In the shiny, bright, yet tastefully decorated reception lounge of The Firm’s offices almost at the top of one of The City’s flashiest office buildings. I’ve made awkward introductions with the group of people who I’ll be spending a lot of time with, over the next year at least — my fellow Law Grads. We all know we need to stick together to survive the process of being at the bottom of the legal food chain, but also know we’ll have to compete with each other if more than the allocated quota wants to settle in a particular practice group after our rotations. And then compete for Senior Associateship. And Partnership.
And, in the current economic climate (aka “the Global Financial Crisis” aka “the GFC”), we’ll probably be competing just to keep our jobs at all.
Well. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? After all, it’s only 8:27 on Day 1.
The HR Graduate Co-Ordinator has just breezed out through the security doors that protect the inner sanctum of worker-bees from the fancier area dedicated for entertaining clients and protential recruits — where our fully-catered Vacation Clerkship and Graduate Interviewee functions were held last year, where we were wined, hor d’œurved and wooed by Partners and current employees and told that we were the Best of the Best, that they were the Best of the Best and that We Belong Together.
So, here I am.
More introductions. We’re told the Managing Partner is waiting to welcome us, and then ushered to a meeting room.
So, here I am.
Welcome to the rest of my life.
No billable hours yet. So far, so good.
xoxo
Grad Girl
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