Partner staffed me, another mid & a junior on a deal. Plenty that junior could help with but it’s clear he’s not tracking the deal and not gonna do anything unless specifically asked. (He’s a 3rd or 4th year) Are we unreasonable for being frustrated he’s not taking more initiative if we haven’t specifically asked, or are juniors nowadays taking a “don’t speak unless spoken to” approach that we just need to get used to? I can’t tell if I’m a bad manager or if he’s just lazy.

It would be nice for the 3rd year to show some initiative, sure. But you should show some leadership and delegate. At least have a quick call with you, the other mid, and the junior to discuss what needs to be done and who will take on what tasks

I’m a 3rd year in a corporate practice and considered as a mid in my team. I’m expected to run most of the project management of the deal (most of communication among parties, give work to juniors and check in with them, give work to specialists and chase them, pick up all docs that come in and evaluate what I can do and what the senior/partner needs to check, chase the said senior/partner, ensure we are on track with our deliverables and chase if we aren’t, flag to the senior/partner any red or other colors of flags I notice, etc). My friends on the same level do the same. You don’t have unreasonable expectations. Your mid is either lazy/avoiding work/coasting or struggles with the switch to the mid lever role or even lacks confidence to do the job. I would often assign a workstream to a junior and told them they should run with it and stress that they can always check in when they want a second opinion or aren’t sure but also stress that they have to come with a possible solution and can’t just ask what to do. Suggest having a convo with your mid, assign them some workstreams you expect them to handle, and let them know you are always there if needed.

I’m a third year and would have no idea what to do and definitely would expect to just get asked to do certain tasks if there are two associates who rank above me. Before you assume he doesn’t care I’d tell him you expect him to do things on his own initiative and maybe map out the type of things those are

As a junior I got the vibe that trying to take initiative was annoying the mids so now I just wait and do what I’m told. If you want them to try to take more initiative let them know, they might want to but not know how it will be received.

The best management style is fairly simple: expectations and deadlines are clearly articulated from the start. You and the other mid level should sit down, draw out a plan dividing responsibilities and clearly articulate it to the junior. While a 3rd or 4th year should get it by now, it’s up to you to manage them when they don’t.

It’s a little of both.
Just send an direct email with clear expectations “you will be responsible for overseeing and completing xyz tasks. I should be cc’d on all emails regarding these tasks. These tasks should be complete by x date for me to review before going to the partner. Let’s set up a time to discuss”. Everyone knows who is responsible for what. If they don’t complete the task, you at least have a paper trail of expectations not being met if the problem persists.

Maybe he is busy on other deals?

I consider 3rd/4th years to be mid levels and should be taking a very proactive role in matters. When I was a 3rd year, I was running my own (smaller) cases in big law.

Who is “we?”

Just be explicit what you want them to do. Project management woo so fun.

3rd/4th years are considered juniors at your firm?? They would drown here lol. What are you considering mid?

I don’t think your expectations are unreasonable but as others have said just be more clear with expectations/tasks and see how he takes to it. Maybe he’s super busy and/or lazy and will do what he’s told but not more, maybe he feels like there’s a full team on this and on his other deal(s) he’s the only associate so has to spend more time being proactive on that and on this deal he’ll only do what is asked.

I think this is a little odd for a 3rd/4th year. I’m in litigation, but when I’m staffed on a case I’m in charge of a certain aspect of it and delegating to more junior team members. I think at that point you should know to take some initiative or at least know what questions to ask to keep the ball rolling. He’s probably not confused, he’s just checked out.

Is there anything you could be doing to contribute? Are you cutting him out of strategy calls, calls with the client, communications with the partner, and so on? Are you passing up his work to partners, clients as if it’s your own while cutting him out of seeing it go over? Are you asking him to cover for you for late nights and weekends but acting as if it’s been you covering the whole time? Are you actively cutting him out of the deal team because you think it’s better optics for you? If any of this sounds familiar, it’s your management style.

I generally find it tough to know what I’m supposed to be doing when I’m on deals with associates above me (2nd yr). When it’s just me and a partner, I have a good sense of the “partner tasks” and the “associate tasks,” but when there’s like a 6th year and an active partner then I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing vis a vis the 6th year.

Is this the jr’s fault or did leadership fail to clearly communicate expectations and set financial goals accordingly? Before we look at jr employees, we must always look up

Being in charge of the checklist might be a good place to start to give him a better sense of the moving pieces, timelines, gating items, etc. I also typically have a call where I ask my juniors 1) what they were doing on their last deal, and 2) what new thing to they want to try on this one. Then I make it clear that I expect them to own tracking those items, in particular.

Sometimes when the deal teams are larger, it can start to feel crowded and chaotic if roles aren’t super clearly defined. People take their foot off the gas if they’re worried about getting in the way and then wait to be given specific tasks.

Structure is good when you’re still learning dealflow. You’ve got this!

I had a great senior who, on Sunday evening, would send out to the deal team what needed to get done for the next week, who needed to do it, and by when if there was a deadline in the middle of the week. Maybe do that? Like say: “get signature packages to me for review by Wednesday morning because i want you to send them out by Friday” or “send document to tax/privacy teams and ask for comments by Thursday, please implement comments so we have full document on Friday”

Give them ownership + deadline over a part of it and be available to discuss if they have questions.

As a junior, he should be tracking the deal but I understand if he’s not being proactive if you and the other mid are running process. Makes sense to me to check-in with him about workstreams he’s in charge of, and take it from there.

Is tracking the deal a billable hour? How many hours has the jr billed? Is the jr on track to meet billable expectations?

I always throw out the “let me know what you need me to do on this” when there’s a mix of people on a matter. I also don’t want to double bill the client.

3rd/4th is not junior.

Open communication is the most important thing. You need to clearly explain what you want or expect them to do, so yes you must ask for it. How can they read your mind? Until you make it clear, everyone is just guessing