Fictional Law Firm Help!

[3113]

Working on a story with Tom Collins and one of the characters belongs to a law firm. We need those in the know to help us with the correct terms.

Our Law Firm is neither huge nor tiny--Ally McBeal scale and, while not as wacky, likewise inbetween strictly formal and jeans/tee-shirt informal. That is to say, most days those working for the firm are in business suits, but their interaction is friendly.

Upper middle class clients with some pro bono work, usually law suits, etc.

So, here's the questions:
1) About how many people would be working at such a firm?
2) How many partners? How many jr. Partners?
3) How many not partners at all?
4) Those not partners--what are they called by the Firm? Is there a technical name for them?
5) Would there be, um, "Interns"? Is that the right word? I'm talking law students hired to do grunt work and so earn experience--but they haven't got their degree yet and so they're really not part of the firm.
6) How many secretaries? I assume partners would share just one or two?

Might have a few more questions, but those will do for a start. I probably know all this from t.v. laws shows, but I hardly want to rely on those.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Working on a story with Tom Collins and one of the characters belongs to a law firm. We need those in the know to help us with the correct terms.

Our Law Firm is neither huge nor tiny--Ally McBeal scale and, while not as wacky, likewise inbetween strictly formal and jeans/tee-shirt informal. That is to say, most days those working for the firm are in business suits, but their interaction is friendly.

Upper middle class clients with some pro bono work, usually law suits, etc.

So, here's the questions:
1) About how many people would be working at such a firm?
2) How many partners? How many jr. Partners?
3) How many not partners at all?
4) Those not partners--what are they called by the Firm? Is there a technical name for them?
5) Would there be, um, "Interns"? Is that the right word? I'm talking law students hired to do grunt work and so earn experience--but they haven't got their degree yet and so they're really not part of the firm.
6) How many secretaries? I assume partners would share just one or two?

Might have a few more questions, but those will do for a start. I probably know all this from t.v. laws shows, but I hardly want to rely on those.

1. There could be 10 to 30 in a law firm that size.
2. There would be 1 or 2 senior partners and 2 to 5 juniors
3. If I understand you question, you are asking the same thing as in 1 and 2.
4. Non-partners are normally referred to as Associates
5. You wouldn't have interns, but you could have 1 or 2 "Law Clerks" who are Law Students doing the OJT thing.
6. You could have a receptionist and 1 or 2 secretaries. More likely, rather than secretaries, you would have Legal Assistants who would do that job in a small firm. Most likely you would have one LA for every 3 or 4 lawyers. In a larger firm there would be a secretary for each of the senior partners and one for each 6 or 7 lawyers plus an LA for every 3 or 4 lawyers.

Hope that helps.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

1) About how many people would be working at such a firm?
For each lawyer there may be two other people. Plus one at reception.
2) How many partners? How many jr. Partners?
They may all be partners until they get big enough to hire non-partners or jr. partners.
3) How many not partners at all?
How many can they support?
4) Those not partners--what are they called by the Firm? Is there a technical name for them?
Lawyers?!?
5) Would there be, um, "Interns"? Is that the right word? I'm talking law students hired to do grunt work and so earn experience--but they haven't got their degree yet and so they're really not part of the firm. "Law Clerks" is the proper term for Law Students working for a law firm.
6) How many secretaries? I assume partners would share just one or two?
In a mid-size firm and even in small firms I have seen an "Administrative Assistant" for each Lawyer.

Not trying to be a smartass, the first three questions will be up to you. A law firm can be structured anyway your want. If the partners are good like "Ally McBeal" then they can support more people as employee's.

If they are more "Boston Legal" bad then I have know Idea what I'm talking about and will refer you to my lawyers.

The last three I'm pretty sure of though.

 

[3113]

1. There could be 10 to 30 in a law firm that size.
2. There would be 1 or 2 senior partners and 2 to 5 juniors
3. If I understand you question, you are asking the same thing as in 1 and 2.
4. Non-partners are normally referred to as Associates
5. You wouldn't have interns, but you could have 1 or 2 "Law Clerks" who are Law Students doing the OJT thing.
6. You could have a receptionist and 1 or 2 secretaries. More likely, rather than secretaries, you would have Legal Assistants who would do that job in a small firm. Most likely you would have one LA for every 3 or 4 lawyers. In a larger firm there would be a secretary for each of the senior partners and one for each 6 or 7 lawyers plus an LA for every 3 or 4 lawyers.

Hope that helps.

That helps lots. Thank you, thank you!

 

[glynndah]

My husband works as an appellate defender. His law office has law students how work every summer and they are called "interns". Okay, last year they were referred to as "the girlies", but that's not what you asked.

 

[3113]

My husband works as an appellate defender. His law office has law students how work every summer and they are called "interns". Okay, last year they were referred to as "the girlies", but that's not what you asked.

Heh. I'm sure each law firm has it's own, er, name for such students

 

[Lisa Denton]

That size law firm would prolly have some other non-assosiate partners, ambulance chasers and such, and a local over the hill celebrity to do the commercials where they say they will "fight, fight, fight" for every penny you deserve, or don't deserve.

Just a opinion from a non-expert.

 

[3113]

That size law firm would prolly have some other non-assosiate partners, ambulance chasers and such, and a local over the hill celebrity to do the commercials where they say they will "fight, fight, fight" for every penny you deserve, or don't deserve.

I was trying to make it just a wee bit more respectable than that.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

That size law firm would prolly have some other non-assosiate partners, ambulance chasers and such, and a local over the hill celebrity to do the commercials where they say they will "fight, fight, fight" for every penny you deserve, or don't deserve.

Just a opinion from a non-expert.

Actually, Lisa has a point. There are some smaller sized law firms I know of locally who use "independant contract attorneys" during periods of need. This skirts the need for statutory withholding and benefits. However, advertising is still ethically frowned upon in this State (beyond billboards and full page yellow page ads, of course ).

 

[tanyachrs]

We call our the law students who work during the summer "summer associates". I thought that was pretty common. However, a small law firm would be unlikely to have summer associates. They're expensive and worthless. They're an investment in the future. You wine and dine them and hope they'll come back when they actually have something to contribute.

A small firm is more likely to have paralegals as they're cheaper than attorneys and can often do much of the same work an associate could do. A small firm might be all partners and paralegals. As it gets bigger, there would be some associates but still paralegals. I think you'd have to get pretty big before you bothered with law clerks or interns or summers.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

We call our the law students who work during the summer "summer associates". I thought that was pretty common. However, a small law firm would be unlikely to have summer associates. They're expensive and worthless. They're an investment in the future. You wine and dine them and hope they'll come back when they actually have something to contribute.

A small firm is more likely to have paralegals as they're cheaper than attorneys and can often do much of the same work an associate could do. A small firm might be all partners and paralegals. As it gets bigger, there would be some associates but still paralegals. I think you'd have to get pretty big before you bothered with law clerks or interns or summers.

It depends on the State. Here a paralegal cannot perform any kind of legal work. They are more like glorified secretaries.

The Law Clerk system is set up to both give the law student the opportunity to see how a law firm works and provide free labor for the law firms. Most of the work done by the law clerks is research. They never are allowed to consult clients or appear in court.

Rarely does a Law Clerk remain at the law firm as an associate after his/her clerk year. That person still has to sit for the license exams before he is an attorney. Only the very large firms can afford to keep an unlicensed associate around during the time between their graduation from law school and their sucessful completion of the Bar Exam and License. During this time, the associate still cannot do anything more than he/she did as a Law Clerk but as associates they have to be paid.

The Bar Exams are given at the end of June. The results come out in lat July or August. Then it's 2 to 3 more weeks before the licenses are issued. So in late August or early September, there are lots of junior attorneys looking for work. There is no internship in this State, since their Law Clerk year is counted as internship. So those who don't find employment in a reasonable time, have to move on to either work in government or another state.

In the case of my sister, who is an attorney, she found a place in a large firm after graduating from Law School. She worked there for six years and became a junior partner. She continued working there for a number of years as a partner, then quit and opened her own office. As an associate she was not allowed try a case in court on her own for more than a year. It was a matter of continued training in the "trix of the trade." As a result she's a very good lawer. Her experience, is not very unusual.

I know this is not the way it's done in either Washington or California, which are the only other states I am familiar with.

 

[3113]

The Law Clerk system is set up to both give the law student the opportunity to see how a law firm works and provide free labor for the law firms. Most of the work done by the law clerks is research. They never are allowed to consult clients or appear in court.

This is pretty much was I was looking for. It's a casual reference in the story, but I wanted the unpaid (or low-paid), students, there to get hands on experience, and likely used to fetch dinner, find files, tote that barge, lift that bale, when a case requires that the firms lawyers work long hours and the secretaries have left for the night.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

This is pretty much was I was looking for. It's a casual reference in the story, but I wanted the unpaid (or low-paid), students, there to get hands on experience, and likely used to fetch dinner, find files, tote that barge, lift that bale, when a case requires that the firms lawyers work long hours and the secretaries have left for the night.

Any time, luv.

If you need anything more, just holler.

 

[Tom Collins]

Any time, luv.

If you need anything more, just holler.

Thanks for all the info, Jenny. You're a real doll, and both 3 and I really appreciate your help. As 3 said, it's a minor detail in the story, but we're both anally inclined and of the opinion that the Devil's in the details.

I'd like to thank the rest of you who volunteered info as well. I always know that I can count on the good people of the AH to come through for me when I'm stuck on something.