What should a small firm managing partner do about the procrastinating senior associate promised partnership who despite all my efforts cannot or will not get the big, important projects done on time?

If you’re not able to trust this person to manage his or her own time then she shouldn’t be made your partner yet. I expect certain things of my partners chief among them is independently handling a matter knowing how to delegate or ask for help but managing the matter start to finish. I would hate micromanaging a partner of mine. Plus I view partnership as fairly permanent and definitely long term. If this person wants that he should be able to prove he or she can time manage matters. Til then I’d say no go. Perhaps set a goal of meeting all deadlines for six months then will consider

I’m a big fan of the instant-influence approach. I’m going to grossly, grossly over-abbreviate it here. First, identify the goal with the SA. Emphasize his control over it. It is completely up to him whether he becomes a partner or not. Second, ask him on a scale of 1-10, with one being “not at all” and ten being “I’m going to do it right now!” how ready is he to move forward? If it’s a one, then ask, “What would you need to get that to a two?” If it’s any number higher than one, ask, “Why not a lower number?” Wait for the explanation. This requires him to come up with his OWN reasons for doing what needs to be done. Next, tell him you want him to envision having reached the goal. What’s changed? What’s the good that’s come from it? And finally, why are those things important to him? The last step is simply to ask: “What’s the next step, if any?”

This is a very basic explanation. But the underlying theory is almost like motivational judo. You use the influencee’s own personal reasons to get him to do what you want him to do.

The book, if you want to dive into it, is Instant Influence by Michael Pantalon. It’s liberating in so many ways because it removes the pressure to bend people to YOUR will. It allows you, in the words of Bruce Lee, to “Be like water.”

Probably worth a shot.

I was promoted to non-equity partner status and am still there two years later with no laid out plan for what will get me to equity partner status (and now it appears I have to buy the owner out in full to get there with no regard to sweat equity or rainmaking - let’s set that aside for now). I get productive thinking about the goal of partnership and running the business and then slow down (to not working 15 hour days anymore) when I get frustrated by the inability to work towards a measurable path to equity status.

If you haven’t written down the measurements that must be met to achieve partner status then doing that may help. Personally, I would be more productive if I could get rid of the headspace that goes into trying to figure out where I stand in my firm and where I am going.

Also, when I was first learning motion practice, if something didn’t get done enough ahead of time to be reasonably timely then we all stayed up all night working on pieces of it until it was done - regardless of who dropped the ball. There were times when 6:00 a.m. hit and we were just packing our stuff up for the night. It’s harder to procrastinate when you know the whole team will suffer with you because of your untimeliness.

Finally, you may want to find a way to ask him/her if he/she has ever been assessed for attention deficit disorder because those with it are creative (which lends to good persuasive writing) but bad at time management.

There are lots of attorneys with ADD (myself included) so don’t panic if the outcome is a diagnosis. Medication plus behavior modification plus support mechanisms that work for that person (a task management system that meets that person’s needs) can right the ship. And someone with ADD who can right the ship can be a powerful force inside and outside of the firm.

Especially in a niche field where there may be grey areas that case law and statutes haven’t fleshed out yet, that former daydreamer may be able to craft the winning solution the court needs to forge a new path in case law.

Op, does SA understand that timeliness is essential and that he is putting his future in jeopardy? What does he say when he’s chastised for being late?

Does the SA have the ability to delegate work to other associates? If so, give the SA the full responsibility and consequences of timely and quality work and advise the SA to use the other associates as needed to help get the work done. Explain that this is a vital skill for partners and inability to do this work is disqualifying for advancement. In fact, demotion to associate should be on the table.

If this SA has good client development skills, is there a way to have the SA focus more on that aspect and allow others to pick up the writing slack? We have an SA that can’t write a lick but he outright dazzles current and prospective clients when he’s with them. So, he spends more time doing just that. He likes it and it brings value to the firm.

From experience, have a talk about partner track expectations. You may find that one cause of the procrastination is a fear or lack of desire for full partnership status. Would they prefer a different title (like Senior Counsel) that recognizes their contribution but allows them an out from (brrrr-shiver) “partner”? Is it perhaps just a lack of self-confidence or does this person really have just one (low) gear? Sometimes it is the latter. Clients don’t complain about the missed deadlines or are extensions too readily available? I’ve seen a variety of reactions over the years, each as individual as the individual.

If an attorney can’t change their behavior on the cusp of partnership what makes you think it will ever change? I suspect the bad habits will only get worse and you will have less control over them once they are your partner. I’d never give someone like that the nod.

If this lawyer is a long term, chronic procrastinator, I think you need to face the fact that they simply don’t enjoy the law enough to compete with those who do.

Have dealt with this. Multiple counseling, multiple asks and promises, but ultimately not respecting deadlines was this person’s nature. We made them a non-equity partner with promises for advancement if work habits improved. Nothing improved. Quality was always good when the work happened. It just rarely happened without multiple asks and prodding. In my experience, you either need to cut ties or decide this level of functioning is acceptable. Expecting anything different is just going to lead to your constant disappointment.

We are 6 lawyers. I'm 30 years out and expert in our niche. My two seniors are 10 years out. One has been practicing in our field all 10 years. The problem SA has 5 years in our field. One 4th year and two first years.

The problem SA cannot finish any significant writing project on time. Form driven or copy and paste stuff is not a problem, but an opposition to SJ or a brief, forget it. We are 100% federal court so not writing is not an option. And SA writes well, just not on deadline or more than a page.

Time management is a major problem too, hours of wheel spinning. I cannot babysit SA. I have been saying that for years. But we are one of only a few firms in our niche so I cannot abide losing because of poor advocacy. Which usually means I jump in and do the work SA should be doing.

But I have had enough. I told SA to go to a time management class and a writing class and clean up this act. Nothing has worked. Do I tell SA that it's no go on the partnership?

To SA's credit SA does do biz dev and has good instincts for client development and gets along well with prospects. SA is also a super nice and supportive person and a cheerleader for the firm.

Really torn here and would love some suggestions.

This should not even be a question. Senior associates achieve that status by work effort and performance. While thinking that making partner sometimes can lead to the thought that it’s time to take it easier and pass the baton, it should mean that performance and productivity is more important than ever. If a heart to heart has not worked then a reality check is in order, for the partners and the senior associate. I would have one last talk about performance and then either delay partnership, make it probationary or change direction. Depending on your partnership structure you don’t want someone to join the group who does not share the other partners’ philosophy or work ethic.