We recently sat down with Alastair Pearson to talk about his experience interviewing with boutique and Biglaw firms, and what attracted him to Elsberg Baker & Maruri. “When we bring people on board, we find ways for them to contribute right away,” he said. “They knew how they were going to integrate me into workflows, and the cases they assigned me to were really interesting.” Hear more from Alastair below:
Why did you choose a boutique firm over BigLaw?
I was interested in working somewhere I could have a closer relationship with my colleagues. From my initial interviews with the firm, I could see that people here genuinely knew each other well and valued the specific attributes everybody brought to the table. It struck me that EBM would be a place I could build relationships with senior lawyers with a level of rapport that is rare as a junior associate. I was hoping my working relationship here with partners could be something that was a lot more engaged and face-to-face, and that's definitely been the case.
If you're a fourth-year associate at a BigLaw firm, it’s possible to spend those four years doing sophisticated work for important clients but never finding out what you are personally capable of. You might never have had the chance to be first chair at a deposition, or have a speaking role at court. Partners here are already looking to find ways for me to contribute. If you're someone who believes in yourself and thinks, “I'm willing to take that chance and I think my work product is strong,” then this is a firm you should consider joining. Beyond that, this is a work environment where people invest in you. Every lawyer I’ve worked with at EBM, from mid-levels to senior associates and partners, has gone out of their way to give me detailed feedback on my work product.
What drew you to Elsberg Baker & Maruri?
I had already started looking into the possibility of switching firms when EBM first came across my radar, although at that point I didn’t know anything about the firm. I went to law school with one of our associates and I saw her post about joining the firm on LinkedIn. We got coffee and she told me wonderful things about her job: from the stimulating intellectual challenges associated with making novel arguments, to the opportunities she was being provided to step beyond what first years typically do in BigLaw practice, to the fact that she was working hand-in-glove with some of the most impressive litigators in the country. I kept my questions broad and asked her for general advice, and to my pleasant surprise, she suggested I throw my resume in the ring for a role at EBM. I haven’t looked back since. My first case, a highly expedited arbitration, went from start to finish in six weeks. The partners gave me a great deal of valuable substantive experience in that process. If you had told me six weeks before I started the job that I would be helping prep David Elsberg for his cross-examination of a key witness, I would have been taken aback, but this is a place where junior lawyers get the chance to shine.
I would also be remiss not to mention that before my interview, I listened to David Elsberg’s interview with David Lat on his podcast, Original Jurisdiction. I was struck by how David describes his approach to the practice of litigation, maximizing the expected value of even difficult cases, and his vision for EBM as a place where lawyers just starting out would get involved on substantive work on day one. I recommend that anybody considering the firm as a potential recruit listen to that.
What experiences, advantages or challenges did you anticipate and has it delivered?
On my first day here, I expected to spend the day watching mandatory training videos, signing paperwork and meeting colleagues. Of course, those things happened eventually, but I got to work almost from the minute I walked in. When we bring people on board, we find ways for them to contribute right away. That also speaks to the fact that the firm had a plan for me. They knew how they were going to integrate me into workflows, and the cases they assigned me to were really interesting. I had hoped that I would be able to work on complicated cases with first-impression issues, alongside thoughtful and sharp colleagues, and those hopes have been realized. The qualifications of the partners are evident from their resumes—you can see on their website biographies the kinds of victories in cases with the highest stakes that they’ve achieved. Our firm’s leaders have repeatedly litigated some of the most challenging cases you can imagine to successful conclusions. I thought as an associate coming in that it would be a special experience to work with people who are that bright and it really is.
What’s a typical day at EBM? How does it differ from other experiences?
It’s hard for me to characterize a typical day when, just four months into my time at the firm, I’ve already been to my first arbitration and am gearing up for my second. If you had asked me what my average day was a few months ago, I would have said flying somewhere very far away to spend a few days in a conference room in a very high-pressure situation, supporting partners who had had just weeks to prepare for an expedited arbitration. That was incredibly exciting. Of course, I’m not in court or attending an arbitration every day, even though our firm is lucky to be litigating a remarkable number of trials this year. When I'm in the office, the tasks vary from day-to-day. I might be conducting legal research for a novel argument, analyzing documents to form the backbone of a cross-examination outline, or evaluating weak spots in the oral argument we plan to present. While most of what you do as an attorney is not taught to you in law school, EBM is a work environment where you can learn new skills quickly with extensive real-time feedback from elite practitioners. I've really enjoyed having to master a disparate set of challenges.
Anything else you would like to add?
EBM is a firm where if you're willing to bet on yourself, you can achieve significant things, and it will be recognized. Partners here really take note of the quality of work you do. When you're coming in as a junior associate from a larger place, you may not be used to that. It's so rewarding not to be an unrecognized face in the crowd. It makes coming to work that much better, and it makes you want to work that much harder. From top to bottom, people here really care about doing good work and the firm recognizes junior associates for the part we play in helping our clients win.
