也許只有"呆子"才能成爲金牌律師

I never should have been an attorney.

我或許本來就不該當律師。

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.

我受不了整夜整夜地加班，我總是迴避衝突、不願跟着衝突走，我也沒有什麼動力來爲規模幾十億美元的大公司爭奪利益。因此，我的選擇可能除了我父母，誰都不會奇怪：在一家大律所幹了整整一年後，我交出了黑莓手機，選擇離開。

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.

大牌律所出了名的壓力大。但法律專業的學生們仍然排着隊等候美國這些大律所的挑選，希望能夠在這裏謀得一個職位。很多年輕律師後來會發現，他們根本不適合律所的工作和生活，據律所諮詢公司Edge International的帕米拉·沃都稱，約70%的律師會在入行後四年內離開。

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?

有些人能不能幹得來還不好說，在這樣的情況下，律所怎樣才能發現和聘用日後能在大律所如魚得水的應聘者，不把時間和金錢浪費在像我這樣的人身上。

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.

沃都表示，一些先知先覺的律所正在開始改變僱傭標準，選擇那些不會呆幾年就離開的應聘者，以及那些成爲合夥人後能給公司帶來更多業務的人。

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.

賓夕法尼亞大學（University of Pennsylvania）法學院職業規劃副主任希瑟·弗拉頓表示，它意味着律所不再只注重出色的成績單。根據律所的不同，“溝通技巧、項目管理、組織能力、內驅力、主動性、適應力和創業精神”是招聘時關注的東西，但不同的律所對這些特質的注重程度則有所不同。

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.

弗拉頓表示，律所招聘人員開始詢問更多行爲方面的問題，尋找具有相關特質的應聘者。“比如，‘講講你一次失敗的經歷，你從中學到了什麼？’”這是大家在任何其他行業的面試中都可能遇到的問題。但過去，這些問題在律所面試中不太會遇到。

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.

僅憑這些，還不足以確保年輕律師成爲聰明上進的團隊成員。沃都建議選擇那些有更多生活經驗的人，而不是直接從高中——大學——法學院一路讀下來的學生。她說：“成熟有助於一個人應對各種壓力。”只有學術經驗、以最優成績畢業、已經習慣了種種讚揚聲的畢業生應聘者們往往“不會理解自己只處於大公司底層的底層這一現實。”他們會在服從指揮、按大律所繁複的等級制度慢慢晉升以及投入必要的時間方面遇到麻煩。

Psychotherapist Will Meyerhofer, a former associate at Sullivan & Cromwell and author of the legal blog The People's Therapist, thinks firms can keep associates around longer by only hiring people he calls "workhorses." These are the ones "who can just handle the brutal hours, who are very motivated by the money and making partner." He describes these people as "nerdy," "geeky," and "dorky," and with "fewer outside interests."

職業心理學家、法律博客The People's Therapist的博主威爾·邁爾沃弗也曾經在Sullivan & Cromwell工作過。他認爲，律所可以只聘用“老黃牛”來確保員工效力更長的時間。這些人“能承擔漫長的工作時間，能被金錢和勝任合夥人的前景鼓舞。”他把這些人稱作“書呆子”、“極客”和“呆子”，“沒有其他什麼興趣”。

But while plenty of firms will happily snap up those recruits, Williams & Connolly regularly takes cases to trial and looks for attorneys who will not only make a positive impression on clients, but on juries as well. "Someone who can only talk on a purely theoretical, academic level, is going to be more challenged here," says Williams & Connolly hiring partner Meg Keeley. Instead, Keeley says, her firm seeks "someone who can make arguments on a practical and personal level."

很多律所都樂意招這樣的人，但Williams & Connolly會定期具體分析，尋找那些不僅能給客戶、也能給陪審團留下積極印象的律師。“只會高談闊論理論和學術的人會在這兒面臨更大的挑戰，”Williams & Connolly的招聘合夥人麥格·基利表示。基利稱，事實上，她的律所是在尋找“能在實務和個人層面進行辯駁的人”。

And, of course, candidates should also have a real excitement about the actual practice of law. (Tip: Don't mention Law & Order in an interview.) These are the people that Meyerhofer says will happily "sit and argue over the best ways to draft certain provisions."

當然，候選人對於從事法律行業也應該真正有興趣。【建議：不要在面試中提起《法律與秩序》（ Law & Order）。】按邁爾沃弗的話說，要的就是那些能高高興興地“坐下來，爭論如何更好地起草某些條款”的人。

A September, 2008 paper from UC Berkeley professors Marjorie Shultz and Sheldon Zedeck suggests that Keeley is onto something. Attempting to help law schools identify promising future lawyers, the report's authors examined a number of "predictors" of lawyering effectiveness. Typical measures of "geekiness" like LSAT scores and undergraduate grade point averages were not reliable indicators of later lawyering abilities. Instead, situational judgment tests, biographical information, and seven specific personality traits -- ambition, adjustment, sociability, prudence, interpersonal sensitivity, inquisitiveness, and learning approach -- could better forecast an applicant's later success as an attorney.

加州大學伯克利分校(UC Berkeley)教授瑪約利·舒爾茨和謝爾頓·澤得克2008年9月的一份研究報告指出，基利說的有道理。報告試圖幫助法學院發掘日後可能大有前途的律師，對衆多可能預示未來律師職業能力的“預兆”進行了分析。典型的“好學者”標準，比如LSAT得分以及本科平均分，並不是反映日後律師職業能力的可靠指標。事實上，情景判斷測試、個人經歷以及7種特定人格特質——野心，適應力，社交能力，謹慎度，人際敏感度、好打探和學習方法——可以更好地預測應聘者日後作爲律師的成功程度。

Of course, most firms would love to hire these social and inquisitive lawyers, but picking them out of the overflowing candidate pool is not always easy. Law students don't usually confess to their interviewers that they don't like to work hard or have no passion for practicing law.

當然，大多數律所都願意聘用這些擅長社交、好打探的律師，但要在衆多的應聘者中找到這些人並不容易。法律專業的學生們通常不會向面試考官承認，他們不喜歡拼命工作，他們對從事法律行業沒有熱情。

Woldow points to a few specific biographical indicators of future Big Law superstars: first-generation lawyers without legacies of Supreme Court justices and Big Law partners; first or second-generation immigrants; and people from modest economic backgrounds. These people, she says, often come in with different expectations. Instead of thinking they are due money and success, they think, "'I have to earn it and make my way.'"

邁爾沃弗指出，有幾種背景可能預示未來會在大律所中獲得成功：第一代律師，父輩不是最高法院大法官，也不是什麼大律所的合夥人；第一或第二代移民；以及來自經濟條件一般的家庭。她說，這些人進來的時候想法往往不一樣。他們不會把獲得金錢和成功視爲必然，他們想的是“我必須要努力賺取這些，走出自己的路。”