From drafting memorandums to prepping appellate briefs, attorneys need to hone their legal writing skills daily. The main goal of writing assignments are to present your position persuasively to effectively advance your position with your intended audience or objectively present relevant facts and case law to educate your audience on a particular topic.

Being an associate in 2023 is something entirely different than it used to be, according to Tracy LaLonde, a professional development consultant in the legal industry. Associates starting out in their careers seek employers who give them work-life balance, allow remote work and a manageable workload. Starting salaries can sometimes be upwards of $200,000 for a first-year associate these days, but young attorneys seek meaningful work and flexibility.

Changing professional norms and more workplace flexibility in Big Law has forged more avenues and paid opportunities for lawyers winning to take on side gigs, according to some industry experts. While it’s difficult to say the exact number of attorneys who have taken on additional paid opportunities, recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that workers with multiple gigs stays under 5 percent. However, it’s possible that closer to 10 percent of workers are employees with one main job and a couple of side gigs. Bankrate and McKinsey have put the percentage closer to 40 percent.