How do you repeatedly turn down work for one partner or effectively avoid working with a particular person within your firm? Assuming hours are met and your standing is strong otherwise. One partner at my firm is destroying my mental health and knows few boundaries. I don't want to actively transition from our ongoing matters but sure as hell don't want to take on anything new...
How best to do this without burning bridges?

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I just burnt the bridge. I got to a point where I was willing to quit my job if I had to keep working with this one partner and I said so to someone at my firm. It’s been years and I have yet to work with that person again.

I didn’t care if it had repercussions because I was that done. Sorry I don’t have better advice. Just a success(ish) story. Who knows if it’ll bite me in the ass somewhere down the line. It hasn’t yet.

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He hasn’t asked me. I’m usually very busy, so he may think I legitimately don’t have time to help him. I doubt it though, he probably knows I refuse to work with him. I didn’t ask the other partners to keep it a secret.

I aligned myself with more important partners and burnt the bridge. Offending partner was asked to leave about 6 months later after 9 or so associates quit because of him (and he was a junior partner with no book).

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“I would love to help but I’m slammed for at least the next two weeks. Have you met [insert junior associate’s name]?”

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A2 is on point for partners that really ruin your life. For partners that you just want to avoid but aren’t THAT bad, just say no. If they press, be unavailable, say you can’t do things for several days or weeks, take forever to answer to answer emails, and never answer your phone. I will go as far as to schedule fake meetings on my calendar when they need me for something so they can’t just throw things on the books.

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I said yes to everything not with that partner. Then I told the staffing coordinator that i never wanted to work with him and haven’t.

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OP, I don’t have great advice but I’m in the same situation. Hope it works out for you

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