How should I be judged/critiqued?
I’ve been out of law school for nine years, but only in my area of law for two. However, year one was at a terrible firm with not so great experience. Before then I was in doc review for a long time. Now, I’m a ninth year attorney with only two years of relevant experience. From the outside, I’m more functional than a two-year attorney, but not as independent as lawyers out of law school as long as I have been. Sometimes, I feel like I am judged as a ninth year

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Cont. I am just not sure if that is fair since I did doc review for so long and have a pay in line with a 3rd year. How should I be viewed/critiqued?

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It may be unfair, but I think on a skillset-level most partners/supervisors are still probably going to have higher standards for you than a third-year, even if doc review isn't really that transferable to certain practice areas. I think I would try to maintain a positive attitude and try and go above and beyond in issue-spotting/flagging things early. I think because of the # of years you've been out of law school, partners probably expect you to have more initiative/ownership of matters than a standard third year.

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Thank you. This sounds accurate. Most of my cases I can run on my own. Not all though. I appreciate the tips.

No longer in private practice but I did my time -- do you feel like you're being judged on your hard or soft skills? Eg, legal work or communication?

Mostly hard skills. Writing quality sometimes

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