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Hi All
I have 18 years of experience , out of which 9 years I worked in Manufacturing industry in Quality and Planning area, then I shifted my career to SAP Functional in Manufacturing domain and in IT industry now for last 8+yrs. In between I have done executive MBA from IIM Kozhikode.Am I eligible to work in consulting in Bain India and Bain any other country?
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I downsized from medium law to small law and I’ve found that small law is less structured. The partners at my small law firm are very hands off but have high (and under-communicated) expectations. While it is possible that you know less than you thought you did, I have a feeling that a large part of it is caused by poor communication by your new law firm.
Me too! It is tough to be in a position that doesn’t seem completely aligned with my personality and working style.
I’ve worked in big COA firms and small ones, big law firms and small ones. The work is more sophisticated at big places, but paradoxically you learn less in the early years because there are always people looking over your shoulder and you’re given less responsibility.
The real question in small law is whether they’re giving you responsibility for matters without the authority to handle them as you see fit. If you have both responsibility and authority, then you run with it. Do what you think is best, document the reasons why, keep the partner informed of your decisions, and trust that they’ll say something if they disagree with something you’ve said you intend to do. Basically you’re operating with a lot more autonomy than in Biglaw, where everything is reviewed and you have very little authority as a junior. Instead of asking them what they think of your approach, just tell them what you’re going to do unless they tell you otherwise. Trust yourself. You will be expected to act with more autonomy, and they want self-confidence and willingness to accept responsibility.
If they’ve given you responsibility for clients/matters and their successful outcomes, but no authority to handle as you judge best and no guidance, run. You’re being set up as the sacrificial goat. They’ll take credit for your successes and blame you for failures.
This is really good insight. I don’t feel like I have ultimate responsibility, so I guess that’s good, but I still feel very shut down since I’m usually the only associate on the team doing the large majority of the work and guessing at what the person with ultimate responsibility (the partner) actually wants, since they don’t give me room to truly ask or brainstorm.
I made the switch from big law to mid law at one stage and it definitely made me realise that the learning experience in big law isn’t that great. You don’t get much autonomy over matters and don’t usually do the exciting work that builds experience and knowledge. It was definitely a transition as smaller firms have smaller matters, smaller teams, and so you are expected to know a lot more and work more independently. I would say give yourself some time to get used to the new way of working. If you still feel like you are mismatched, you could always hit the market again. It seems like the new firm don’t really invest in their lawyers and just expects them to hit the ground running.
Overall the experience made me realise how much big law is overhyped. If I knew this before, I would have started my career in a boutique firm for the better learning experience.
Maybe you oversold yourself in your interview and the new firm thinks you are more knowledgeable than you are
It’s possible, but I have had trial experience and experience second chairing depositions and drafting successful motions. I just felt I had more guidance and ability to spitball and brainstorm at my old firm versus here. Maybe a mismatch in work style?
They may just expect you to be more self sufficient if you’re coming in at mid level. Outside of biglaw, junior attorneys generally get more hands-on experience early on, though on smaller matters. You may just need to be more proactive in reaching out for guidance. Are you reaching out with questions and not getting any responses? That would be odd.
Sounds like bad management. Maybe you can tweak how you raise an issue as asking for guidance so you can focus on what they think is appropriate.
Thank you for all the helpful responses! This definitely gives me some food for thought.
Lord, I could write a book on this
16 years in law OMG
I did a lot of praying during those years and I believe that’s why I did finally end up with two great legal positions.
But several bad ones absolutely atrocious...
along the way.
I always felt so sorry for the baby Attorneys. They would come on so excited, bright- eyed and bushy tailed.
And more often than not they get squashed.
The main advice that I can give is that you need to interview them?
You need to scrutinize them.
You need to ask to meet with a firm hierarchy.
They make it so you feel it’s all about judging you and it is…
But you need to let them know that they’re being interviewed as well…
It’s a 2 Sided St….
You’ve got that right… it’s hell I know I’ve been there when you get in with bullish abusive people.
It’s heartbreaking and you hate to have to turn around and leave… it can come down to saving yourself and your health stress kills. Don’t forget that …❤️🩹
I got a stressed illness, literally seriously from abusive attorneys that I worked with…
My doctor told me I had to get out of law or die early… so I did…. I opened my own Firm
The sun came out again ☺️
Sometimes you have to leave those abusers off your résumé.
And keep looking… 🙏🏻
Again, think about it…
Obviously, you’re extremely intelligent
and motivated or you wouldn’t be an attorney…
You might want to focus on opening up your own shop👌 Prayers for you and all who suffer through this pecking order.
It honestly depends on the firm on how normal it is. In my experience though, that is pretty normal for smaller firms. Everyone is so busy that they don't have time to properly train anyone.
Good to know! So maybe it’s just not my type of working environment.