Pay this message forward.

• Author: Conley, Steve
• Position: Message from the Editors

He Said

Tear out this page after you read it and pass it on to a few junior-level attorneys you'd like to see become senior-levels.

Well, not to go all Geico on you, but six minutes of advice from Andy Hartman, an attorney with whom I've worked, may save 60 percent or more of young attorneys' careers.

"The Six-Minute Marathon" is a quick-read book designed to teach new practitioners, law students and others about a "BigLaw" life, drawing practical examples from Hartman's time as a corporate attorney and law school educator.

Hartman said recently that holes in the law-school curriculum may impact a young attorney's ability to integrate into a firm.

"There's something missing in the law school education that is necessary to be a successful associate or, really, junior attorney at any mid- to large (legal) organization," said Hartman, 47, who a few years ago ran the junior associate review process at Cooley LLP.

These days he teaches and leads the experiential education program at the University of Colorado Law School and practices as a name-partner at a small firm. Over coffee, Hartman noted that some missing law-ed pieces revolve around marketing, internal and external. Others center upon how a firm or legal department works, formally and informally.

Young attorneys "just didn't understand what it took to be successful in their transition to practice," even if they'd gone to top schools or were extremely intelligent, Hartman said. So, about five years ago, he began the how-to book, along the way adding Caren Ulrich Stacy as editor, muse and foil. It was published earlier this year and is worth a read.

Here is a condensed version of their self-styled banter about timekeeping descriptions (though chapters on partying etiquette or Porches may be more enticing to some):

Andy: "Nothing is more irritating ... to the billing partner than having to change an associate's time entries for stylistic reasons," so they conform to group norms.

Caren: "When in doubt ... think of it from the perspective of the client ... (who) will decide based on your time entry whether or not you add value to the case. Approach timekeeping like interviewing, be flawless."

She Said

In my conversations with attorneys throughout the years, I have been struck by how many fell into what they do. When I'm working with someone on a marketing or business development plan, I sometimes ask them who their favorite client is and how they got into the practice area in which they are...