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A Day in the Life: Ropes & Gray Corporate Associate

Published: Jul 29, 2021

 Day in the Life       Law       
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Lindsay Richardson is an associate in Ropes & Gray's corporate department. Lindsay practices primarily in the firm’s private equity group and represents private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in connection with mergers and acquisitions, going-private transactions, leveraged buyouts and equity investments, as well as general corporate matters. Here, Lindsay shares a day in her life.

6:30 a.m. – Wake up. Drink water. Check and respond to emails from the night before. Get dressed for the gym. Unless I have a client conflict, I tend to go the gym each morning between 7 and 9 a.m. Today’s a day when I am going into the office, so I lay out my clothes before heading to the gym. Our firm is starting to transition back to the office. As of now I go in 1-2 days per week. I look forward to these days because I’ve really missed seeing my colleagues.  

6:50 a.m. – Begin to walk downtown while listening to a podcast. Each morning I alternate between listening to The goop Podcast, The Daily, or Soulful Conversations. I enjoy these podcasts because it’s an easy way to learn something new or pick up a new perspective on my walks in the city. Text co-worker who regularly joins my Thursday work-out class to save me a spot next to him.

7:15 a.m. – Arrive at gym and meet up with colleague. As we stretch before class begins, we talk about upcoming weekend plans. I’m excited because I will be headed to the Printing House pool after my Saturday workout and trying out a new restaurant with my friends.

7:30 a.m. – Group fitness class begins. Today is an outdoor workout and much to my chagrin, pull-ups are involved! Oh well, at least they aren’t burpees. Nevertheless, we power through them, and my colleague and I cheer each other on after each set.  

8:15 a.m. – Class ends. My coworker and I turn our attention to confirming final details for the practice group happy hour that we’re hosting later in the day in the office. We go our separate ways to go and get ready for the work day.

8:40 a.m. – I’m now back at my apartment so I can go and get ready to head into the office. I pack my work bag with water, fruit, computer, and documents I’ve been reviewing. I respond to a few emails and check my calendar for upcoming calls and meetings for the day. Just before I leave my apartment, I send an email reminder to my colleagues about the practice group happy hour.

9:30 a.m. – Grab coffee at my favorite local place, and begin my 10-minute walk to the office. I’m grateful to live so close.

9:40 a.m. – I get to my desk and dive right into my work by responding to emails. I am currently working on four active deals and have a Zoom call in 20 minutes for a client to discuss governance rights. I spend the next 15 minutes reviewing the Operating Agreement and reviewing my notes.

10:00 a.m. – Join Zoom call with the client’s legal team, partner, and senior associate. Once call ends, our internal team remains on the Zoom to debrief and discuss next steps. Partner jokes about taking the Zoom from his Peloton, and we all laugh. We then discuss an upcoming IPO. While my work usually focuses on the private market, our practice group has taken on a new set of crossover deals that involve the public markets. These new hybrid deals have been a cool opportunity to learn new skills and pick up on different SEC regulations and filings that are usually outside of my practice.

11:00 a.m. – Respond to emails. Start revising Purchase Agreement sheet for another client’s upcoming minority investment.

12:00 p.m. – Call with junior associate to discuss the diligence assignment. We walk through her findings and talk through her questions. Junior associate is also working on that client’s minority investment, and her diligence findings are important to the Purchase Agreement revisions. Normally, if we were both in the office, she would come down to my office, and we would discuss in-person, but today we opted for a call since she is working remotely.

12:15 p.m. – Take a snack break. Today, I packed an assortment of mixed berries. I forgot to pack a fork, so I walk over to the office pantry to find one. Along the way, I bump into a senior associate and we end up discussing the current status of a matter we’re handling together. I also learn all about the senior associate’s new dog, a golden doodle. What a cute puppy!  

1:30 p.m. – Review new add-on investment documents for the client I discussed in the pantry. Respond to emails.

2:00 – Order and pick up lunch from the firm’s in-house cafeteria. I am so happy to see and say hello to the chef and staff. Chef notes that he still remembers my orders from last year and that he added extra avocado to my salad! Our office really is a “home away from home,” and so I appreciate the relationships I have with everyone who makes our office run, and I am grateful to see that life is starting to return to normal.

2:10 – I return to my desk, eat salad, and respond to emails. Typically, I would try to eat with some of my coworkers in the pantry, but because we have a happy hour today, I decide to work through lunch.

3:00 p.m. – Conference call with associates in the Boston office to discuss a virtual presentation on the life of a deal that we are giving to the summer associates next week. Our firm takes a “one-firm” approach, which makes working with colleagues across offices seamless and second nature. If I am on a significant number of deals with my Boston colleagues, I’ll take a couple of days in the week to work in the Boston Office and visit everyone.

3:30 p.m. – Begin drafting analysis chart for a client’s add-on investment.

4:30 p.m. – Meet colleague and walk to partner’s office for the practice group happy hour. Our practice group hosts a weekly informal in-office happy hour that allows everyone to take a break from work and catch up with each other. Sometimes a game of putter ball is involved. Today, we have a good number of people in office, including firm leadership. We all chat and discuss upcoming New York events and family plans. We also make many work-related jokes. An exciting moment of today’s happy hour was when our firm chair played a game of putter ball with everyone.

5:15 p.m. – Return to desk to respond to emails and finish drafting analysis chart for Client C. Send analysis chart to senior associate.

7:20 p.m. – Walk home for dinner. Have the leftover salmon and veggies that I cooked yesterday. I tend to cook meals on the days I work from home. Usually I make enough to stretch over a couple of days.

8:15 p.m. – Check and respond to emails. Email with junior associate about diligence report for one client. Set up a meeting tomorrow with senior associate to discuss analysis chart for another client.

10:00 p.m. – Watch an episode of Billons. Set out workout clothes for tomorrow morning. Go to bed.

This is a sponsored post by Ropes & Gray.

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