Summer Associate Story #1
 

Here's a little ditty forwarded to me by a friend from Skadden. This e-mail was written by one of their Summer Associates, a Hahvahd man, no less.
[NAMES REDACTED TO PROTECT THE STOOPID]


06/02/03 02:25PM

RE: Drinks today
Congrats on the CFA. I'm sure you're about to make VP any day now.

I'm busy doing jack shit. Went to a nice 2hr sushi lunch today at Sushi Zen. Nice place. Spent the rest of the day typing emails and bullshitting with people. Unfortunately, I actually have work to do--I'm on some corp finance deal, under the global head of corp finance, which means I should really peruse these materials and not be a fuckup...

So yeah, Corporate Love hasn't worn off yet... But just give me time..

[NAME REDACTED]
Now, here is what he sent out a few hours later:

Fwd: An apology

I am writing you in regard to an e-mail you received from me earlier today. As I am aware that you opened the message, you probably saw that it was a personal communication that was inadvertently forwarded to the underwriting mailing list. Before it was retracted, it was received by approximately 40 people inside the Firm, about half of whom are partners.

I am thorougly and utterly ashamed and embarassed not only by my behavior, but by the implicit reflection such behavior could have on the Firm.

The addressing of the e-mail was obviously an honest mistake. The content of the e-mail was inappropriate, showed a total lack of discretion, responsibility and judgment, and undoubtedly did my reputation and my future here no favors. It showed disregard for the Firm's policies and procedures and for the very explicit speech that all summer associates were given about personal responsibility and using good judgment at the start of their training.

The appropriate parties, including Hiring Partner Howard Ellin and Hiring Director Carol Sprague, are aware of the incident and working with me to deal with it appropriately.

Although I cannot change what you and the other recipients saw, I do reiterate my sincerest apologies. I do and will take full responsibility for my actions in this incident, and I will do everything I possibly can to correct my mistakes and, more importantly, ensure that this and things like it will not happen again.

With sincere regret,

[Redacted]

When will they learn??? E-mail is not a toy!

Seven

Summer Associate Story #1
 

Too funny. Em isn't the first, or the last, summer associate to fuck emself over.

Summer Associate Story #1
 

Sushi Zen really is a nice place.

And we have our first nominee for Summer-of-the-Year.

not7yS

Summer Associate #1
 

This is why I tell our legal interns: never, ever send anything over the office email system that you wouldn't want to end up on the front page of the New York Times.

Poor baby. At least he'll have the rest of the summer off.

Not one of the cool kids.
 

You ARE a Penske sock!!!


:P

Summer Associate Story #1
 

If not for them and their bad behavior, summer just wouldn't be the same . . .

Summer Associate Story #1
 

Poor dude. If I were at Skadden, I'd cut the kid some slack. The email he inadvertantly sent to the wrong address group wasn't horrible, and he obviously feels pretty stooopid about it.

I can't tell you the number of times that people at my firm -- yes, including partners, and (in one memorable instance) the head dude of the Sheboygan office -- sent emails to the wrong group, or hit "reply to all," and said stuff far worse than what the hapless Skadden SA did. Crowing over a two hour lunch and expressing a desire not to fuck up on a project overseen by the head of global finance don't seem deserving of a no-offer punishment.

Not one of the cool kids.
 

Silly. You wish. Sorry, but it is just little old me. No socks. Especially not today, casual Friday, because walking around in socks with no undies would look silly (and men should note that whenever they do not have on some form of pants/shorts they should NOT have on socks even if they do have on underwear -- not cute).

Summer Associate Story #1
 

The second email seems the more harmful one, as it makes the first one seem much worse than it was. Falling on one's sword too readily can do more harm than being just a little bit indiscreet about something that's winked at, if not expected (long lunch, a bit of goofing off), even at Skadden, even in these "tough times."

He's a pussy.

All he really could do was visibly work his ass off for the rest of the summer.

Edited to change "had to do" to "could do" to demonstrate that yes, I do know the difference between necessary and sufficient, just in case fringey reads this.

Summer Associate Story #1
 

And from this year's crop of Hahvahd law students:

http://a1636.g.akamai.net/7/1636/797...06/lessons.jpg

BTW, em is purportedly "working with [the hiring director etc] to deal with it appropriately." What more can be done, some partner dick-sucking? At least he has the weekend to be shit-faced for three days, 'cuz on Monday he's going to be busy with something more than jack-shit. Corporate Love is pretty much worn through and there'll be a pile of boxes outside his new office in the basement broom closet for him to deal with.

Summer Associate Story #1
 

Ah, yes, but partners already have the job. And they're technologically incompetent. Like the group of elderlies at my firm who kept hitting the reply to all button after making a rather off-color joke in response to a firm-wide email. (No, outlook does not know which three of the 500 recipients you mean by "all.")

Summer Associate Story #1
 

Perhaps the punishment is not for what is in the e-mail but rather for his sloppiness. We all fuck up but we tend to quite readily heave stones at those who are stupid enough to get caught. This is why he should have said "fuck yeah I sent it to all of you, I am not stoopid enough to do that by accident."

Of course, if he gets no offer I would put a check-mark in the "this profession is full of tight-asses" column. We should all be careful what we do, write and say but there is a cancerous growth in our profession bred of harsh judgment, refusal to accept human error and absolute inability to forgive and move on. This my friends is why most lawyers sit around all day scared shitless because we are all but one minor fuck-up from being out the door so we never take risks and we treat each other like shit.*

Some of those here excepted. You know who you are. :wink:

Summer Associate #1
 

And he won't even get to enjoy all of the lovely parting gifts... Shame.

What struck me was that, although the first e-mail only went to 40 or so people before it was withdrawn, the second one went to everybody and only served to increase the wildfire spread of what was in the first one...

Just in case anyone at the firm wasn't aware of it already, now they can go back and find out.

Summer Associate #1
 

I'm guessing that the hiring partner and or the recruiting person "suggested" that our poor friend send the second email.

Damn. The more I think about this, the worse I feel for the poor dude. It's not like he took a leak on Joe Flom's desk, fer cryin out loud.

Not one of the cool kids.
 

HERETICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Penske(free n'Ez) Account