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A Week in the Life of Clarence Lee
Clarence Lee is an associate in Ross, Dixon & Bell’s Washington, DC office. He joined the firm in 2007 after graduating from Washington University School of Law and working at an Arlington, Virginia firm for two years. His practice includes insurance coverage, commercial litigation, intellectual property, and mass torts. Clarence shares the details of a week in his shoes at RDB.
Monday
Morning
7:00 a.m. The alarm is definitely way too early this morning. I have just recovered from a weekend visit from one of my best friends/college roommates, and after not having thought of work for an entire weekend, I immediately begin thinking about what I need to do this week. Several cases require my attention, and I need to organize my priorities before I get to the office and get started. Luckily, the Metro ride into work is smooth this morning.
I know it’s going to be a crazy week. This is the last week for our summer associates, whom I’ve gotten to know well, and my best friend from high school is back in town all week…
7:30 a.m. The first order of business is research for partner Cathy Simon in a insurance case we’re monitoring out in California. I had spoken to her last Thursday regarding this research on the use of extrinsic evidence to interpret insurance contracts.
9:00 a.m. I take a break and sort through my email from the weekend and catch up on the latest sports and regular news.
9:15 a.m. I review my email from a former associate who has passed on a pro bono case to me. The case involves seeking asylum for a woman has been tortured and abused by the government of Belarus for her pro-democracy views and attempts to shed light on the voting abuses in that country. Because I have previously met this woman and her husband (during a mock trial, in which I played the judge), I have volunteered to take her case to trial in January. The files are sitting behind my desk, and I review them briefly and make a note to enter an appearance in that case.
10:00 a.m. I turn my attention to a case I am working on with partner Chuck Hadden. One of our main clients has asked us for a memorandum on numerous issues regarding a potential case in West Virginia. To draft this memo, I need to review the pleadings in the case, various insurance policies, and correspondence, and then conduct legal research into West Virginia law.
11:45 a.m. I get an email from a client regarding a case I have been working on with partner Merril Hirsh. Good news: our client has been dismissed from the case! Merril asks me to send out a letter on the subject, which I draft up and send to opposing counsel.
Afternoon
12:15 p.m. It’s a summer associate lunch, as this is their last week. I get in a cab and we go down to Café Atlantico, a central American restaurant near Chinatown with associates Sharla Toller and Sarhana Livingston, and summer associates Nina Santiago and Selina Spinos. Over lunch we discuss the summer program. They have really enjoyed their summer here, and we enjoyed having them come to work with us. I have a Cubano burger, which is way too much for me for lunch.
1:45 p.m. Back from lunch, I have an email from Gaby Richeimer, our assignments partner, asking me if I have time to talk with partner Leslie Ahari, regarding a new assignment. I do, so I go to speak with her.
2:00 p.m. After speaking with Leslie, she asks me to conduct some research into Kansas law on policy interpretation of “substantial prejudice” to the insurer, due sometime this week.
2:15 p.m. I talk with partner Richard Pratt regarding two cases we are working on together, one involving benzene and the other involving asbestos. We discuss the general strategy for both cases and decide we need to draft a reservation of rights letter for a benzene claim.
2:30 p.m. One of the largest cases I am on is a firm-wide antitrust case with partner Merril Hirsh. As I am taking over the case from another associate, I need to get up to speed on substantial deposition testimony and documents. I begin reading the depositions and cross-referencing the exhibits. The case involves a conspiracy by the makers of carbon fiber to fix the prices in the carbon fiber market. This is going to be a very interesting case, although I am coming in somewhat in the middle.
5:30 p.m. I take a break from the deposition review, and decide to finish my summer associate evaluations.
5:45 p.m. I get a call from my friend, telling me he’s been able to secure a reservation at Ray’s the Steaks in Arlington for 7:30 p.m. I get started on the reservation of rights letter, but I only get a quarter of the way through.
6:20 p.m. I call it a day and start heading home on the Metro. I get a call from my wife to meet her and my friend for a drink before dinner.
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