Ever finish a draft so late you wait until the morning to email it to the Partner? (Why am I sweating an arbitrary Friday deadline?)

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No, I send it to them so they know I’ve been working until the AM

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If the partner also thinks it’s an arbitrary deadline and isn’t an unreasonable control freak, then it’s reasonable to wait until the AM to look it over with fresh eyes and send it over so it’s sitting in their inbox first thing in the morning. Better to send quality work product, even if it’s technically but arbitrarily late. And next time, you could ask if they really need it Friday night or if they could wait until Saturday or Monday.

Honestly, if someone was working that late on a Friday night and sent work at like 2am, I’d wonder why they weren’t managing their time well. But our firm doesn’t give Friday night deadlines cuz that makes no sense in litigation.

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I never trust my proofreading skills at night. Unless I think someone will actually read it at 11pm, I save it for the morning when I can look it over again.

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I actually do this somewhat often, but I try to send it before 7am. So I’ll wake up, look at it again to make sure I didn’t do something really stupid while I was exhausted, then send it. As long as it’s before the partner starts working in the morning, I’ve never had a problem.

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Seconded. I do this when absolutely necessary. I’m a morning person though, so I consistently start working at 6 am or so (hours before my partners) & send a final draft out before 7. My partners have (after 4 years) started assigning deadlines with that in mind.

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When I was still in biglaw, yes. Most of the time it is not a big deal, but for some it will be a huge strike. Then again for some anything is a huge strike.

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Did this with a client email today... really should have gone out on Wednesday but at this point it can wait until “sometime this weekend.” I also feel like there’s a Friday night deadzone where most partners/seniors are trying to take a break, so if I need their sign off I tend to just wait to send it at a time I’m more likely to show up top of inbox.

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I submitted it at like 3 am (after taking a break, coming back to it and proofing it out loud) so here goes nothing! (Mostly I want to sleep in and not set an alarm for 6:45 to send an email.)

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Yeah, but we use Outlook and you have to be logged in, which means running my computer and also hoping my remote connection to my firm’s network doesn’t boot me. I have never trusted “send later” type things.

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I hate setting arbitrary deadlines and some people definitely do that. But juniors don’t always realize that (1) seniors/partners/clients need time to review things before they are filed, (2) seniors/partners/clients likely have other things going on, and (3) cases need to progress forward and we can’t be sitting on things even if they aren’t technically due.

Unless there’s some very good reason, I don’t set Friday night deadlines. Anything that could get to me on Friday night usually could get to me Sunday night or Monday morning, unless I need to have reviewed it over the weekend.

All that being said, if I set a Friday night deadline and I got no advance notice that the associate needed more time, I would be unhappy if I didn’t get it by Saturday at noon.

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A deadline is a deadline. Missing it (whether you think it’s arbitrary or not) is a reputation killer.

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I miss them and move them and ensure I get sleep and somehow people keep giving me work. They must be desperate, considering the shambles my reputation is in!

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So like the other comments, I do this too, but not if it means I will miss a deadline. So If I’ve been told “I need this in the next day or two”, then I’ll work on the project all night and revise in the morning.

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There is no such thing as an arbitrary deadline. If someone asked you for something by a date certain, either deliver or get an extension.

Sure. I think we can all agree that nobody’s plan A is to be debating whether 3am or 7am is ideal for a deadline, but which is preferable in a tough spot.

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I send it in the a.m. unless I know the partner is a night owl. We rag on partners for being dicks, doesn't mean we need to be dicks as well.

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