I report to an MP and Sr associate, both of whom work from home 2+days/week. I know they’ve “earned the right” but at what point is this lack of leadership counterproductive to first year development

I don’t see lack of leadership by the scenario described. I see an opportunity for you to take ownership and show leadership. You are ultimately responsible for your own career development. Communicate with your superiors by phone and/or email. Meet with them when they are at the office. Show autonomy and take steps to become a great lawyer. Take CLEs. Use secondary sources. Join a list serve. Interact with other attorneys/partners at the office. Utilize all resources at your disposal. Produce quality work product. Read books on leadership and management and/or take classes. Hope all works out well.

These comments 🙄 if the roles were reversed and a younger attorney wanted to work from home 2+ days a week and the supervising attorney was frustrated by their lack of presence at the office, everyone would be saying the exact opposite thing. Yes, I understand the senior attorneys have put in their sweat equity, but honestly if you want to engender loyalty on your team you need to be present for them and meet their needs. As much as associates are dependent on partners, partners are also dependent on associates and they should invest in that relationship. If not, stop complaining when people leave after a few years.

So i think it’s completely valid for you to want more mentorship/guidance. I think that can be accomplished without face time (like others have suggested), so maybe try some other methods of communication first. Or set up lunches when these people are in the office.

How is their being at home a "lack of leadership"? Do they not have phones or email? Simply being in the office is not "leadership".

So every person in your firm is there just to fit your schedule and give you a cookie cutter experience? You’re going to be very disappointed in any job if you think there should be a set process for every little thing. If you don’t like partners, associates, and opposing counsel who fail to respond or answer every question within a set time frame, you’re not going to like the practice of law. You’re not going to like clients very much either because they aren’t going to respond only during business hours and they often times need a reminder on an email or request. If you aren’t getting feedback or “leadership”, you aren’t alone, but you are going to have to ask for it when they are in the office or set up a time to discuss your development.

Respectfully, I don’t think it’s for a first year to decide if a MP and Sr Associate are displaying a lack of leadership. I doubt you’re privy to all they’ve got on their plate. I think you need to recalibrate your expectations.

You have to take initiative to reach out when you have questions and/or need feedback. Don’t feel like you’re imposing. They expect that you’ll call or email when you need and if you don’t they will assume you don’t need help. You don’t want them to come back to incomplete or bad quality work because you didn’t ask for help. Also, I know it’s easy to get a bit resentful when people aren’t always around. Try to get out of that mindset. Yes they earned it and there’s also a lot of invisible work going on. Partners are having lunches with clients, taking phone calls, going to networking events, speaking engagements etc. It may seem like they’re not working but they are. A lot of work goes into firm management too that you may not see. Also if they were around more they’d probably be giving you even more work and/or constantly interrupting you.

why do i need to be in the office to fit your boomer FaceTime view of what’s appropriate?

I work remotely a lot. Because, for example, I was in Europe for a full week starting the 10th. Then I was in NY for the weekend, for a work dinner. I’m flying tomorrow morning back to NY for negotiations. Not sure yet but I may be in Germany for negotiations week after next. I’d actually like to see my family from time to time and choose not to spend the time I have commuting an hour and a half each way bc of DC traffic. That doesn’t mean I won’t sit on the phone or Skype with you for two hours walking through a contract in painstaking detail. Or talk you off a ledge when you’re having an existential crisis. Or send you flowers when you’ve been pulling all-nighters with me to get the job done. I will give you all of the training time I can whenever I can. But I’m exhausted too and need to carve something out for myself, which just happens to be my three children and my husband. When I’m old and sick it’s not going to be you taking care of me, it’s them.

Think about the long view here. Don’t you want to be at a firm that will allow you to be flexible with Face Time as time goes on? If you need feedback now, just call or email.

Do these people have/use cell phones? If so, set up times to call them. I understand that it can be frustrating when someone isn’t in the office when you need quick feedback or assistance, but it sounds like you’re bitter about it and expect them to be available at your beck and call.

If they are generally non-responsive people, they are going to be non-responsive whether they are at home or in the office. Working from home is not usually the problem. There are plenty of people who regularly work from home and do it well.

Think you have a valid point, OP. Certainly, more senior attorneys will utilize their time in the office or out how they see fit, but not having that personal interaction or consistent level of feedback can be tough. I would make sure you have a system for receiving feedback from the more senior attorneys, including an annual review, and have a conversation to ask for those things, if necessary. Good mentorship is invaluable to professional development.

I get why a first year would be frustrated under these circumstances but encourage you to take the lead on your own development. My experience is that it is common for juniors to feel like they are left without enough guidance, mentor ship, “leadership,” etc. But law firms traditionally don’t operate such that seniors actively give that kind of feedback and interaction—you need to ask for it. That can be harder to do when they aren’t physically present but I encourage you to play a more active role in your own development and stop waiting for it to happen.

I’d answer, at the point that you feel it’s affecting you. Everybody’s different, and also mentoring takes work and customizing, so they may not realize you have expectations or needs that aren’t being met. Find a positive way to ask for it or express your concerns, like referring to a helpful interaction when one of them was in the office: “you know I just wanted to express my appreciation for the other day when ... - that was very helpful. I actually would love it (or feel I could benefit from) more face to face interaction” ... that said, it’s rare that new attorneys get much mentoring - even back in the day when everyone was in the office ....

Yeah, working from home is going to be the new thing. Get used to it, suckka.

Also, it’s good to approach mentorship as a two way relationship. And mentors can come from various places. Build a network and keep go to people close.

Fair. Seems like more of a punch in the face when they’re just not present I suppose

work from home ?? What is that ??