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Uh… yeah this reads to me as a potential ADA violation on the part of your supervisor.
You mention that task memos are common in your firm.
You asked for one, which must obviously be a reasonable ask and also anyone who knows you have a disability should be able to make the connection that this is an ask for an accommodation.
A flat refusal given the above circumstances seems unreasonable.
While uncomfortable you may need to have a discussion with you supervisor about the ADA and its role in your employment.
Is your supervisor reasonable generally? You may just have a heart to heart where you say I can do the work and I can do it well but I need you to help when I ask for a reasonable accommodation. It might be annoying for your supervisor but being a leader doesn’t mean you can refuse to do some work because it’s annoying. If anything good leader is willing to do the things that help their team and if he isn’t then he shouldn’t be supervising people.
If that doesn’t go well I’d probably talk to HR. That should get stuff sorted out in short order.
For you own mental health, have the conversation. Take a risk and appeal to whomever you feel safe with. I hope they hear and take appropriate action to help you. Do not carry the weight of this. You made it. You’ve worked hard and now you just have to level the field. You can hopefully do that with a conversation. If not there is a place for you to grow and succeed.
Leverage AI.
Yeah, task memos are not a thing.
You could email him your version of a summary of the assignment to make sure you haven’t missed anything, but even that is iffy.
Send an email asking for tasks in writing as a accommodation
You shouldn't feel stupid. Task memos are a thing, at least at my firm, especially for junior associates and where the task is somewhat complex. Could just be an email outlining your supervisor's expectations but in the absence of that, A1 gave the best advice. Write down a summary of what you think the task is to the best of your abilities (including your strategies) and send it to your supervisor asking whether you're on track on what needs to be accomplished. Most importantly, don't let anyone make you feel like you are stupid when you are asking for something as simple as guidance from someone who is supposed to be your supervisor.
Task memos should help with not only teaching the associate but also holding out metrics to know where case development stands. I would have appreciated anything like this when I was new. I’ve just stumbled along my entire career
There is probable ADA relevance here as a chat room full of lawyers will no doubt mention ad nauseam, but ignore the lawyerly instinct to cite statutes and threaten lawsuits to solve every problem.
Do you think a partner is going to keep giving work to the junior associate for whom he needs to do more (like unbillable) work just to assign a task? Do you think partners are going to assign work to the junior associate who threatens to sue if they don't assign work "right"?
It's going to be much better long-term to learn how to accommodate yourself.
Only you can make you feel stupid.