My U.S. Tour Begins

In the next few weeks, I will be touring around the country to interview with various law firms in every corner of America. With the economy appearing to cause the legal market to tank, I am a little concerned about actually getting an offer, but right now I will enjoy the VIP treatment that the law firms are using to try to woo candidates. Although I have been asked to interview with firms in London, Paris, and Beijing, we will focus on the States right now (Wife says Paris "could be fun," and London is "something to think about," but all I got was a funny look with "we'll talk about it" when I mentioned Beijing). With the international firms contacting me, Wife and I recently realized that we need to get passports.

Later this week, I will be traveling down South to spend a day and a half with a firm. This is the “smallest” firm that I am talking to thus far (by “small” I mean that it is is not international in scope – they are a regional firm). This firm reminds me of the law firm in the first quarter of John Grisham’s novel “The Firm.” No, this firm does not have any mafia connections (that I am aware of). It reminds me of Grisham’s fiction because this firm is a mid-sized Southern firm that wants to play with the big boys (it is significantly larger than the firm was in the movie). As I reviewed some of their recent work, this firm appears to handle much larger cases and transactions than a firm of their size typically does. Their lawyers are exceptionally well qualified, and they also put a strong focus on family and loyalty. It should be interesting to see what the firm has to offer when I get there. Wife and I independently found the similarity to this firm and "The Firm." Because of the similarity, we simply refer to it as "The Firm."

I’m going through the travel information that the firm sent me. When reviewing it, I suddenly feel so low-class. When I travel, I basically look for the cheapest flight possible that will fit with my schedule. I’m generally satisfied with pretty cheap hotels. The firm is trying to entice me with fancy flights and a five star hotel. On my flight, I am promised plenty of leg room, my own television, and all the snacks and drinks I want. The hotel I will be staying at appears to be nicer than what Wife and I stayed in on our honeymoon (and we stayed in some really nice places). Personally, I don't understand what the point of spending this much money on a hotel is. I am going to spend very little time in the room. All I will be doing in it is sleeping, last minute firm research, and maybe some studying (ok, I probably won't do any studying). Needless to say, Wife is a little jealous of the upcoming trips. I'm going to need to find a way to make this up to her.