What Happens on Your First Day at a Law Firm?

Starting at your first law firm can feel exciting, awkward, intimidating, and strangely high stakes, all at the same time.

In this solo episode of Lawyer Launcher, I break down what orientation is really about, what law firms are actually paying attention to in your first few days, and how law students can build trust, confidence, and credibility from day one.

This is not fluff. It is practical advice about what to do when you arrive, how to engage during orientation, what invisible mistakes to avoid, how to interact with lawyers and staff, and how to manage the discomfort of being new without disappearing into the wallpaper.

If you are a summer student, articling student, or law student about to start in a firm, this episode will help you look more prepared, feel less lost, and understand what your first week is really doing to shape your reputation.

Show notes

Episode topic:
What orientation is really about, what firms notice immediately, and how law students can make smart, practical moves in their first week.

Guest
This is a solo episode, so there are no guest links for this one.

Lawyer Launcher links
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YouTube: youtube.com/@LawyerLauncher-BTB
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/susanpvandyke

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Most law students think orientation in your first firm is just information. It's not. It's the first time your firm starts forming an opinion about you. And it begins the moment you walk into the firm. So if you're worried about looking lost in your first week, this is the episode you need to hear before you start your first day. By the end of this episode, you're going to feel more prepared, you're going to be more relaxed, and maybe even more excited to start at your first law firm. Let's go. So let's talk about what's actually going on during orientation. Because on the surface, it looks really straightforward. Now, to be clear, orientation is going to be different. If you're in a small firm, it might be half a day or less. In a larger firm, it could be three, four days, maybe a week. It could be, you know, depending on how big the firm is and how much they need to share with you, it's going to, you know, adjust to the firm size and certainly their resources to put into orientation. But on the surface, it's going to look really straightforward. You're meeting people, you're getting introduced to the firm, you're learning systems and processes, and it will feel like a bit of a blur because there's a lot of new information coming at you. And you're also learning a lot of names and you're in a lot of sessions. So it's easy to think that you've just got to get through these sessions and absorb what you can and just get through it. But that's not actually the real job. The real job, there's something else happening under the surface. This is where the firm starts to first experience you. Not your legal skills or your technical ability because you haven't had that opportunity yet, but it's how you show up, how you engage, how you respond, and how you interact with people. Those are the things that are gonna get noticed. And most students don't realize that much of their early reputation is built in these very first few days. So in this episode, I want to break that down for you. What orientation is really about, what firms are actually paying attention to, and how to approach it in a way that helps you rather than quietly working against you. So let's hit started. Welcome to the Lawyer Launcher Podcast. Hello, friends, I'm your host, Susan Van Dyke. If you're a law student or a new lawyer eager to launch a successful career, you're in the right place. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience, I'll demystify the business of law and help you understand just what it takes to succeed. We'll empower you, help build confidence, and reduce anxiety. Our experts will share tips and advice, and I can't wait for you to hear from them. Now, let's dive in. So let's get into what actually happens in a typical orientation. And again, it can be different in different firms, but typically when a student shows up, you will be greeted at reception. So on your very first day, you would go to reception and announce yourself and provide your name and say it's you're a summer student or an articling student, it's your first day, and uh you believe you are due at that time of day and waiting for an orientation. There might be somebody's name that you've been given to ask for at reception, it might be human resources, it might be a talent professional, it might be a principal, it might be a firm founder, but when they'll be expecting you. So when you first show up, provide your name and uh and wait for somebody to come and collect you from reception. At that point, you're probably going to be walked around the office if you haven't seen it already. Maybe grab a coffee, you'll be shown where to put your bag down in your coat and uh find your desk and all that. They might give you a few minutes to kind of settle in. They might also take you and start introductions around the immediate area of where your office is. Maybe there's other students, maybe you know them, maybe you don't know them. So there's going to be some effort to settle you in, show you where the washroom is, show you where the coffee station is, etc. So that's your minute where you can settle in, but you're really in their hands and they are going to really prescribe the next period of time to make sure that you are properly oriented. Sometimes that's going to include an actual physical schedule. They might have emailed it to you beforehand, but you'll probably have a schedule with some dates and times of people and departments that you're meeting. Um, so I would carry that around with you. The other thing I would do is grab a notebook. Um, better to the optics are better to write down your notes. If you have to write them on your phone or on a digital device, you know, that's not the end of the world, but it's important that you're prepared to take notes because that shows that you're engaged and you're not going to require people to repeat themselves. So there will be introductions, there will be, you'll probably go through all the various departments in the firm. You're very likely, almost certainly going to get some IT training, some systems training, how to log in. You might get assigned a laptop if you are going to be working remotely at all. So it's important that you ask questions and you know how that you're retaining information and that you're able to step into your um your first day independently, it might, which might be the next day, it might be a couple of days later, that you know how to log into the system and you know it's expected of you. You might likely get invited for lunch on that first day, and it might include a if there's a practice group meeting taking place on that same day, maybe you'll get invited. And often if a practice group meeting is taking place or a lawyer meeting taking place during lunch, that usually lunch is brought in. And I would just follow the other lawyers. If there's a lineup for a sandwich, line up with the lawyers and uh do introduce yourself to those around you. And I'm sure that somebody's gonna be with you. I'm not sure, but it's likely somebody's gonna be with you to help you navigate through that meeting. So it might be the practice group leader, it might be the partner, it might be senior associate, or it might be another student who's going to help you navigate through that. So in a meeting, you're sitting, you're taking notes, you're listening, you'll probably be introduced. Um, perfectly great if you said it's really nice to be here. Um, looking forward to joining the firm. I've really been really impressed so far. Thanks so much. And and you could remain silent if you wanted to for the balance of the meeting and just take things in and really observe what's going on around you. Look and see how people are conducting themselves. Um, maybe there's an agenda that's been provided. I would follow the agenda. And again, take some notes and show that you have some interest. And perhaps after the meeting, if you have questions, you could ask them. If you're at if you're comfortable during the meeting, by all means and you're invited to ask questions, ask your questions. If you're feeling a bit shy and still getting, you know, your feet under you, then ask the questions privately afterwards to the practice group leader or anyone else who's in the meeting. So in the afternoon, you might be continuing on in your meetings and your orientation. Along the way, important that you show that you are engaged, you're interested, you're asking good questions, um, you look at some, look like somebody who's easy to talk to and engage with. Um, you're somebody who's being observant of what's going on around you, and that you don't look disinterested or overwhelmed. And if you need to step away, a great way to take a little minute for yourself is go get a glass of water. Maybe you need to use the washroom, perfectly fine. Um, I would put your phone away, maybe put it at your desk or just tuck it away so it's not even on the table. Just put it in your pocket or put it somewhere where it's not actually present so that it shows that you're really paying attention to what's going on and show good sort of attention span with whoever is holding the meeting at that time. So people aren't judging you yet to your legal ability, but they're looking at how it feels like to engage with you. So make sure you're coming across friendly and smiley and that you are eager to learn and take an interest, ask questions. You could ask a person who's orientating you, how long have they been with the firm? Um, what do they like most about the firm? Have I they always worked in that office, et cetera, et cetera. So take an interest in who is orientating you for that particular time, that meeting time, because they have their own story. And chances are you're going to be interacting with them again and again over the course of your time with the firm. So now is the time to start building a relationship. And, you know, feel free to share about yourself as well. Maybe you're from Toronto, you're from Calgary, you're from Vancouver, and you've returned home to be with your family from school, et cetera. So share a little bit about yourself, whatever you're comfortable with. But people want to get to know you. They really want to get to know you. And I would say, in all the firms that I've worked with, I don't know that there's an exception to this, but people are pretty excited about students coming in. Um, it's there's a new energy and it's refreshing and uh it's fun to sort of show off your firm and you have a connection in that you you both enjoy and take an interest in the firm. So share in that interest and uh and just enjoy the orientation. So I want to take a minute now and talk a little bit about what you might be worried about as you're thinking about starting in your first firm. And I'm going to share with you my first experience in my firm. I had never hired a lawyer. I had never stepped inside a law firm before, aside from my interviews. Obviously, I was in their office during the interviews. Well, not obviously, but I was. And um, everything felt intimidating. I didn't know what to do with myself. I had been working in my field in marketing for a few years, um, but law was completely new for me. And it was um, I felt fish out of water. Um, I didn't want to mess up. I was very concerned about looking stupid. I was um intimidated by the language as well. I didn't really understand all the legal language. So, of course, you'll have that advantage that uh that I didn't have. So when I think about a law student coming in, and certainly what I've seen, I know that you don't know what to do. I know that you don't want to look stupid. I know you don't know how to act, when to speak, or you know, you don't know what matters, what you know, what should matter, and how to respond to things. And I just want to say, I mean, this starts to look like imposter syndrome. And I know we've covered this a lot on the podcast, but every single person feels this way. Everybody feels this way on their first day when they're just starting. So it's no different for anyone. The difference for you is how you manage the discomfort that you're feeling as you start. And we're gonna get into a little bit about how you can manage that. And it will take some confidence and it will take some acceptance of discomfort. But the discomfort's going to be at its greatest the first day or two. And after that, things are gonna get easier fairly quickly. And you're, you know, there's gonna be hills and valleys, but eventually things are gonna start to smooth out a little bit as time goes on. It's much like when you started in law school, right? Maybe a little bit different, more pressure, and feeling a little bit more isolated and maybe lonely, depending on how many other law students are amongst you. But for sure it's gonna get easier. But just no, going in, it's gonna feel a little weird at first. Sorry, I'm gonna interrupt really quickly. Don't forget to subscribe. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button. And while you're at it, why don't you shoot this episode to somebody who could use it? Just send it off. Send it off to two or three people. Let them know that you're thinking of them and and you thought of them as you were listening to this episode because something in here is relevant for them. And you're gonna do them a huge favor by sharing this episode with them. So while you're thinking of it right now, while I'm interrupting this episode, shoot them that um that uh share button and get it into somebody else's hands so they get the help that they need as well. Thank you. What firms are actually expecting of you during orientation is retention of the information that's being provided to you. It's not to say that you can't ask questions later on, but predominantly they're looking for you to retain instructions, retain information, respect the operating procedures of the firm, follow their guidance, ask questions if something isn't clear, perfectly fine to ask questions. That's a sign of confidence and that you it matters to you that you are understanding the instructions and that you want to follow the guidelines and expectations of the firm. So ask questions if something's not clear. Take notes, ask where there are resources that further support the orientation materials that you're getting and how to access those. They might be on an intranet, they might be online somewhere else, but ask how you can find them and go ahead and try to find them. If you have a login, go ahead and actually log in and actually look to see where you can find those resources. It's one thing to be told where something is, it's quite another to follow a path and actually do it for yourself because your retention will be better if you do it for yourself. You want to make sure that you are present, paying attention, you're asking questions. You want to know, you want to make sure you're not over-talking or interrupting. The folks that you're meeting with for orientation, they have a certain amount of information that they really want to impart on you, and they really want to make sure it's sticky. So they have a plan and they have a bulk of knowledge that they want to, you know, transfer over to you. So important that you're listening carefully, not over-talking, not too many questions. You want to kind of maybe absorb a little bit, ask some questions, but you'll have opportunities later on to go in and reconnect with that individual and ask additional questions. And usually there's an opportunity at the end of orientation or the end of that segment of your orientation for questions. That's another invitation as well. So do pick up on those tones and those cues. Mind the time that somebody has allocated, might be one hour blocks of time in your orientation. So just be mindful of the time and when it's running out. And if you get a break during your orientation, you'll probably get a break. Make sure you're going to take care of yourself. If you need to go and use the loo, go use the loo and uh get a snack and take care of yourself. You might want to sit down and just have a quiet minute at your desk, perfectly fine. And just recharge for a minute. Maybe look over your notes, try to log into the system as you've been shown, figure out how to use the phone system. Um, maybe take a peek at your phone and then put it away again. So take those breaks, make sure you're fueling, make sure you're taking care of yourself when you do. Another thing that they're going to be looking for is how you are responding to and treating and interacting with everyone in the firm. Not just the lawyers and the partners, but also the assistants, the coordinators, the receptionists, the people in office services who are running the mail room and photocopying, et cetera. That's a really busy department. You want to make sure that you're connecting with them and showing an interest in them. Chances are you're going to be using the photocopier at some point, and you want to make friends in the office services department so they can help you when you've forgotten your code and how to sort of log in to use a photocopier and so forth. So make sure that you're treating everyone equally. Junior lawyers, fellow assistants, everyone should have equal interest and equal opportunity to get to know you. So the orientation is really about retention of information, engagement with the person you're meeting with, and signaling an interest and not, you know, not looking sleepy, not yawning, trying to stay awake. If you need to stand up and stretch for a minute, do that. I mean, everyone appreciates that orientations can be long and that you're, you know, it's intense and it can be a bit of a blur. I think that's pretty much acknowledged. So if you need to just walk around the block for a minute really quickly, you should ask to do that. Just be mindful of the time it takes to do so. There are invisible mistakes that some students can make. Some of them include things like staying quiet in orientation to avoid any risk or looking stupid, trying too hard to impress, maybe showing off things that you know that take your the person who's orientating you off track too long. Only focusing on partners, meeting partners and really lighting up when you meet partners, ignoring staff is another area that you want to be thoughtful about and not avoiding other staff. Not learning names, important that you learn names. And if it's maybe a name you haven't heard, an unusual name, stop and learn how to pronounce the name properly. That's important. Not following up with people that you've met. I think it'd be great to follow up after your orientation and connect with each of those people who spent time with you and thank them for the orientation and maybe mention something that was particularly interesting. Maybe they invite you for questions. So just have a little bit of interaction with those people because they're taking pride in their in their area of interest and they're taking pride in the kind of content they're sharing with you. So if you circle back and thank them, that would that would, I think, go a long way to building relationships. And avoid checking out mentally in that this doesn't matter. You're just trying to get through orientation so you can get to your desk and meet with lawyers and get your first assignment. The orientation is set up, there's actually an investment in the firm in orientating you. So take a sincere interest in the orientation, retain it, ask questions, and um, and plan to follow all the instructions that you get from all of those that took the time to orientate you. So most students don't fail because of big mistakes. They lose ground through some of the small signals that show disinterest and lack of engagement. Okay, if there are invisible mistakes, there are also hidden opportunities. And some of the hidden opportunities for you in your first few days during orientation and as you're getting settled in will include signaling that you're going to be somebody who's going to be easy to work with. So during your first few days, if you're asked for something, if there's something administrative that you need to do, make sure you're following up thoroughly with that person and providing exactly what they need. It might not be from a lawyer, it might be from one of the administration team, it might be from one of the management team members. Make sure you're following up fully with them, thanking them for their help and providing what they need so that they can finish a task and move on and make sure that you are fully administratively settled so that your payroll is set up, etc. I would definitely go back to your desk and try to log in, make sure that's going to be most important. Make sure that you can navigate around the computer systems and make sure that you can get into the document management system, the billing system. Really take an interest in that. And you might like to do that in the evening at home alone. You might like to do it the next day if you have spare time to do that. The quicker you get oriented and you get more comfortable, and you again, you might want to do this on your own, or you might like to do it with a fellow student, um, shoulder to shoulder to kind of work through the different prompts and systems, then um I would go ahead and do that. It's important that you get oriented as quickly as possible. And if you have questions, ask questions. Most most firms have a help desk. Um, even senior partners use the help desk, help desk regularly in IT. So you won't be any different, but important that you allow yourself the opportunity to get set up quickly because that will reduce your stress. So that's that's one of the hidden opportunities you have is get set up quickly and follow the instructions because you've taken notes, right? You've taken notes or you've received materials and you're following those through really carefully. So you don't really need to stand out. You just need to look like somebody who's reasonably comfortable and somebody who others can work with. So take an interest, smile. Um, you know, don't talk too much, don't talk too little, ask questions, make a few comments, thank people, and move on. And uh and be mindful of people's time. That's gonna be a great way for you to start. So there's not a lot expected of you for sure. Relax, try to get into it, really take an interest and uh and appreciate those that are putting time into orientating you. Okay, let's get into some practical advice that you might like to try or adopt during those first few days, that first week, your orientation period as you're getting settled in. You're learning the names of people that you've met. You might even want to note them in your notes wherever you're keeping notes. You might have a physical description of them, tall, dark. Um, you know, you might have a little physical description and put their name, maybe how to phonetically um spell, how to phonetically say their name so that you can pronounce them when you see it, you see them the next time. So use, learn and use names. That's a great way of building relationships. Um, ask a couple thoughtful questions. Don't ask too many, just a couple thoughtful questions that keep sort of the engagement going when you're meeting with people. Um, you're probably going to meet with your principal, so you'll want to put that in your calendar and make sure that you're spending time with your principal. It might be lunch on your first few days or your first week. It might simply be a meeting, a sit-down in their office, but make sure that you're scheduling that into your calendar because now you're logging in and now there's going to be an increasing expectation that you're going to be managing your own calendar. So if you meet your principal, let's say you meet your principal in the hallway and you have a nice interaction and they say, When are you free? You pull out your orientation schedule and you say, Well, it doesn't look like I have anything planned for this Thursday afternoon. If you're free, I have some time then. And if they look at their calendar and say, Yep, that sounds great. You could say, if you feel comfortable, you could say to them, okay, let me try to book us a meeting in the in our calendars. Let me see if I can log in and get that booked. And that shows great initiative. And you could just book it for 30 minutes, or you could ask how much time we should book for ourselves, 30 minutes. Half an hour. Should we meet in your office? Where would you like to meet? And then you go back to your computer when you have a minute that same day or later that evening. Try to log on. And you would pull up a calendar notice and you would put in the title line orientation meeting with Susan Van Dyke and lawyer name. And then you put in the time and then you would, you know, send them as an invite and you would send them that invitation. And hopefully they'll accept it. So you'll receive that they've accepted their invitation. So that, and I would also actually put in the location of the meeting too in so-and-so's office, in lawyer's name office in person. Um, that's how I would do it. And if you have trouble uh booking that meeting and getting it into the calendar, that's when you ask for help. Look, I'm trying to book this meeting with my principal. Can you help me this one time so I can just learn practically how to get that done? You might already have mastered how to do calendar invitations, and if you have, that's fantastic. I would just follow those steps so that uh the lawyer doesn't isn't burdened with that task that you're taking care of it for them. And then of course it's in your calendar and hopefully it shows up on your phone as well, and now you have it booked. And uh, if anyone else tries to, you know, book that time, you already have something scheduled, and so you might get into some prioritization issues. But a meeting with your principal is going to be pretty important. So that's one practical piece of advice. Another would be if it feels slow, if you're getting through your orientation and you don't have any meetings yet, that might be a great time to meet with your principal if you haven't already. It might be a great time to meet with HR or a talent professional to find out what your next steps are. Um, you could do some reading on the firm intranet, you could look at files, you could look at all kinds of things. So, and if you're lucky enough to have a firm librarian, that would be another great place to start to ask what kinds of things you should be reading right off the bat if you don't have any work. And then you're going to start thinking about how do we initiate work. And usually that's going to come to you pretty quickly. But if you're slow, ask around what you should be doing. Absolutely. I would also at this point look how others are behaving. So if you see, if you happen to see that a meeting is taking place the following day, it's it might be a practice group meeting, those are good ones to join. Um, you might, if you feel bold enough and you have time and it's, you know, an area of interest for you, you might ask, you know, is that something like, am I able to attend a practice group meeting? I would love to sit in quietly if that's not an inappropriate thing for me to do. I would ask, you know, take that initiative. Worst thing they're going to say is, actually, no, we already have you booked for something else for for tomorrow, but you know, you're welcome to attend other practice group meetings. So um, so that's fine. So, so do put your hand up when you can and take some initiative wherever you can. But I would also look to see how there's how others are engaging around the office and and observe what's working well, what is normal behavior for your office. People going for a coffee, you will usually have a chat in the coffee room, in the hallway. And as you're meeting people and they're looking at you, you might extend your hand and say, Hi, I'm I'm a new summer student here, I'm Susan, and reach out, nice firm handshake, a nice smile. And uh, and sorry, your name is and get their name. Oh, and what area of law are you in? Would we have an opportunity to meet or to work at some point? Oh, you work in real estate. Oh, you know, my family's in real estate, or I love real estate. That was a really interesting area of law for me in school. I'd love to sort of sit down and chat with you if ever I had the chance to go for coffee with you or maybe lunch sometime. By the way, lawyers love to go for lunch and have meetings over lunch because it's a good use of their time. And it might be sandwiches in the office, it might be across the street at a restaurant, and you can bet they're gonna pick up the bill. They're not gonna expect a student to pick up the bill. If ever that gets awkward and you're with somebody who's really junior, just pick up the bill and talk to somebody about it and see if there's a budget for the odd lunch. But if a lawyer, somebody senior is inviting you to lunch, they're gonna pick up the bill. So don't worry about that at all. It's a good use of their time. So as you're meeting people, extend your hand, introduce yourself, tell them where you're going to law school, tell them where you're from. Are you from the city that the firm is practicing in? Um, what area of law do they practice? How long have they been with the firm? Is it a busy time for them? If it's busy, you know, certainly ask if you can help do some research or something for them. That would be a great way to extend yourself. So practical things to keep you busy, keep you engaged, build relationships, and whatever you do, follow through on every promise that you make, every expectation that's made of you. Okay, so we've just gone through what your first week might look like. And I just want to emphasize it's not a throwaway week. It is the first week that you have the opportunity to build your reputation, to show that what matters to the firm, because they're investing in that week and all the different people that are meeting with you, matters to you as well. What matters to them really needs to matter to you, that you are building relationships with everyone you meet. I'll tell you, I um did some consulting work for a large firm based in Vancouver, really, really great firm that I liked a lot. And their receptionist was like the ringleader of the firm. She had been with the firm, it must it certainly was over 20 years. She knew everybody in the firm. She knew clients by name. She was revered for her hospitality, for her client-centric um attitudes, for running the, you know, the boardrooms and everything really well. And so, you know, you just never know, you know, the positions that people hold in a firm. So treat everyone well in a really sincere way and get to know them because everyone, you know, it just takes a team to run a firm and everyone has value. So make sure that you're you're doing so with um with sincerity. Don't be invisible, don't be quiet. Quiet is not safety. Quiet is not going to serve you well. Quiet will make you invisible. So take an interest, ask a few questions, and build relationships. At the same time, don't be over-eager. Let people get through the material they need to get through during the time they have allocated to meet with you. Make it easy for people to impart that information. Um build a relationship. If you if you're lucky enough to have an assistant or a part of an assistant's time, make sure you're building a relationship with that person and let them train you, let them lead the way. They know what they're doing. Um, I know firms that have put in, it might sound counterintuitive, but I know firms that have sent in the most senior Whip Smart assistant to help junior lawyers, sometimes students, but certainly junior lawyers, go in and sort them up, sort them out, set them up strong, and actually be a really significant part of the onboarding training for new lawyers. And it's just magical because they sort them out. That's that student and junior doesn't get a chance to create a bad habit because um a senior assistant is all over how they're gonna manage their practice. So it's a real, it's a real gift. So just to ensure that you're understanding that your reputation starts the day you start, settle in, take good care of yourself. If you are a real introvert and it's a bit overwhelming, take those moments, sit, you know, sit by yourself at your desk for a minute. You know, if you have a break, go outside, get some fresh air, get a coffee, sit by yourself for a while, review your notes, look at the firm news on their website, just keep studying the firm, look at bios, who did you meet, look up their bio and read a little more about them because that will help you recall their practice area, recall their name. Fortunately, now bios have pictures and faces so that uh you can retain who they are and who you've met. And just continue to make notes that you can refer to over time. And after your first week, I really want you to celebrate because that first weekend that you have, and you now are able to log in, you know where to put your lunch, you've met a few people, and you're starting to get settled in. Now you can start to look forward to getting some first assignments, and maybe you've had some already. So I'm excited to hear how that goes for you. And I look forward to your comments. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss any of the episodes. And I look forward to seeing you at the next time. Take care.