I’m a new associate working for a well-known defense attorney in my state. On one hand, I’m thankful for the opportunity to learn from one of the best, but he also excoriates and belittles me for my mistakes. Any advice on how much it tolerable? I am here to learn and advance my career but he can be pretty nasty. (My mistakes are no worse than you’d expect a 1st year associate to make, in case you’re all wondering if I’m a major screw-up who deserves it) I leave work feeling a foot tall.

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I'm going to answer making the assumption you have a decently thick skin and this senior lawyer is being a jerk. I think there's a couple things you can do to deal with the situation.

First thing is to make sure that if you do make a mistake you don't repeat it, you learn from it. Repeating mistakes it's a surefire way to get negative commentary.

Second, when you get a task, make sure you're asking questions to ensure you understand how to do it and try to flag problems/issues right away.

Third, and most important, if the criticism or comments are inappropriate, you need to stand up for yourself. I would try to form relationships with some other experienced lawyers that can mentor you so you can get some feedback on how to approach the senior lawyer, but you can't let verbal abuse slide.

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