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Jagged Rocks of Wisdom: Professional Advice for the New Attorney
A new job is scary for anyone. A new job as an attorney is scary times the challenges are both substantive (as in actually knowing the law), as well as procedural (as in knowing how to act like an attorney). In this professional transition, many new attorneys fall by the wayside. This book is a guide to keep the new attorney on track. It includes advice for the new law firm associate, written by a Yale Law School graduate who made partner in a national law firm. Written in a first- and second-person tense and filled with no-nonsense guidance from someone actually in the mentorship role in a real-world law firm.
This is the first book in a Jagged Rocks of Wisdom series to help the new attorney. The second book, Jagged Rocks of Wisdom-The Mastering the Legal Memorandum, focuses on the many challenges of one of the major task for a new attorney - the law memo - for the highly demanding world of partners and clients. A third book, Jagged Rocks of Wisdom -Negotiation, is expected in 2011.
This is the first book in a Jagged Rocks of Wisdom series to help the new attorney. The second book, Jagged Rocks of Wisdom-The Mastering the Legal Memorandum, focuses on the many challenges of one of the major task for a new attorney - the law memo - for the highly demanding world of partners and clients. A third book, Jagged Rocks of Wisdom -Negotiation, is expected in 2011.
94 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2007
3 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 20, 2013
This book was mailed to me by a law firm before I began a 1L Summer Associate position at the firm. I found it helpful in some regards and outdated in others. There is no mention of best practices in a collaborative work environment. Instead, it presents an overly cautious, head down "everything is your fault" mentality that I found not applicable to my experience that summer.
March 1, 2011
Morten Lund is a partner in a law firm, but he also remembers what it was like to be a summer associate as well as a new attorney. In Jagged Rocks of Wisdom, he shares advice for surviving your first two years as a lawyer and getting yourself on the partnership track.
The book comes in at just under 90 pages, but the amount of information packed in there is truly impressive. Lund organizes his advice into "21 rules" that were originally conceived when he was giving a presentation to young associates. Within these principles are what Lund wishes "that somebody had told me . . . when I started the practice of law."
Chapter titles include:
* Proofread
* Everything Is Your Fault
* Take It Seriously -- Because It Is
* Admit Errors -- Sadly
* Take a Load Off -- Your Supervisor
* The Partner Is Not Your Friend
* It's Your Career -- It's Your Responsibility
Lund's book offers a peek into what really goes on in law firms and what is expected of junior associates from the perspective of a partner who has been through it all; while you may be tempted to flip through the book dismissing the tips as common sense, I recommend keeping this book by your side and paging through it periodically throughout your associate experience. The tips certainly all make sense once you think about them, but sometimes in new situations, in the moment, our common sense isn't as reliable as usual and more explicit guidance is helpful.
I give Lund's book five stars and highly recommend it to anyone embarking on a new career, especially in the law but even otherwise. Many of Lund's "rules" apply to workplaces no matter the sector, and much can be learned from taking to heart basic concepts like assuming everything is your fault and treating work like work -- and not homework for school. If you're about to start as a summer associate or new attorney, this book is simply a must-read.
The book comes in at just under 90 pages, but the amount of information packed in there is truly impressive. Lund organizes his advice into "21 rules" that were originally conceived when he was giving a presentation to young associates. Within these principles are what Lund wishes "that somebody had told me . . . when I started the practice of law."
Chapter titles include:
* Proofread
* Everything Is Your Fault
* Take It Seriously -- Because It Is
* Admit Errors -- Sadly
* Take a Load Off -- Your Supervisor
* The Partner Is Not Your Friend
* It's Your Career -- It's Your Responsibility
Lund's book offers a peek into what really goes on in law firms and what is expected of junior associates from the perspective of a partner who has been through it all; while you may be tempted to flip through the book dismissing the tips as common sense, I recommend keeping this book by your side and paging through it periodically throughout your associate experience. The tips certainly all make sense once you think about them, but sometimes in new situations, in the moment, our common sense isn't as reliable as usual and more explicit guidance is helpful.
I give Lund's book five stars and highly recommend it to anyone embarking on a new career, especially in the law but even otherwise. Many of Lund's "rules" apply to workplaces no matter the sector, and much can be learned from taking to heart basic concepts like assuming everything is your fault and treating work like work -- and not homework for school. If you're about to start as a summer associate or new attorney, this book is simply a must-read.
June 17, 2008
Jagged Rocks of Wisdom: Professional Advice for the New Attorney, by Morten Lund, provides important, relevant, practical, and helpful advice that tends to be overlooked and left out of law school curriculum. Lund combines his advice with personal experiences which results in a highly satisfying read. The book is formatted into 21 chapters, each containing a new rule (or jagged rock of wisdom) which build upon each other and culminate into a mountain of wisdom. Although the title suggests the advice is aimed at a new attorney, most of the advice given within the pages of this book can also be applied by anyone who is working in a setting that requires interaction with other people.
September 29, 2016
This is a very easy read, with very large font. Much like Biglaw: How to Survive the First Two Years of Practice in a Mega-Firm, Or, the Art of Doc Review, There just isn't a lot of content, so many things are repeated. A better format would have been a long article but that doesn't sell books.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews