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I did as a first year. Told the managing partner I couldn’t work with a certain of Counsel anymore after a horrific night of verbal abuse (my wife could hear her screaming at me through the phone from another room). He had me report it to HR and apologized profusely and admitted that they all knew she was like that and that “there is a reason she’s been at a number of top firms and never made partner”. They forbid her from talking to me directly or assigning me work anymore but the damage was done. She was a rainmaker which is why they kept her around and my work dried up after that. I lateraled at the end of my first year a few months later. She is no longer with the firm.
Yea, that’s the difficult part. This person is a rainmaker. I do know previous associates have asked not to work with them and many told me to stay away if possible. I’m replaceable though.
Rising Star
You can do it once. After that, it looks like you’re the problem or at least a squeaky wheel. The right approach is to find someone on the team that you trust and can discretely maneuver that partner away from you and otherwise handle the situation. I would start with the group chair, if you have a good rapport.
I have never asked not to work with people but after gaining some independence, I’ve been able to let cases with people I hate working with die out while filing my case list with cases with people I like working with and anytime the bad people ask if I can take on another matter now I say I am at capacity
This is the way to go
Just stop answering phone calls, and say you are booked up over email for a week or so. They’ll take the hint
From what I’ve seen it depends on how valuable the associate is to the group. We’ve had a couple associates ask not to work with a specific partner. One of them is in high demand and super bright and not working with one partner in our group doesn’t negatively impact the firm or their workload. Another was struggling all around and below hours and although they got what they wanted, it followed them around and well…using past tense for a reason. It’s tricky with a rainmaker but if they’re truly toxic and you’re “in” with others you’ll probably be just fine.
Don’t do it unless you’re prepared to leave. You won’t know the ramifications until you’ve done it, and they could be career ending at that firm. Too risky IMO.
I’ve been told it’s OK, but not sure what the true ramifications are…
Who would you ask?
Perhaps COO or group chair.
I think best approach generally is to try to be a go-to for partners you like working with so when your asked by that person or someone else to do work for them your already at capacity. Depending on your firm and relationships you might have other options. Like if there is a group chair or partner that oversees staffing or associate development or whatever. In my case I was able to mention to the staffing partner that I wasn’t getting along with a certain partner and he created a buffer. But my situation I had 2 review cycles where she was the only one that gave me non-constructive/negative feedback in in otherwise positive review. Other associates and partners also had issues with her. I think if you don’t have those facts, you might seem like a problem. In that case I was would try to be busy with other people.