The Parties

«First rule for lawyers: always begin with the identification of the parties. You have to know who is saying what its being said.«

This was the first lesson I lesson I learned on my first day as a lawyer. Well, for now, there is only one party. Hi, I’m Mr. Litt. For now its just me, although I will try to make some of my better colleagues to join us in this «lawyers world». And I will really appreciate you to help me, not only to improve, but to see other points of view on my thoughts. Thanks in advance.

As mr. Litt I am a Spanish lawyer, now a junior associate (and, hopefully, less junior every day) in one of those law firms that you may call «corporate law firms». My law firm is international, but I am based in Spain.

I don’t know how to write. At least not good or pretty (and even less good and less pretty in English), but I have always wanted to do so. So I’m gonna do it.

Although I would have never guessed, I like the law. And I like not exercising it. At least not in the way people normally think being a lawyer is. Let me explain. Some lawyers are lucky (at least to me is luck) of not having to appear before a judge or a tribunal. At least not for now. Because those lawyers exist. Internally they call us «transactional lawyers» due to this trend of stapling pretty names to everything now.

Everybody assumes that lawyers are every day giving those amazing speeches in from of «your honour» in order to defend the innocence of that kid which looks guilty but he isn’t. As in most of the cases, fiction does not really look like most people’s reality. Those lawyers exist, but I don’t really do that (although I admire them).

I am one of those lawyer who spends hours and hours drafting documents for others to sign. I don’t give speeches and I am not a master of oratory. But I like it. So I will remain as this kind of lawyer as long as I can.

Those who are really into series may confuse me with Louis Litt, that superb lawyer from «Suits», but nothing further from reality. I didn’t study in Harvard and I am not capable of talking so fast and so «girly». I enjoy the good company of my friends and a good malt. I am a fan of Apple and its philosophy, which I resume in «Simpler, better».

And what am I going to tell you here?

Well…for many years I’ve heard plenty of stories and myths about working at a Law firm. I even ended up believing that lawyers were some kind of «superheroes«. Fortunately, I had the opportunity of doing an internship at a law firm and I told to myself: «Mr. Litt, this stories aren’t really real…this working pace is perfectly bearable«. And it truly is. To put it into a different perspective: you sleep less and you end up more tired at spring breaks, but of course, nobody complains there because you have drinks, music and party.

Thanks to that internship, I got recruited as a junior associated at a Law firm, and I certified that a lot of those stories are myths and fantasies from someone who exaggerates any aspect of his work to enlarge his ego.

¿And what the hell does that have anything to do with a blog?

I really don’t have a clue. But one day you’re talking to a law student and he tells you: «I’ve heard that at a law firm you have entire weeks without any sleep«. And then you wonder if people really know how you work at a Law firm. And that, if you allow me, is what I want to tell. Stories, thoughts and experiences but without trying to magnify the facts and trying that you don’t get a wrong impression of how this works. Because it is really not that hard.

Happy to receive comments!

Best,
Litt

[The Spanish version of this post can be found here]