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I feel like this happens all the time. Part of it is partners finding billable hours. Another part of it is that, even though it's their precedent, maybe they've just gotten better since then. I'm sure I'd decimate any of the stuff I wrote more than a year ago.
Rising Star
I agree with the second part. Training a paralegal or new associate will definitely show you the flaws in your own go-by documents!
You’ll learn that the quantity of edits to any draft usually corresponds to the amount of time before it has to be filed, exchanged, etc. In other words, you can have a perfectly adequate document but if there’s a week until it’s due, by God that document will get edited for a week straight and often won’t be any better than it was originally, just different.
Why would you get fired for pointing out that it was his old motion? If anything I’d think he’d be embarrassed. May be think through a bit how you’d phrase it when you tell him though.
Omg I did this to an old boss too! He said something along the lines of “ok, I don’t know if that’s true, or where you got this from, but this work is unacceptable.”
His revisions made NO sense. There was no pattern to his style of writing, and I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out how to change my writing to make him happy.
...I quit shortly thereafter. I understood he was just using me as his punching bag. I realized how abused I was there when I got normal constructive criticism at my next job.
I love that you are invested in your work, and it must be very frustrating to feel criticized. I would take the redlining of his own work as proof positive that the slash and burning has nothing to do with your skill or competence, but is just an opportunity to bill more (for him and for you to implement the changes). It’s definitely easier said than done, but unless it’s affecting you making filing deadlines (or if he has ever suggested he might leave a bad review), I would let it go.
Great perspective and I agree. It can be annoying to be critiqued but it’s part of the beast. And this experiment was mostly to prove to myself that it is not personal or reflective of “good”’work- and it worked. I do feel better now- redline away bro!
The partner may be a dick, or he may have just revised his own work. A brief can always be better or reworked.
As for fixing nonsubstantive things, I understand that is frustrating. Again though, the partner may just be super type A. The partner I work with will move parts of my sentence around...literally not changing a word in the sentence, just the order...or change a word here or there that means the same thing. I call that a preference change. Many people (myself included) struggle to leave another person's writing as it is, even when it is technically fine and just written in a different way than I would write it... basicaly it just doesn't have my "voice." It's a failing on my part, and those like me, when reviewing work...thats why I sometimes will rework a sentence that ultimately says the same thing, and the partner above me does as well. It's a straight up preference change...but it's really hard to stop yourself from doing it (at least it is for me).
Again, he may be an ass. Since you work with him I'm inclined to believe you are right. But throwing another option out there is all. Honestly, just talk the changes through with him...or ask "is this change here a preference or was there a failing in the previous version? I want to know for next tim"
Yes, this is usually annoying and not great for client costs. For a substantive motion I would expect many changes, but for some copycat notice, discovery response, etc. it is often apparent that the reviewer is generating their own billables, so to speak. The worst I had was once when a senior asked me to use a template (doc drafted by different plaintiff in related case), they made a bunch of changes, then asked me to make sure it conformed exactly to what the other plaintiffs had submitted in style and content, essentially reverting all their own edits. Across hundreds of pages of documents.
Are you certain he actually drafted the motion? Not another associate? Also, any ideas of the conditions or time limitations he was under when drafted? Honestly, sounds like he’s giving you feedback which most associates would die for and you either aren’t getting it due to pride or some other reason
Rising Star
If it’s an old motion it doesn’t apply to the current facts?
Insufferable - make substantial legal argument changes your damn self because I can't read your damn handwriting. Or they make changes to their changes on the 3rd round. Do it your damn self.
I have several partners I work for that do the exact same thing. I've copy and pasted motions, discovery requests, etc. directly from their prior work and they continuously bring back edits. I don't take it personally, that's just the way they operate.
Not sure why everyone is assuming it’s an issue of over billing. Have you never looked at something you wrote a long time ago and cringed? There’s always a better way to do something.