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Often. We act like bad reviews are scarlet letters. Keep billing
Being more junior is an ungrateful job sometimes. Had once where the partner had commented and left changes on an old draft. All the changes the rest of the team had put in on the course of the past two days weren’t reflected in it. So I consolidated them best I could, even though the drafts were sometimes conflicting. Sent the draft back. Got yelled at that “I wasn’t supposed to think or draft anything, just accept whatever he wrote.”
Ended up ignoring all the work the team did and just took his draft.
Bad moments like this happen, it is what it is. Sometimes they’re fair, sometimes they’re not.
Once our client contact gave us a shoot starting point that appeared to have been written by animals and I edited it to make it a much stronger legal document. Turned the draft. Client was livid. I later learned that the client contact themselves had drafted this document.
Mentor
In a counsel role now, so I see things from both sides and have come to appreciate so much of this comes down to communication. Partners are human, juggling a lot, and get it wrong sometimes (on little things and also sometimes the substance). The reality is until you have your own book, you have two clients: other partners and the actual client. Navigating how to keep both happy (and not make the partner look bad) is a skill in and of itself, but one that sets the successful associates apart from what I've seen. There are ways to delicately point out errors to the partner (and if they say, "Oh well," at least you've CYA'ed by raising it and can move on), buy yourself time if a client is bugging you for something that's sitting in their inbox, etc. Do these types of situations happen? Sure. All I'm saying is there are definitely ways to avoid it through clear communication (rather than doing what you think is right and hoping it's seen that way later).
Mentor
OP, I hear you and really dislike it when associates are treated poorly for trying. I will say, yes, there are asshole partners out there - as there are in any profession - but 9/10 times when this happens, it's really not about you. Most partners are trying to manage a lot and misplacing their anger/anxiety when something small pushes them over the edge. I know that's easily said by someone external to the situation, but a perspective I think sometimes gets lost.
Contd’: how often does this happen to others?
Even if they ARE in the wrong, rarely serves you to not be deferential. Better to adjust your communication style next time.
This. Part of the job at every level is communicating up/out. For example, if you are doing a quick scan of a document before sending and notice an issue that will require a longer review, best practice is to tell the senior attorney that and that you’re working on fixing it. Then, if they want you to send anyway, they’ll tell you and you execute. Proactive communication solves a lot of tone issues because it puts you in control rather than on the defensive. i.e., saying “I noticed some defined terms inconsistencies and am planning to do another pass through to fix before sending” doesn’t place any blame or show any disrespect—it just identifies a problem and says you are fixing it. In contrast, answering “Why didn’t you send this sooner?” With, “the draft has lots of errors, so I was fixing them” carries a tone of “it’s not my fault, it’s your fault.”
The partner may tell the client they're sending a rough draft for discussion. Their GC might be involved, who knows. Unless you ask if you should do some clean ups before you send, that kind of discussion doesn't happen.