As a 4th year I feel like I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing and everyone around me seems to be competent and confident. Am I just terrible at my job or is everyone else just better at faking it?

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Sounds about right for biglaw. If you’re not absolutely terrified that using an em dash instead of an en dash at 3am on a Sunday will ruin your chance of making partner, they aren’t getting the value they need out of you.

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Yes. JK! Honestly I think there’s an art to exuding confidence and for some people it takes a little longer to refine that skill.

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The best advice I ever received was from a mentor I had at about 4 years in - I had asked him when would I start to "get it" and feel like I actually knew what I was doing. He politely explained that no one knows what they are doing - one of the biggest skills a lawyer has is convincing others she knows what she's doing. As a younger attorney it was pretty eye opening and helped me to be more confident negotiating across from more seasoned attorneys - we're literally all just making it up as we go along

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I feel the same at times. But I think the key is to find people to work with that won’t penalize you for learning.

I have a partner/senior associate that genuinely think only the way they do things is the correct way even though a majority of the other group handles things differently than them. Every time I work with them, I feel utterly incompetent. Eventually, I realize there’s no one in my position that would understand how to service their clients because 1) they give poor instructions 2) they ignore emails and 3) push unreasonable deadlines.

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First, confidences and competence are often orthogonal, so I would worry less about the former.

You should be starting to become competent by sometime during your fourth year, in most practice areas. What is your practice area?

I appreciate that P1. It feels like I’m lagging behind in the practical every day lawyering stuff but I know I have more knowledge of the courts and litigating in federal court specifically than most of my peers. Because I’m the only former clerk my particular office has ever had, I don’t think they realize the specialized knowledge I have and they overlook me sometimes for certain cases and projects which makes me feel less confident.

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