The mid-level associate who directly supervises me isn’t being responsive. I am worried about missing a deadline. Should I keep pinging him? Figure it out on my own? Reach out to someone above him?

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Time to start taking on more responsibility, but also playing CYA. Going forward, describe your plan of attack with your work and give specific timelines for various steps. E.g., “Attached is the draft motion. I’m planning to send this to [Senior Associate] at [time] unless you’d prefer I hold off. Happy to discuss live if you’re jammed.”

In the cover email, be specific about your process, any key decisions you made in the draft, and any open questions that exist. That said, try to be brief.

NEVER throw the mid-level under the bus unless absolutely necessary. If you do get burned with this approach, fall on the grenade if you can. The mid-level will likely feel bad and go to bat for you/help in the future (...or they are a sociopath and now you have that info—good to know!). The senior will likely figure out what’s going on if the problem persists. If shit ever really hits the fan, you have plenty of documentation.

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Time to make decisions for yourself. If it blows up, own up to it. You're going to make a mistake at some point. Get it out of the way before you develop crippling anxiety like half the other shit posting associates around here

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All of the above is wrong. If midlevel gave you an assignment with a deadline and there’s a senior associate above him/her, that means multiple higher level people know about it. Odds are far more likely they are dealing with the deadline and no longer have time for you then that they all forgot and need you to jump rank to save the day. If “shit hits the fan,” as everyone is guessing—almost never seen happen—no ones going to blame the most junior associate.

Just chill

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Can you call or stop by his office first before you try to go over his head?

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I’ve done both. He works from home frequently but he also honestly seems super busy which is why I would feel bad going over his head

Agree with not throwing mid-level under the bus.

Is this a situation where you can make an educated decision on what to do? If so, I’d try calling or stopping by one more time. If that fails, then send an email. Mention you called/stopped by, missed them, and in light of the deadline you propose xyz path moving forward. Say “unless I hear otherwise this is how I am going to proceed.”

This is a good CYA, and also shows you’re taking initiative. If it blows up, you absolutely mention the situation, but do it in a way that owns the responsibility of it being your decision. You can show you tried to get direction without throwing them under the bus.

Also, I’d recommend going to another associate who 1) you are comfortable with and 2) would have experience in whatever you are working on. Guarantee somebody can give you a reasonable course of action without having to go above the mid-level’s head.

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Absolutely agree on the filing/client distribution point—never do that without explicit direction to do so.

If you are worried the holdup will risk blowing a client-imposed deadline (bad) or filing deadline (worse), flag it for the senior ASAP, or get the partner’s attention if necessary. Don’t be surprised if the deadline was extended and you were the last to know, but that’s fine to risk appearing out of the loop if the alternative is missing a timely submission.

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Is there a senior associate above him or what’s his direct supervisor’s title?

Do not just email. Call. Go in person.

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Get his cell number from his assistant and call him.

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