What to Consider If Your Firm Lacks Junior Assistance
[00:00:00] At my law firm, the problem with junior associates. We have no third years, which in turn would be teaching the first and second years. and second years are good people and eager to help out, but they are extremely weak practice-wise and substantively. The two to three competent juniors we have out of a sizable class are staffed to the Gill and nearly impossible to get ahold of.
I got the sense the firm doesn't want to lose me lateral off somewhere else, as my reviews have always been very positive. While I genuinely respect everyone in my office and am very concerned about the lack of junior assistants. It means I'm never going to be able to fully develop the skills that I need to one day, get a shot at a partner, ever be an effective GC.
Is it different than any other shop? Or am I just burned out and cry and about issues all mid-levels deal with.
Yeah, it is different than other firms so the mid-levels are the hardest for law firms to hold on to because they're the most profitable. I think that may be an issue of the prestige of your firm or the pay.
I would think that if you are even more than a - then you would fairly easy to be able to move at this point. And you may be, griping about stuff that you believe is unfair. would think that in your situation, you're not in a great [00:01:00] spot.
And again, the competent juniors will probably leave at some point, if they're getting all that work and then you're going to have more problems there as well. Yeah, and the firm will give you positive reviews, especially if they need you and overlook stuff that they wouldn't different economy.
I think that a lot of times, one of the things when you say, your skills one of the things that happens a lot of times litigators and, AmLaw 10 firms and make partner without ever doing a trial and that sort of thing, or even, working on having clients.
The skills you develop even as a seventh or eighth year, and I know what you're at our relevant. don't need to worry about if you're doing work that you think has beneath you and stuff at this point. I guess you don't need to worry about that.
I don't think that having to work on a lot of these matters yourself is something that's going to kill you in the long run. I think that most attorneys with three or four years of experience are capable of doing most things and learning on the job. So I do think you could probably be an effective GC, but I do think you could probably also move firms if you wanted to.
The fact that your firm has all this work is probably a good thing, and if they can't hold on to mid-levels that may be because [00:02:00] of the prestige level of the firm or the pay, or something along those lines, or just, whatever market you're in makes it apart.
But, if you're happy at your firm and you think things are going well, then there's no reason to leave. But I would say that you're in a position right now where you probably could leave if you want it to.
