Mahta Talani

The summer associate hiring season is upon us (which feels like a very Bridgerton-esque sentence). Just like how the ton (English high society) comes back to London in the summers to attend the social season and secure a marriage match, in law we have OCI's. A lovely time for law students vying to secure a match (a law firm match not a marriage match). And frankly, in both worlds, for the individuals directly engaged in the match making, it can be very stressful. Funny how this comparison is...

Almost every junior associate I speak to thinks they are uniquely struggling. They are not. The reality is that the early years of practice are hard for most lawyers, even the ones who look confident from the outside. I struggled for a variety of reasons (you can refer back to this blog post to learn about my personal brand of struggles). But the key to understanding the struggle is that it often is not a personal failure. It’s more often a poorly explained cultural and structural struggle...

First and foremost, if you’re here from last year, happy new year! If you’re new here, welcome! With 2026 well under way, I figured it was a good time to address one of the most common questions I get from associates: “Can I change practice areas and if yes, how do I do it?” You'll need to indulge me for while I make an X-Men Mystique analogy. Changing practice areas is a lot like shape shifting. And to be clear, the only reason Mystique is on my mind is because I watched far too much Heated...