Big Law Offers Some Big Opportunities—So Make the Most of Them

There are many signs that fall is here. Pumpkin spice lattes are dominating Starbucks. Halloween candy displays are taking over the local CVS.

And, at large law firms, fresh-faced newcomers are wandering the halls or joining Zoom calls. Welcome, new associates!

Back in August, I wrote a column offering counsel to new law clerks. It proved popular, so in the spirit of the season, I wanted to provide advice to incoming associates.

I’ve written this with Big Law associates in mind, since the world of large law firms is my focus as a journalist. But the advice applies generally to new lawyers entering private practice, regardless of firm size.

Many of these tips might seem obvious. But I know of situations where associates didn’t follow this advice—usually to their detriment. So here goes.

1. Act as if you want to make partner—even if you don’t.

I spent less than three years at a firm, and that’s par for the course in Big Law: Most associates don’t stick around long enough to be considered for partnership. But even if you know from your first day of work that you won’t be staying at the firm, it’s to your advantage to act as if you might be.

Firms invest the most in associates who seem like future partners. These associates receive the best work, greater mentorship, and more opportunities generally, at least compared with peers who come across as “tourists” (to use a term that one former firm chair used with me).

If you act like an aspiring partner, you’ll do your best work—so if and when you leave, you’ll have strong references from the firm. You’ll also enjoy your time at the firm more if you approach it enthusiastically, rather than as an ordeal to endure until you pay off your student loans.

As longtime Cleary Gottlieb partner Paul Shim said to me, “We’ve all heard the adage, ‘Do what you love.’ I would say, ‘Love what you do’—because no matter what it is you do, chances are you can find a way to make yourself proud of it. You can find a way to find some enjoyment out of some aspect of it. And if you can do that, then you’ll not mind doing it.”

And careers take surprising turns. One managing partner told me that when he first joined his firm, his plan was to work there for a few years, get good experience, and then return to his native Tennessee. But he fell in love with both his work and the firm—and 25 years later, he found himself running the place.

2. Take the initiative in your cases or deals.

Apply a go-getter mindset not just to your career writ large, but to the individual matters you handle as a lawyer. When you start off, you might be given projects that seem modest or menial (though less so than in decades past, thanks to technology). Do your best with every task, think about where it fits into the litigation or transaction as a whole, and look for ways to contribute beyond the narrow assignment you’ve been given.

As Davis Polk partner Shanu Bajaj put it, “Roll up your sleeves and take the initiative. [Many new lawyers are] used to learning in an academic setting: They’re sitting down, someone’s in the front teaching them everything they need to know, there’s a textbook in front of them.” But law firms are different: “A lot of the learning is self-done,” so you need to be a self-starter.

Teach yourself. Learn as much as you can about your cases and clients, as well as the practice areas and industries you find yourself working in. Ask questions. Acquire as much knowledge as possible, and draw on that knowledge to serve your firm and your clients.

As Mark Herrmann wrote in “The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law,” a classic of the advice-for-young-lawyers genre, “You are not a potted plant. You are valuable, and you can make yourself even more valuable. Prove to the firm that you are indispensable. We can be convinced, and it will open up a world of opportunity for you.”

3. Follow the news—about your firm and about the legal industry as a whole.

Doing excellent legal work is necessary but not enough to thrive in the legal profession. Careers unfold in a broader context—and that context plays a major role in how careers turn out.

Don’t just bury your head in the court filings or deal documents that make up your day-to-day work. Take time to read about how your firm is faring in an increasingly competitive legal marketplace. Monitor the broader trends shaping the industry. What some might dismiss as gossip is competitive intelligence, and it could have a greater effect on your professional trajectory than seemingly more substantial information.

You could (and should) be doing superb legal work for a particular partner or for your firm. But what if that partner moves to a rival, taking no associates with them? Or what if your firm starts to stumble, then gets swallowed up by a larger firm—or, worse yet, goes under?

If you pay no attention to industry news, you could be caught flat-footed by such developments. If you follow the news closely, you might be able to anticipate them—and adjust your career plans accordingly.

4. Keep up with technology—then harness it to help you and your clients.

The days of going to law school because you’re “not a STEM person,” then largely steering clear of technology for the rest of your career, are over. For better or worse, legal tech has become too important to ignore.

This is especially true in the age of artificial intelligence. As Gibson Dunn partner Orin Snyder recently said to me, “Any lawyer in 2025 who is not utilizing AI technology is underserving their clients, because it is a valuable tool to both get work done more efficiently and, in some instances, better.”

Follow the world of legal tech. Read about products available to lawyers in your space and those tools’ capabilities and limitations. Contact your firm’s tech folks and volunteer to try out new products. Learn as much as you can about how to use the latest technology—and how to not misuse it.

Today is a great time to be starting off in Big Law. In the words of Roy Strom, “associates have never had it better than they do right now.”

There’s less grunt work, thanks to the combination of technology and high billing rates—because clients won’t pay $800 an hour for associates to do work that machines can do (often better). There’s also less tolerance for mistreatment of associates and staff by partners.

The financial rewards for lawyers who stay in Big Law are greater than ever. But so are exit opportunities for lawyers who leave, given the rise of fields such as legal tech and litigation finance.

If you’ve managed to land a job as an associate—in Big Law, at an elite boutique, or with some other amazing law firm—congratulations. I wish you the best of luck as you embark on your career in private practice.

David Lat, a lawyer turned writer, publishes Original Jurisdiction. He founded Above the Law and Underneath Their Robes, and is author of the novel “Supreme Ambitions.”

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