I got back a memo from a summer associate, the same one I took to lunch yesterday -- I gave him a quick research project involving something relatively small we're working on. As I read it, I'm struck by how many little conventions we've got here that there's no reason for anyone to know, yet they end up with me filling the page with red pen.
First, there's the appropriate header. We have a format. It's not written down anywhere, but it's assumed. Obviously not assumed by people who've never been here. Then the to: field -- name, and e-mail address -- there's no reason to know we include the e-mail address, but we do. Date: written out, no abbreviations. Subject line -- sentence caps, not title caps. And a bias in favor of middle initials generally if you've got one. Page numbers are center justified on the bottom. Internal outline numbering is done according to a template that lives somewhere on the server but I couldn't tell you where. Footnote text is 11 point. Cases are fully cited the first time they appear. Corporation gets an abbreviation but committee does not. And everyone initials their work at the bottom, ostensibly as proof you wrote it, but it's not like that can't be pretty easily faked. So it's all just form. But we don't have a pamphlet or even a sample memo we hand out. So every partner here is probably making the same comments I'm making. This is inefficient. I think his next project will be to write up a memo on memo form. I like that. Non-billable, but I like it anyway. Maybe we can bill a portion of it to every client who has us write memos. Maybe. I'll see what the legal department says. It has always struck me as ironic that law firms have legal departments. It makes sense. But it's weird. I didn't take any summer associates to lunch today. I should have. All I had was a sandwich from down the street and already I'm getting hungry again.
First, there's the appropriate header. We have a format. It's not written down anywhere, but it's assumed. Obviously not assumed by people who've never been here. Then the to: field -- name, and e-mail address -- there's no reason to know we include the e-mail address, but we do. Date: written out, no abbreviations. Subject line -- sentence caps, not title caps. And a bias in favor of middle initials generally if you've got one. Page numbers are center justified on the bottom. Internal outline numbering is done according to a template that lives somewhere on the server but I couldn't tell you where. Footnote text is 11 point. Cases are fully cited the first time they appear. Corporation gets an abbreviation but committee does not. And everyone initials their work at the bottom, ostensibly as proof you wrote it, but it's not like that can't be pretty easily faked. So it's all just form. But we don't have a pamphlet or even a sample memo we hand out. So every partner here is probably making the same comments I'm making. This is inefficient. I think his next project will be to write up a memo on memo form. I like that. Non-billable, but I like it anyway. Maybe we can bill a portion of it to every client who has us write memos. Maybe. I'll see what the legal department says. It has always struck me as ironic that law firms have legal departments. It makes sense. But it's weird. I didn't take any summer associates to lunch today. I should have. All I had was a sandwich from down the street and already I'm getting hungry again.
Yorumlar
Yorum Gönder