Pro
Related Posts
Mentor
Conversation Starter
More Posts
Hi Fishes, Wish you a great day ahead 😊🤗.
Guess when I started presenting to client.
Latino/as hate “latinx”
Any of u guys going to the Amex diversity mixer?
Additional Posts in Law
Rising Star
There are ways to give feedback without making someone sound like an idiot. Unless, of course, they really are an idiot.
Pro
I am questioning whether I really am an idiot at this point
Do litigators have something like Microsystems Contract Companion? It’s an AI plugin for Word that actually does a very good job of identifying all sorts of issues in your doc (x-refs, typos/grammar/editing issues, defined term usage, inconsistent usage, numbering issues, etc.)?
If so, highly recommend running that before sending a long doc for upward review. It’s over-inclusive for sure, but it definitely catches stuff that would otherwise make you look like a complete idiot and makes you think about other stuff too that you may have missed. This is what I recommend to all my juniors and have seen a noticeable difference in quality of work product.
Contract Companion is amazing
I am sorry you are feeling this way and hope the SA is not being a total jerk. There will always be a learning curve when you are doing something for the first time. They know this so try not to be too hard on yourself.
You can make a list of the constructive criticisms and common traps you fall in (tense issues, passive voice (my downfall) etc.). Use that list to check future motions so you don’t repeat mistakes. To me, that’s the point- you’ll make mistakes so just try to learn from them. And try not to take any criticism or feedback personally even though I know that’s really hard!
The most important (but also hardest) part of being an associate is being able to bounce back. Did you fail epically? Perhaps, but shake it off and do better next time. Spend time looking at their changes and (this is the hard part!) ask them for clarification if you do not understand a change.
You are NOT an idiot. You are learning. It will be painful at times but that is part of the process.
Sometimes supervisors need a reminder that you know nothing. When I do poorly, I own it quickly and move on.
Also, if you are given an assignment and do not know what is expected of you, be brave and ask for guidance. Most supervisors would prefer to spend 10 minutes answering your questions up front than to spend much more time redoing your work.
When this happens to me, I always send an email when the assignment is finalized/filed thanking them for their guidance and throwing in a subtle reminder that it was new for me. Something like “Thank for your guidance on this project. I learned a lot from your feedback on where I can improve, etc etc.” I feel like it ends things on a positive note, if only for myself haha.
Just here to say this made me feel better because I am currently experiencing the same thing
Pro
Hope it gets better for you!
Chief
Past tense, baby!
It seems to me like you need to learn how to receive feedback.
Have you tried running it through the grammerly software before turning it in? Just another layer of “checking” I use - particularly with harsh superiors.
Rising Star
Try not to take feedback personally. I don’t always bother giving really detailed feedback unless I think the person can improve or is worth working with. Someone who always makes same mistakes, I just start re-doing it and don’t bother giving a ton of feedback because it’s not worth my time after a point. So try to remember that MAYBE someone being hard on you is a good sign. I don’t know the exact circumstances here but just trying to present a different perspective.
Chief
I feel like you used the wrong tense in your post. You already gave the work product to your senior, so you already got things wrong. You're not still getting things wrong. Lol.
You don’t pass docs back and forth, A3? That’s kind of nice.