ISPP Holiday Party.

This past Saturday night was the annual Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe holiday party.  Amanda and I were invited last year as well, and even without having started working and therefore not really knowing anyone, we had a wonderful time.  I was looking forward to this year's party because now I do know everyone, which makes the evening much less stressful... or so I thought.

The party was at the amazing Brown Palace Hotel in downtown Denver.  It's one of the oldest hotels in the city, and although I have heard wonderful things about it, I had never been inside.  Last year Amanda and I were the first to arrive, which was a bit awkward (remember, we didn't really know anyone).  So this year we decided that we would try to arrive around midway through the cocktail hour, around 6:30.  Well, that plan didn't exactly pan out.  The travel time between home and the party should have been about 15 minutes, but instead it took nearly an hour and a half!  Somehow we forgot to account for the poor driving conditions (due to snow) and, most importantly, didn't account for the fact that nearly every road in the city was closed due to the annual Parade of Lights!  After multiple detours and having to wait through 2 or 3 light changes at almost every single light we came to, we got to the Brown Palace at about 7:20; 20 minutes after dinner was supposed to be served.

When we walked in everyone was seated and every table was either full or had one empty spot.  After saying hello to a couple people and quickly realizing that there was nowhere for both of us to sit, we were almost relegated to our own table.  You know, the one in the corner that is perfectly set but where no one is sitting.  Everyone was trying to be accommodating and was telling us that there was "plenty of room to squeeze in," when really everyone was already pretty much elbow to elbow.  At this point there was no hiding the fact that we had arrived so late and certainly no hiding the fact that we were causing a slight commotion trying to find a place to sit.  Eventually we did end up squeezing into a table that had one empty spot, and surprisingly the 9 of us fit almost comfortably at an 8 person table.

At this point the embarrassment began to subside and things began to calm down.  We ate, drank, and enjoyed the rest of our evening.  In fact, that last thing, enjoying our evening, would have been nearly impossible to do based on the company we were surrounded with.  What I began to realize is that showing up a few minutes late for dinner is certainly not the end of the world, even when you're still at the point of trying to make a good impression.  Really, in the grand scheme of things, it's meaningless.  Although I was slightly embarrassed, I should have known that the last people on earth that would have cared would be my future colleagues.  One of our managing partners, K.C., always makes a speech at the holiday party to thank everyone for coming and gives a brief "state of the firm" type address.  The past two years (and several times in between) he has mentioned how ISPP is like a family.  How everyone cares for each other and cares about the work that they do.  This year, possibly due to a couple too many cocktails, he threw in the concept that ISPP has a strict, "no asshole" policy.  While his words are simple, and most managers or "bosses" would love to believe that they foster an idealistic work environment, K.C.'s message is absolutely true.

While I realize that Saturday night was an incredibly minor incident, it reminds me why I feel so fortunate to have a job with ISPP.  There are many reasons why I feel fortunate, but after spending a summer working there and having the opportunity to join in several social functions with them, I think what I am most excited about in starting my new career are the people I'll be working with.  They don't care if you're 20 minutes late to dinner.  They're the type of people that don't even think twice about the small commotion you've created and instead offer to squeeze two more into their already full table.  A simple gesture, but a perfect indication of how caring and accommodating they are.  If you're going to dedicate yourself to a career as demanding as law, you might as well work with people you enjoy and respect.  I am confident that ISPP lives up to that.  I enjoy my future colleagues and, more importantly, I respect them.

I leave you with a couple photos of the beautiful setting of the holiday party.  The first is a stock photo of the outside of the hotel and the second is one that I took overlooking the main lobby/bar area of the hotel (not the actual room our party was in):