In your experience, what is the best way to effectively and efficiently delegate work to junior attorneys? Or, if you are a junior attorney, what works well when you are on the receiving end?

As a first year associate, I really appreciate when a partner emails with a brief summary/request and sets up a phone call to give me background and lay it out in more detail. I know it takes more of your time, but so much gets lost in translation via email. Plus, it gives me the chance to ask questions you might not even think I had.

Clear instructions (so they know what you want) and sufficient context and background (so they know why it matters, and may be able to pick up on things you haven’t thought about and add additional value). Other than that, having an open door policy to follow up questions.

For the love of god, let me know when you need it by. One of the biggest, and most unnecessary, sources of stress in my life is operating under the assumption that everything needs to be done ASAP unless I’ve been told otherwise.

Clear instructions and a few precedents if available

My last boss had no regard for balance. He would give multiple assignments and expect all of them to be completed immediately even if it was impossible to do. He would constantly change his mind about what we needed to prioritize and force us to change tasks to the point it became unproductive, but then come at us over things not being done quicker. Even when we would sit him down and show him the amount of work he had and his expectations were not realistic of us which is why we had to triage assignments, he’d just scoff and berate us. We were all to intertwined with his work he’d have no ability to manage his own caseload if any one of us had left.

Don’t be that boss.

In addition to everything else mentioned, review the work product and provide any feedback in a timely manner. It grinds my gears when I crank something out only to have it sit in the partner's review pile for ev.er

"If I have to do your work for you, I don't need to have you around" - Partner to me when I was a 2nd year. Got me going pretty quickly TBH

The best way to delegate is to find out that associate’s best way of receiving the assignment. People take in information differently and fighting their best method creates more issues.

Eg, some want to hear the background first leading up to the issue at hand. Others will want to hear the issue first then the background.

When an associate or paralegal asks me advice, I usually say “what is the question?” Then I ask for the bigger picture in a few sentences. Then I ask further background questions that I need answered. I know that works best for me. When working with a new person, I usually ask “I have an assignment for you. What do you want to know?” Asking good questions is a skill every lawyer needs. After a few times I understand that person’s preference.

I am a transactional lawyer so perhaps this wouldn’t work in litigation.

I’ve found that the maxim “real deadlines are earned” to be true. I use fake deadlines to build in enough time to review the work and provide substantive feedback in writing and have calls. I also make it a point to schedule a check in half way through. So if something is due in 5 days, I’ll schedule a call to answer q in 2 days. Forces them to do some of the work rather than think “it’s not as urgent as these other things” like I used to do all the time. Lots more on this but that’s what’s super useful to me

1. When do you need it and when do we have to file or present it?
2. What does it need to look like? (Is this a formal memo, will an email suffice, do you just need a "yes/no?")
3. What's the endgame? (What are we trying to accomplish with this client, and where does my piece fit?)
4. Have we (the firm) done something like this before (i.e. can I go look for a sample document), or am I breaking new ground here?

Send a detailed email with assignment, soft deadline, hard deadline, and location of hard file. Soft deadline may be different. For example, some commercial clients want the draft 2 weeks before the deadline. Hard deadline being filing/service date. Do not assume the facts you provide will be enough for the assignment so tell them the client matter number or name so they can bill and find the file on the server or file storage program (cloud). Make sure you forward any client correspondence about it to the associate. For example, if you told the client it would take 3 hours, let the associate know. Also, if the assignment becomes unnecessary, let the associate know immediately so they do not bill doing it (their time will get cut later). Give redlines to the associate or if having the changes done by someone else, have that person copy the redlines to give to associate.

Agree with all the comments above re clear instructions. Would also add that creating a atmosphere where ppl are not afraid to ask questions is important. Sometimes (especially if it’s the first time I’m giving someone work) I’ll even schedule a follow up meeting to give them time to process and figure out if there’s any parts they are struggling with. No need to hold their hands but I find an open-door policy has improved the work products I’ve received.

Clear expectations, but not just for the assignment itself. Clear expectations for the number of hours you expect it to take, the format of the work product you expect, whether you want partial drafts as the assignment progresses so you can start reviewing... every partner we work for has different expectations and it can be very hard to keep track. And even if you’re instructing older associates, that kind of information, when given up front, makes it much easier to get things done in a reasonable fashion.

Honestly, I think the most important thing is making an explicit ask. As a junior, partners would cc me and 10 other people on an email and expect me to just “know” which assignments were my responsibility. I was constantly confused and terrified that I had inadvertently missed an assignment. Now, as a mid-level, I know what kind of projects will be my responsibility, but it took a couple years of deal experience to reach that point.

Over-explain the 100k foot view of the project and then explain the associate’s specific tasks and exactly how those tasks fit into the big picture. Taking the time to do this benefits me, the associate, and our client.

I concur with AA1

It depends on the nature of the assignment. If it’s routine, a simple email/call is usually sufficient. If it’s however something unordinary or unique, a lengthier email/discussion is appreciated. While this may require more effort and time on the senior’s part, it is highly appreciated by the juniors on the receiving end. It doesn’t do either end much good if the junior has to spend extra time trying to figure out exactly what he/she needs to do to complete the assignment.

Really depends. Delegation can appropriately range from a quick “pls handle thx” email forward to an hour-long face-to-face. Any person new to one of my teams gets a sit-down to talk about the background of the matter, with rare exceptions for someone doing a one-off, extremely discrete, fact-independent assignment.

Assign tasks in writing with specific deadlines and case/client info that are before the actual deadlines so that you have time to review. Also, any information necessary that is unknown to the JA, needed to complete the task is great to provide initially so that the junior attorney does not waste time looking for needed information.