Have a junior that isn’t improving - not even catching typos. I’ve given him back redline bloodbaths/some short feedback. As a mid level, I’m stuck w him bc of partner staffing. Any tips?

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Have a candid sit down discussion and level with them and earn their trust. Also tell them things they did correctly and how they helped. Young lawyers who feel they don’t suck at everything and like they actually did a thing right tend to do better and sometimes even catch fire.

Not being accusatory, because I’m not there and don’t know what you’re really doing, but redlines and emails and short seemingly passive aggressive verbal comments aren’t usually effective management techniques. Our profession stinks at managing. I’m trying to get away from the old way of doing things and foster more of a team mentality among junior people and paralegals

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I second the in-person talk! I’m a junior and that’s always more helpful to know what the senior associate./partner’s style is and what they like.

It’s possible there’s something else going on outside of work. Or maybe he just doesn’t like his job? Hard to tell unless you take the time to get to know him as an individual.

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I have had this situation but I was the junior making the mistakes. The partner I worked for at the time I'm sure would chalk it up to my incompetence. What was really going on:

1. She was giving me incredibly large volumes of work for my experience level (which was none but they hired me knowing I had no experience) with absolutely ridiculous time expectations, so I was trying to fly through work as quickly as possible, and making a lot of mistakes I wouldn't normally make bc of it.

2. When this was discussed with her and her boss in a quarterly progress meeting her behavior didn't change, but her comments became more passive aggressive and her demeanor towards me turned completely negative. I ended up quitting shortly after that, didn't even have a job lined up it was so terrible. Found out after I quit I wasn't the 1st associate to quit and the person that replaced me lasted less time than I did.

3. Why is there no secretary available to proof? Everyone (yes, even you) makes typos and no matter how may times you proof sometimes you won't see a mistake in your own work. Everything, even from "experienced" partners has a typo from time to time. I'm sure if you asked the partner I worked for she would say she doesn't make mistakes like that, but she would be wrong. I caught many typos on documents that were submitted/went out to clients that I looked at as examples of how to complete something I was doing for the first time.... and this was a "large" firm so they certainly had the resources to do it, but choose not to have secretaries proofread documents. Absolutely insane if you ask me.

I now work for a much smaller firm but have a secretary now (not just mine, split amongst 5 attorneys). Proofing is a normal and expected part of the process. Nobody is "looked down upon" bc a typo is in a document, it's look at as a team approach, multiple eyes see a document to catch as many mistakes as possible, even with work originating from a partner.

Other than that I echo what others have said about mental state/happiness with the position. Maybe something is going on outside of work, maybe he needs a break, maybe he is just miserable there and doesn't care... you won't know until you ask.

likeuplifting

Yes, Attorney 2. We are not perfect and/or robots. Typos happen. There are bigger issues in the world besides a missed comma.

As a junior Associate, it helps when you tell me the good I'm doing because it helps me see that I can actually get better. And like I've said before on this forum, not every associate will be Tom Brady, but almost every associate can be a role player. It's up to the more senior ppl to figure that out, while being encouraging.

As far as typos, that usually occurs when I have a quick turnaround. I get that my work is supposed to be fast and good, but Junior associates are humans. Usually when I have typos, the partner reads for substance and then says, "the substance is good, just fix the typos". That's how you coach. If you are just read lining and whining, either (1) he thinks you are fine with fixing his mistakes or (2) he doesn't give a shit anymore.

likeuplifting

Very important to tell someone who is struggling when they do almost anything well. People need positive feedback to feel good about themselves. Even when it is small, it is important.

likefunny

Send it back without redlines and tell the junior you were hoping for a “ready-to-file” draft. Maybe that’ll force some sole searching and self-correcting.

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Tell him you are loaded with work and his product is going straight to the partner

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Some people never get it. One of my longest term and most respected colleagues, used to say she had a "help or hinder" test for junior associates. If they help, she'll work with them and invest energy in them. If they hinder and are unwilling to rectify, she cuts them loose.

I think about it a bit differently. I try to help people getting started to understand that where they end up professionally depends largely on the answers to two questions: 1. What are you trying to achieve? 2. How much effort are you willing to invest to achieve it?

Try helping the person to understand those questions and to think carefully about his/her answers. If he/she steps up effort, be helpful. If not, let him/her crash and burn.

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First things first, you gotta deliver the feedback. Not cruelly, but also not so gently that someone could misunderstand that there is an issue. Think about a time when a partner (or even a friend) was not clear with you about something they were disappointed by, how much clearer you wish they had been, and do what you wish they would have done.

Second, if serious feedback does not help, send a ready to file version along to the partner, copying the junior associate, also attaching a redline of your changes to what they sent you. If the partner looks at it, they’ll understand that there’s a problem that you’ve determined is above your pay grade. The associate will probably be embarrassed, and that’s unfortunately the lesson. Again, very important to have direct feedback conversations that prove fruitless before doing this.

I had a similar situation with a junior a couple years ago and went to a partner in a different practice group to ask him how to navigate it. He told me to send the redline of our compared versions and I about clutched my pearls I was so mortified. I told him it sounded super passive aggressive. He rightly pointed out that, no, it’s just me taking appropriate credit for the work I did. And if the other associate’s work weren’t bad to begin with, the redline wouldn’t look bad. If the junior is embarrassed by it when the redline is circulated to the partner BUT NOT when they send you the bad draft to begin with, well, it seems like maybe that’s exactly the kick in the butt they need.

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That’s a tough one. Honestly, I feel like that junior at times (maybe she/he isn’t self aware) when I make what I think are dumb mistakes. Have you tried giving pointers? There were some threads a few days ago about proofing techniques that I use and find helpful.

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There are often people on TLS who talk about how long they can stay in biglaw while doing as little as possible. Is that the case here OP?

I do have sympathy for a first year who is adjusting to the demands of biglaw.

I have no sympathy for a third year being sloppy, regardless of the volume of work. It's not done until it's closer to done!

I would take this kid out to coffee to try to connect. And I would praise how hard he or she is working. And the I would talk about the types of things that are not acceptable, and are not merely feedback from you, but are career limiting. Literally....we cannot bill clients at these rates for the work product you are putting out, we're going to start cutting your time. Then talk about solutions....

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@A4 she's still there. I went in house. It's a large "lifestyle" biglaw firm in Boston (Boston peeps will know which one). Apparently she shaped up after partners caught wind...like 9 mos later.

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What if they literally do not know what mistakes they are making? You can’t assume everyone had the same educational opportunities where they learned to write as well as you or catch grammatical errors. What are the mistakes? Spelling? Grammar?

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I'm sure if that is the case(the junior sucks at writing) , then OP believes that the junior should be fire.

Agree with lots of points made here. I can also tell you that as a junior, quite frankly, I prioritize (in terms of deadlines & quality) the work of the people who are the nicest and I like working with... because I want to get more work from them. When sources of work are plentiful I have that option. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to receive criticism. But some people are really good at teaching, communicating expectations, showing interest in our professional development, and some people make you feel like whatever you give them will be wrong without an explanation as to why, so simple errors come in. Not suggesting that’s what you’re doing. But putting in a little extra effort to establish a relationship goes a long way. And if there’s something he’s really not getting, taking half an hour to walk him through it can make a huge difference as opposed to a bloodbath redline.

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On a slightly different perspective, consider getting your firm to test/invest in automated proofing tools - or casually send a link to one of them to said associate and specify they should consider testing it out for the firm/team.

For me at least, that would be enough of a kick in the butt. If that doesn't help, agree with the above - send to partner - although if they are staffing this associate they are either trying to train them through you, or don't see the reality of the quality of work - I've dealt with a lot of associates who tout themselves as geniuses with partners to try and get work, and are actually terrible.

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