????我或許本來就不該當律師。

????我受不了整夜整夜地加班，我總是回避沖突、不愿跟著沖突走，我也沒有什么動力來為規模幾十億美元的大公司爭奪利益。因此，我的選擇可能除了我父母，誰都不會奇怪：在一家大律所干了整整一年后，我交出了黑莓手機，選擇離開。

????大牌律所出了名的壓力大。但法律專業的學生們仍然排著隊等候美國這些大律所的挑選，希望能夠在這里謀得一個職位。很多年輕律師后來會發現，他們根本不適合律所的工作和生活，據律所咨詢公司Edge International的帕米拉?沃都稱，約70%的律師會在入行后四年內離開。

????有些人能不能干得來還不好說，在這樣的情況下，律所怎樣才能發現和聘用日后能在大律所如魚得水的應聘者，不把時間和金錢浪費在像我這樣的人身上。

????沃都表示，一些先知先覺的律所正在開始改變雇傭標準，選擇那些不會呆幾年就離開的應聘者，以及那些成為合伙人后能給公司帶來更多業務的人。

????賓夕法尼亞大學（University of Pennsylvania）法學院職業規劃副主任希瑟?弗拉頓表示，它意味著律所不再只注重出色的成績單。根據律所的不同，“溝通技巧、項目管理、組織能力、內驅力、主動性、適應力和創業精神”是招聘時關注的東西，但不同的律所對這些特質的注重程度則有所不同。

????弗拉頓表示，律所招聘人員開始詢問更多行為方面的問題，尋找具有相關特質的應聘者。“比如，‘講講你一次失敗的經歷，你從中學到了什么？’”這是大家在任何其他行業的面試中都可能遇到的問題。但過去，這些問題在律所面試中不太會遇到。

????僅憑這些，還不足以確保年輕律師成為聰明上進的團隊成員。沃都建議選擇那些有更多生活經驗的人，而不是直接從高中——大學——法學院一路讀下來的學生。她說：“成熟有助于一個人應對各種壓力。”只有學術經驗、以最優成績畢業、已經習慣了種種贊揚聲的畢業生應聘者們往往“不會理解自己只處于大公司底層的底層這一現實。”他們會在服從指揮、按大律所繁復的等級制度慢慢晉升以及投入必要的時間方面遇到麻煩。

????I never should have been an attorney.

????I am physically incapable of pulling all-nighters, I avoid conflict instead of pursuing it, and I have essentially zero drive to fight for the interests of multi-billion dollar corporations. So it did not come as much of a surprise to anyone -- except my mom and dad, perhaps -- when after exactly one year of practice at a big law firm, I turned in my BlackBerry and walked out the door.

????Big Law is famously tough. But despite its reputation, law students continue to line up for consideration at the country's top firms, hoping to land a coveted spot as an associate. Many of these young lawyers, though, will find that they are simply not cut out for law firm life and, according to Pamela Woldow of law firm consultancy Edge International, approximately 70% will leave within the first four years of practice.

????At a time when their very survival seems up in the air, how can firms spot and hire the few candidates that will thrive in Big Law instead of wasting time and money on people like me?

????Woldow says that smart firms are beginning to change their hiring standards, selecting candidates who will stay longer than just a few years and who, upon making partner, will bring in their own business.

????According to Heather Frattone, associate dean for career planning at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, this means that firms are looking for more than just exemplary report cards. Depending on the firm, "communications skills, project management, organizational understanding, drive, initiative, resilience, and entrepreneurship" are all sought after qualities in recruits, but different firms place varying levels of value on these traits.

????Firm recruiters, Frattone adds, are beginning to ask more behavioral questions to identify candidates with the qualities they're looking for. "Things like, 'Tell me a time you were not successful at something you were working on, and what did you learn from that?'" These are the kinds of questions you might hear at any other interview. They just haven't had much of a role at law firms up until now.

????But it's not enough for young lawyers to be smart, ambitious team players. Woldow advises looking for people with more life experience over candidates who went straight from high school to college to law school. "Maturity helps you roll with the punches a little more," she says. Candidates who have only worked within academia, who graduated at the top of their class, and are used to being lauded for their accomplishments often "don't understand that they're just the lowest of the low in a big machine." They have trouble taking orders, moving through Big Law's hierarchical structure, and putting in the required hours.