I'd be thinking "oh shit, did I do that?"

So that Weil associates can stop flooding the lateral market, diminishing my chances of a move, coming from a lesser firm than Weil

Trying to access weil.com and nothing’s loading. Crazy times.

That’s it lol. These referral fees about to be nice.

Davis Polk Advises Weil Gotshal & Manges on Its Restructuring and Wind-Down

"Davis Polk advised Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (“Weil”) on its strategic wind-down and asset reorganization.

Headquartered in New York, Weil employed over 1,200 attorneys worldwide and was widely renowned for its premier Restructuring practice. Under the terms of the transaction, Weil’s operations were bifurcated into "PartnerCo" (whose remaining rainmakers have been absorbed into Davis Polk and Paul, Weiss) and "AssociateCo" (which will continue operating in perpetuity as a un-leveraged sweatshop "for the love of the game").

As part of this transaction, Davis Polk welcomed 36 leading partners from Weil across its Restructuring and M&A practices, effective immediately.

The Davis Polk team was led by managing partner Neil Barr and restructuring partner Brian Resnick, with support from a team of associates (whose billable hours on this matter will be written off).

How many of you write an email dealing with a thorny point of law, send it and then go back and reread your own email so you can bask in the sophistication of your analysis?

Be honest now.

All class years. V10. PM me with your name and I can reach out via LinkedIn.

This will probably help other juniors who are being fired, because as we know it’s all too common in our industry.

I was fired as a junior associate. Looking back, and objectively speaking as a more senior associate, the group honestly didn’t have enough work but I was inconsistent enough to be on the chopping block. It sucked. Major ego sting.

I worked with recruiters for two or three months and decided some of these people aren’t as useful as they claim. Eventually landed on my feet because I met someone at a conference a year before and went to a boutique firm for a few years. Still an ego sting because I wanted to be in big law but I had to humble myself and take the job.

Ironically, the job was the best role I’ve ever had. It was boutique so I got client interaction much quicker, had a better understanding of law firm economics, and learned QUICK because I was literally tossed in the water. Above all, the people were great. Looking back it was the positive experience I needed to shake off the nonsense I dealt with in my first job. Bottom line: I probably wouldn’t have learned all this if I were still in big law.

Then came end of last year, I was ready to go back. Still a bit scarred from my first experience but dedicated enough to bet on myself and get back to the trajectory I knew was for me. Despite months of applying through recruiters, I decided to send a cold email for a role I was interested in. By this time, I was generally applying on my own. I didn’t hear back for a few months and out of the blue, I was invited for the interview. I’m back in big law and doing the type of work I love. It wouldn’t have happened if I let my past experiences dampen or limit my outlook.

You have to have that hustle in you.

Some overall lessons:
1. Take accountability, reflect on what you did wrong, and try your best to avoid such situations again (of course doesn’t apply to the Weil folks, but for others in similar situations like myself)
2. Take ownership of your work so people respect you enough to rely on you
3. Go to conferences. Cultivate relationships with people.
3a. Cold email folks (of course where appropriate).
3b. Play an active role in maintaining those relationships ESPECIALLY if you’re significantly junior than the person who you’re seeking.
4. Put your pride aside and have the conversations. The legal field is a service based industry. Don’t the lack of one conversation that needs to be had limit you.
5. Enjoy the journey. Sometimes you get so frustrated about where you’re at currently but you don’t realize that you need to walk this path to get to your desired destination. Remember, everything is working out for your good (even when it doesn’t feel like it).
6. Advocate for yourself!
7. Be willing to negotiate.

Of course I’m missing tons of other important notes so others who have been through this or have been in the game, feel free to add some overall lessons.