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A Week in the Life of Sara Doran
Thursday
Morning
8:30 a.m. I come in to work a little earlier than usual today since I was out yesterday, and spend about fifteen minutes reading the 40 e-mails I have received since Tuesday night. One of the e-mails is an RDB victory notice saying that the firm won a victory on summary judgment for a new client. Several of the e-mails are firmwide conflicts checks. These conflicts checks e-mails are a good way to find out what work is going on in the firm and which partners are working on which cases, and it’s nice to feel like I’m in the loop on the firm’s business.
I keep working on my research from yesterday, and I’m glad I’ve been making notes on all of the cases as I go along so that I can keep them straight. I’ve found helpful information on two of my four issues, and I should be able to start writing up those issues this afternoon.
9:40 a.m. Claudia Gallo, an associate, calls to ask if I’ve done any research on a particular issue for a case I worked on earlier in the summer. I didn’t research the precise issue that she needs, but I did prepare a chart of the relevant cases cited in the opponent’s briefs. I forward her a copy of that chart. The work that attorneys produce in all four RDB offices is accessible through the firm’s intranet, which has been very helpful as a starting point for research over the summer. Several times I’ve found a good lead for further research in an earlier memo prepared on the same subject.
Afternoon
I spend the rest of the day researching and writing. After eating lunch in the breakroom with several attorneys and staff members I spend about an hour in the firm’s library researching in a comprehensive insurance treatise. The library has copies of several treatises and periodicals along with Illinois reporters and general legal reference books. It’s also a nice way to get away from your desk for a while if you feel like you’ve been looking at a computer too long.
5:30 p.m. Tonight is the “end of summer” attorney dinner. I can’t believe that the summer has gone so quickly! One of the other summer associates and I still have two more weeks of work, but our other co-summer associate’s last day is tomorrow. Dinner is at Galleria Marchetti, a nice Italian restaurant in the West Loop, and it’s a really enjoyable evening of good food and good conversation.
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