呆子才能成为金牌律师

    我或许本来就不该当律师。

    我受不了整夜整夜地加班，我总是回避冲突、不愿跟着冲突走，我也没有什么动力来为规模几十亿美元的大公司争夺利益。因此，我的选择可能除了我父母，谁都不会奇怪：在一家大律所干了整整一年后，我交出了黑莓手机，选择离开。

    大牌律所出了名的压力大。但法律专业的学生们仍然排着队等候美国这些大律所的挑选，希望能够在这里谋得一个职位。很多年轻律师后来会发现，他们根本不适合律所的工作和生活，据律所咨询公司Edge International的帕米拉•沃都称，约70%的律师会在入行后四年内离开。

    有些人能不能干得来还不好说，在这样的情况下，律所怎样才能发现和聘用日后能在大律所如鱼得水的应聘者，不把时间和金钱浪费在像我这样的人身上。

    沃都表示，一些先知先觉的律所正在开始改变雇佣标准，选择那些不会呆几年就离开的应聘者，以及那些成为合伙人后能给公司带来更多业务的人。

    宾夕法尼亚大学（University of Pennsylvania）法学院职业规划副主任希瑟•弗拉顿表示，它意味着律所不再只注重出色的成绩单。根据律所的不同，“沟通技巧、项目管理、组织能力、内驱力、主动性、适应力和创业精神”是招聘时关注的东西，但不同的律所对这些特质的注重程度则有所不同。

    弗拉顿表示，律所招聘人员开始询问更多行为方面的问题，寻找具有相关特质的应聘者。“比如，‘讲讲你一次失败的经历，你从中学到了什么？’”这是大家在任何其他行业的面试中都可能遇到的问题。但过去，这些问题在律所面试中不太会遇到。

    仅凭这些，还不足以确保年轻律师成为聪明上进的团队成员。沃都建议选择那些有更多生活经验的人，而不是直接从高中——大学——法学院一路读下来的学生。她说：“成熟有助于一个人应对各种压力。”只有学术经验、以最优成绩毕业、已经习惯了种种赞扬声的毕业生应聘者们往往“不会理解自己只处于大公司底层的底层这一现实。”他们会在服从指挥、按大律所繁复的等级制度慢慢晋升以及投入必要的时间方面遇到麻烦。

    I never should have been an attorney.

    I am physically incapable of pulling all-nighters, I avoid conflict instead of pursuing it, and I have essentially zero drive to fight for the interests of multi-billion dollar corporations. So it did not come as much of a surprise to anyone -- except my mom and dad, perhaps -- when after exactly one year of practice at a big law firm, I turned in my BlackBerry and walked out the door.

    Big Law is famously tough. But despite its reputation, law students continue to line up for consideration at the country's top firms, hoping to land a coveted spot as an associate. Many of these young lawyers, though, will find that they are simply not cut out for law firm life and, according to Pamela Woldow of law firm consultancy Edge International, approximately 70% will leave within the first four years of practice.

    At a time when their very survival seems up in the air, how can firms spot and hire the few candidates that will thrive in Big Law instead of wasting time and money on people like me?

    Woldow says that smart firms are beginning to change their hiring standards, selecting candidates who will stay longer than just a few years and who, upon making partner, will bring in their own business.

    According to Heather Frattone, associate dean for career planning at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, this means that firms are looking for more than just exemplary report cards. Depending on the firm, "communications skills, project management, organizational understanding, drive, initiative, resilience, and entrepreneurship" are all sought after qualities in recruits, but different firms place varying levels of value on these traits.

    Firm recruiters, Frattone adds, are beginning to ask more behavioral questions to identify candidates with the qualities they're looking for. "Things like, 'Tell me a time you were not successful at something you were working on, and what did you learn from that?'" These are the kinds of questions you might hear at any other interview. They just haven't had much of a role at law firms up until now.

    But it's not enough for young lawyers to be smart, ambitious team players. Woldow advises looking for people with more life experience over candidates who went straight from high school to college to law school. "Maturity helps you roll with the punches a little more," she says. Candidates who have only worked within academia, who graduated at the top of their class, and are used to being lauded for their accomplishments often "don't understand that they're just the lowest of the low in a big machine." They have trouble taking orders, moving through Big Law's hierarchical structure, and putting in the required hours.