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My stress level is so high I'm seeing double.
They are so darn cuddly!
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Kleinberg Kaplan thoughts anyone?
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Coach
Quit quit quitttttyyyy time!
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It’s a tragedy of the commons problem. You are the commons.
As a corporate associate I don’t think I’ve ever had a week+ to complete anything.
Subject Expert
Turn down work. No one will set boundaries for you other than yourself
I have. And then I had to have a 1 hour conversation about why I couldn’t make it work…. I then tried listing everything ahead of new tasks on my list and still there is confusion about why I can’t get it done by the deadline.
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The sad truth is—you’re lucky to get the work, and the partners know this (bc they themselves know THEY are lucky to get the work).
That’s BL. Almost nobody is secure. Some just get to make a lot more money out of it before time’s up.
As I have gotten more senior, I have definitely started to see more of the partner perspective on this. People who set boundaries thinking that the work will always be there for them when they have time don’t understand that it can dry up just as quickly. That’s not a reason to let the job ruin your life, but people also have to be aware that if they say no to things, they will not be the first call when work is scarce.
Once you set boundaries, there will be the nonsense of inconsistency…
If you've told the partner you're over capacity and they foist it on you anyway, they're bad at their job. Full stop. There's zero chance I want to risk sending something to a client if I know it's going to be rushed and potentially compromised.
If you've hinted at being overloaded, I think there's responsibility on both sides. I personally think good attorneys should be emotionally intelligent enough to pick up signals that their work might be compromised (but we all know from experience that's not often true). However, I also think setting clear boundaries is an essential skill, even when uncomfortable, and that we bear some blame when we fail to do that (as I've certainly done, too).
If you haven't said anything and expect partners to be omniscient about all the other work you're doing (and how much time it takes), then it's not on them. I do understand why someone would assume partners "know" this stuff - I did when I was junior. But speaking as a partner who tries to stay on top of things like this - we often don't, unless someone says something. Pace reports are often delayed (and dependent on timely time entry, which is often the first thing to fall behind when someone is busy).
There is also the partner’s perspective - I have relied on one associate for a long term project and the client has a crisis that I would like the associate to help for a couple of hours. The associate declined my assignment because another partner has a newer, blow out project that the partner would only rely on this associate and involve nobody else. This will at least occupy that associate for at least one week. The partner would not want to use other associates because they are not as good(?). But for me to switch to another associate requires a person to understand the background and the product compliance requirements. It will take too much time and will not be able to turn in the product in time. I ended up having to pick up the work myself. I am pissed off because I end up having no support, and I find it unfair either. This sounds like a competition of resources at the firm - but if you would like to know what the brains of the partners are thinking, this is what often happens.