Ashlee | Your Big Law BFF

I’d been at my firm four years. I knew the catering staff by name. I knew the front desk and what their kids were up to. Then I lateraled, and on day one I didn’t know a soul.

It felt like middle school. The cafeteria, the tray, the part where you’d rather eat in the bathroom than stand there looking for a table. I was a fourth year with a reputation I’d spent years building, and none of it walked in the door with me.
Most people freeze. They close the office door and tell themselves they’ll get involved once they feel comfortable. Comfortable never shows up on its own.

I joined the hiring committee two weeks in. Helped start a committee whose whole job was connection. Asked people to coffee every week for two months. Said yes every time they asked me to present.

And somewhere around month three I realized nobody knowing me was the best thing about the move. You get to decide who knows you exist. You get to pick who you learn from. You get to walk in with the reputation you want, because the only history anyone has of you is what you show them.

The whole piece is free on my Substack. Link in bio.

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