Moiz Ali says he was ‘admonished’
A former Simpson Thacher & Bartlett lawyer has revealed he was once “admonished” by a partner for not putting the email addresses of his colleagues in order of seniority.
In a viral tweet (below), Moiz Ali explained, “that’s when I knew I should quit”.
When I worked at a law firm, I was once admonished by a partner for not putting the email addresses of my colleagues in the “TO:” line of Outlook in order of hierarchy. That’s when I knew I should quit.
— Moiz Ali (@moizali) July 13, 2020
According to his LinkedIn, Ali left Simpson Thacher’s New York office in 2012. He previously completed a four-month stint as a summer associate at Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells). The Harvard law grad went on to found an online shop for alcohol spirits and then set up a deodorant business. He’s now a start-up investor for the likes of Uber, Airbnb and Pinterest, according to his online portfolio.
In response to Ali’s tweet, which has received nearly 2,000 likes, one law firm marketing manager revealed he’s been told the “exact same thing”. He now takes “an alphabetical approach”.
Been told the exact same thing… I've also been told to treat everyone equally… since that conversation, I now stand my ground with an alphabetical approach.
— Oliver Taylor (@Red_Marketer) July 14, 2020
Meanwhile, one legal recruiter claimed this eye-rolling email ritual stretches back as far as the 90s.
Can confirm. Worked at an AmLaw100 firm in NYC in the late 90’s and every associate did this. 20+ years later and no longer practicing law but I still instinctively tend to list email recipients by order of seniority!
— Wall Street Headhunter (@dmastrocola) July 14, 2020
Another user spotted an opportunity in Ali’s anecdote; proposing a tool that would rank partners in order of hierarchy, automatically.
@vc @vcstarterkit Startup idea alert: An email extension that sorts partners at law firms in order of hierarchy. Input: database of names in the entire organisation, then calls a sort function. Rev model: commission charged to each partner in order of hierarchy, per email sent.
— Bill Seota (@BilliWorldWide) July 13, 2020
Ali later explained that this was the exception, not the rule at his firm.
Yeah, I loved it. This was the exception at my firm and not the rule. Only place where I’ve been surrounded by brilliant people with work ethics that make me look like Homer Simpson.
— Moiz Ali (@moizali) July 13, 2020
And later told Legal Cheek:
“I loved my firm and to be honest, loved the bluntness of the partner who told me that.”
In another insight into law firm email etiquette, we reported earlier this year that Quinn Emanuel followed magic circle firm Freshfields in dropping ‘Dear Sirs’ from lawyers’ emails.