Boss says I should "get better"

[Anonymous]

I've been at my small law firm for four months. I'm a new attorney, and this is my first firm job (I worked in politics before.)

My boss knew I was inexperienced before he hired me, but now, 4 months in, he tells me I'm "bad at legal research and writing," but won't really tell me how. Much of my work gets no edits from him, but other stuff is ripped apart for inexplicable reasons. As far as the research, there was an instance where I hit a wall and my boss claims he "found what we needed in ten minutes,"....but that was bad law, it didn't say what he said it said, and we obviously lost the motion.

I want to get better at this but I'm unsure how. I asked how he would suggest I improve my research skils but he said he doesn't know how to help me. I also don't know which instances I even supposedly messed up on, save for what I mentioned above.

He also forgets what he tells me to do - today he accused me of not filing something that over two months ago he told me not to file (it's in my notes.)

This is kind of a vent but I feel like ultimately I can't be successful here. He basically said the work sucks but hasn't given me any concrete tips to improve besides "do better" and "work harder." I also don't know how to handle things where he forgets what he and did not say (my two coworkers have experienced this as well.)

I should start looking, right?

[Anonymous]

This is OP. He also said I "ask too many questions." Left that part out by mistake.

[Anonymous]

You could hire a legal research and writing specialist to help train you, though there may be client confidentiality issues if you use writing samples from work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could hire a legal research and writing specialist to help train you, though there may be client confidentiality issues if you use writing samples from work.

I could change names etc. That's a good idea. I sort of wonder if it would even help though. His complaints were so vague.

[Anonymous]

Yes, you should start looking. Immediately. I assume you passed the bar and have a basic understanding of how to read a case, write, and research. Look: Everyone hits a wall occasionally, whether researching or writing. One thing I do is to come back to irac--issue, rule, analysis, conclusion. It applies to virtually every legal problem you'll encounter. But you need to bail on this weird-sounding place. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

OP, are you a female?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could hire a legal research and writing specialist to help train you, though there may be client confidentiality issues if you use writing samples from work.

I could change names etc. That's a good idea. I sort of wonder if it would even help though. His complaints were so vague.

Also read legal research and writing books.

[Anonymous]

There are a ton of terrible lawyers out there. Not inexperienced, not needing mentorship, just bad. You can definitely make it through law school (maybe even excel) and pass the bar yet still be quite terrible. Good lawyers are smart. Great lawyers are creative as well. There are no real walls...either there is an on point case or law or there isn't. Truth is...there are almost always ways to differentiate between your facts and precedent. So get creative. Your post itself though, full of trepidation and neediness, makes me thing that while you may be smart, your are likely not creative ot self assured. That does not mean you cannot be succesful but ot likely means you have to be in an environment that has far more scaffolding or hand-holding until you polish your skills. This does not seem to be it. If I were you, I would recognize this weakness and start looking. It's only a matter of time.

[Anonymous]

Oh my god, this sounds exactly like what happened to my friend several months ago!!! The things you describe, bad management, and confusing assignments. Maybe you were hired as her replacement!! Is the first letter in the firm's name a C?

In her case, there was NO way to salvage the situation. They wanted the impossible, and my friend was not the first attorney found to be a "bad fit." Start looking ASAP, OP, and good luck!

[Anonymous]

It sounds like there are two issues: your research and writing skills need to improve (which is to be expected for a new attorney), and your boss is at best disorganized and at worst a bad lawyer and crazy. You should start looking for another job, and also trust that with time, you will improve, at least for the research. The more you do, the better you get. To get better more quickly, take advantage of the free help offered by whatever research platform you're using -- Lexis or Westlaw, I assume. You can call their help line and their research experts will help you. If it's to be found, they usually find it. For writing, give up on the idea your boss will give concrete feedback. He won't. Instead, ask to see samples before you write something, either from the boss or from colleagues. Compare them to what you write and see what you can glean from that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been at my small law firm for four months. I'm a new attorney, and this is my first firm job (I worked in politics before.)

My boss knew I was inexperienced before he hired me, but now, 4 months in, he tells me I'm "bad at legal research and writing," but won't really tell me how. Much of my work gets no edits from him, but other stuff is ripped apart for inexplicable reasons. As far as the research, there was an instance where I hit a wall and my boss claims he "found what we needed in ten minutes,"....but that was bad law, it didn't say what he said it said, and we obviously lost the motion.

I want to get better at this but I'm unsure how. I asked how he would suggest I improve my research skils but he said he doesn't know how to help me. I also don't know which instances I even supposedly messed up on, save for what I mentioned above.

He also forgets what he tells me to do - today he accused me of not filing something that over two months ago he told me not to file (it's in my notes.)

This is kind of a vent but I feel like ultimately I can't be successful here. He basically said the work sucks but hasn't given me any concrete tips to improve besides "do better" and "work harder." I also don't know how to handle things where he forgets what he and did not say (my two coworkers have experienced this as well.)

I should start looking, right?

get out... you can't learn and grow under this person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh my god, this sounds exactly like what happened to my friend several months ago!!! The things you describe, bad management, and confusing assignments. Maybe you were hired as her replacement!! Is the first letter in the firm's name a C?

In her case, there was NO way to salvage the situation. They wanted the impossible, and my friend was not the first attorney found to be a "bad fit." Start looking ASAP, OP, and good luck!

Uh, kind of. But I'm not local to DC. The girl that left before me had gone to school in DC though so who know

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, are you a female?

I am. I'm also the OP of two other threads about my situation over the last few months...one where he let the paralegal vacation for the month and essentially had me fill her role and once where he berated me for leaving before a late client meeting when he actually told me to leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, are you a female?

I am. I'm also the OP of two other threads about my situation over the last few months...one where he let the paralegal vacation for the month and essentially had me fill her role and once where he berated me for leaving before a late client meeting when he actually told me to leave.

Again. Get out. And strive to improve.

[Anonymous]

I'm a legal secretary and have worked at large, medium and small firms. I have posted the ads for your position, read through resumes, and scheduled interviews. I've coordinated orientations for new hires, and answered all the questions they have but don't want to look stupid asking attorneys. I kind of know a lot about this is my point.

Here's the thing: a lot of lawyers break out of bigger firms and start their own because they have a beautiful vision of how a firm should be. Less stress, higher quality clients, whatever. But there are some lawyers who open their own firm because they can't get along with others. They may have been quietly asked to leave, or known it was coming. Those firms tend to never grow bigger than 10-12 people and have high turnover.

The only way to succeed at a small firm is if the head of the firm has taken you under their wing, like a protege and is basically teaching you everything they know, grooming you to become a partner down the road. When you work at a medium or large firm as a baby lawyer, you are given very specific tasks that are on your level. And when you screw them up, you are told HOW you're screwing up and HOW to do better. At a small firm you get to do more, but get less instruction. If it works out well, you have to fix jams in the copier, yet that balances out with going to court. If it doesn't work well, you wind up in the situation you're in now.

Is there another associate there? Can you ask them to go to coffee with you to talk, outside the office? I worked for a bonafide psychopath (literally) and I watched him hire and fire three attorneys over two years. When he hired the fourth and I could tell she was good, as soon as she had trouble with him I pulled her aside and quietly told her to ask the senior associate to coffee on a day he was out of the office. The senior associate reiterated the "it's not you, it's him" speech I'd given her. Was her research wrong sometimes? Yes. But the psychopath wasn't teaching her and it wasn't the senior associate's job to teach her to do proper research. She wound up moving to a mid-sized firm and got trained properly.

You need to get headhunters to help you move.