Anyone feel like they just aren’t a good attorney/cut out for being a lawyer? Started out doing corporate work, hated it. Switched over to litigation because I had originally went to law school thinking I wanted to be a litigator of some kind. About one year in, I work my tail off and have the reputation for doing so. Almost like clockwork my written work gets torn apart, and I make what i feel are stupid mistakes. I try to cut myself some slack because I’m junior but the doubt creeps in.

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Don’t be too hard on yourself. It takes time to develop the writing style that your higher ups want. It can also be very subjective. Bear in mind the types of lawyers who tend to be good civil litigators: people who are extremely consciences, orderly, detail oriented, confident yet insecure, manipulative, paranoid, finicky/particular, habitual. Many of us can’t deviate from the “formula” for success, even if it’s an overall improvement to change something. It may very well be the people reviewing your work who are being unrealistic. Take the feedback and learn from it, and replicate.

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It’s called “the practice” of law. Get used to making mistakes (they happen), just learn from them. Ask as many questions as you need to. You’re doing fine.

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It takes a couple of years for things to start making sense. Don't get discouraged if that's the only issue.

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What makes me feel better about sucking is knowing that after med school doctor’s have several years of residency. Our first five years of law practice are really like an unstructured residency. Law school did not prepare us. We can’t expect to show up know how to be a fucking boss at our job immediately. Skill and passion are developed over time.

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This is normal. You may just work for good writers. People in law are bad at expressing positive feedback bc they’re so focused on getting the thing done. In a year or two when you’re doing the editing remember to throw your juniors a bone to let them know you appreciate their hard work.

But you’re fine. If you’re busy you’re good.

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What year is your JD?

Its better to ask all the questions and get answers then to ask nothing and mess up. It just takes some time to find your groove. Ask to sit in on things, look at samples, ask questions. You went to law school to learn law, not how to practice. Now it's time to learn and educate yourself on the practice of law.

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Have you thought about whether moving firms would help? I had this exact same feeling with litigation about 3 years out of law school and even seriously explored/applied for non-attorney positions (FBI, Secret Service, becoming an officer in the military, real estate, you name it...I considered or applied for it).

Then I decided to give it one last shot and look for a new firm. Turns out...I wasn’t “bad” at being lawyer but rather, I was working for horrible people who didn’t value growth as an attorney. My writing went from being torn to pieces to getting extremely high compliments from the partners at the new firm. After about 2 weeks at the new firm, I laughed at myself for thinking I wasn’t “cut out” to be a lawyer, much less a litigator.

This may not be your situation...but it’s certainly worth considering.

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