I remember my first day as a litigation associate and realized I knew almost nothing that was useful to the actual practice of law — it was terrifying. Looking back over my gradual maturation as a practicing lawyer (I practiced five years back in the late 80s), here’s what I experienced:

The first year is stressful, as you learn what being a lawyer really means. In fact, I sincerely believe that the first three years of practice should be devoted exclusively to becoming a great lawyer. I make it very clear to junior associates during training that they need to focus first on becoming highly skilled practitioners because, if they’re not, no one’s going to hire them a second time anyway.

It takes at least three years to get your lawyer-legs under you. I don’t think associates should have any proactive marketing responsibility during those years except not losing contact with their existing network and friends, and helping out with articles or pitches when requested by a partner. They should join a bar association and attend regularly to build their lawyer network and improve their legal skills.

During years four and five I think they can get more proactive. At that point they know how to practice law generally, but they’re not good enough at it yet, they need more seasoning and experience. But they can take on more marketing responsibility. They should be starting to build their network by joining and getting active in a relevant non-legal trade organization and writing bylined articles and giving speeches to enhance their resume. They should be looking for a niche area to focus on.

Around year five, they can capably handle a case or deal and should be ensuring that their marketing activities will position them to make partner in two or three years. They should be out growing their network regularly and hold a leadership position in their outside organization, as well as writing, speaking, etc.

Incidentally, there’s a subtle but important phenomenon I’ve noticed — junior associates who are viewed as “too” marketing oriented can really hurt their careers. Even today, junior lawyers have to be seen primarily as serious about the skilled practice of law, not marketing. Violators are secretly punished. Trust me on this one, I’ve been in the meetings.