Another vote to find a mentor in the firm, preferably a senior associate who worked directly with the partner you work with and who knows his writing style well. Ideally, that person would read your brief/memo to give you some general suggestions and feedback before you submit it to the partner for review.

My salaries have ranged from $85k to $165k over the past twelve years. The two where I made the most I was always stressed out and feeling like I wasn't qualified. And on reflection I had the skills I just didn't have the temperament and was miserable. I was being paid higher salaries to deal with very very tough challenges/people and I decided the stress and knocks to my confidence just wasn't worth the extra money. I am in a job now that is better suited to my nature and I'm so much happier.

May not be the case for you but thought it would be worth sharing since you mentioned you were making more money.

Teacher here. Yes, fun, and, also hard. No "kumbaya" in my world at school!

I love being a lawyer. Love. Never wanted to be anything else. Very happy in my little world. OP, read good writing. I am considered a very strong writer, but I am not a superstar. Is the issue mechanics? Brush up on your English grammar and citation skills. Is it transitions or pacing or sequencing or organization? If you aren't doing it, print out your drafts and edit on paper. I am a much better editor on paper as opposed to reading my piece on screen. I also read it aloud to myself. It helps me to hear if my piece is making sense and making the points I need to be persuasive.

I am in the IT industry but I have learned there are ENORMOUS differences between expectations and work loads between projects. I am currently on one with very high expectations and work load, but many of my peers on other projects within the same govt agency have very cush jobs with a lot of downtime, but make the same money. I am just waiting for them to move to a project like mine and have to step up their game.

OP are you interested in this? Pay is good, benes excellent.

Senior Director for Global Regulatory Affairs

... seeking a Senior Director for Global Regulatory Affairs to manage and coordinate its government relations and ethics programs. The ideal candidate should have a legal degree and experience in lobbying at either the state or federal level and experience in legal ethics field.

As Senior Director for Global Regulatory Affairs, the individual is responsible for the design and implementation of the Association’s government relations and an ethics programs and strategies. The individual will also work with other staff attorneys on overall industry lobbying and liaison activities.

DSA offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental and life insurance; 401K and a free fitness center in building. Salary commensurate with experience.

For consideration, forward resume, cover letter with salary requirements and writing sample to: hratdsa.org. No phone calls; no recruiters.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being a lawyer sounds miserable.

It's not. My SIL the teacher would be miserable doing it, because she's all about kumbayah and everyone liking her, but if you're a competitive perfectionist, it can be satisfying and fun.

seems as though you're a bit jealous of your SIL b/c she really likes her job

sorry you feel as though teaching, however, is all candy and fun! It's a tough job, and I bet any lawyer making a career shift from law to teaching would have one hell of a hard time controlling kids.

Saying this as someone who reads reviews of BigLaw associates. You want to find a way to correct this OP before long. Swallow your pride and find a partner you trust or other associates who can mentor you through this. At my firm, you get six months to make changes or you're out. They won't fire you though, they will just nudge you to look elsewhere. And for the PP who said they have invested in you and won't fire you easily, that is bogus. It's BigLaw, it's cutthroat and associates are a dime a dozen. For every one who doesn't work out, there are 30 more out there that are over qualified, just salivating for your job. Especially in this economy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being a lawyer sounds miserable.

It's not. My SIL the teacher would be miserable doing it, because she's all about kumbayah and everyone liking her, but if you're a competitive perfectionist, it can be satisfying and fun.

+1. Lawyers have a high rate of substance abuse, depression and suicide. It could be the competitive perfectionist, type-A personalities that drive certain people to the profession. And the very same characteristics that contribute to their personal problems.

I would recommend a writing coach - a good one. I would recommend that you show the coach not just your writing, but your supervisor's writing samples. The sad truth is that you are trying to emulate his writing, not just some abstract idea of good legal writing. He may be an unreasonable micro-manager.

Anonymous wrote:Being a lawyer sounds miserable.

It's not. My SIL the teacher would be miserable doing it, because she's all about kumbayah and everyone liking her, but if you're a competitive perfectionist, it can be satisfying and fun.

Hang in there. Many of us have started in jobs and been in totally over our heads for the first year. Plus, sounds like you are a mom or dad, so you have family pressure too.

My mom is a legal writing coach who does seminars and edits briefs. She's usually hired by a partner to work with a specific associate or group of associates. If it's really an issue with your writing, it's not an issue with your intelligence. Writing is a skill; Writing is not a talent. Some people have a talent for prose or metaphor, but writing clear, crisp legal briefs is a particular competency. I know the books my mom usually uses are in the "Plain English" approach to legal writing--so those might be helpful.

I'm not in the law, so take this with a grain of salt.
I'd go for a run or take a yoga class this weekend, then sit down with myself and make a list of strengths and weaknesses in terms of my work product (not my self).
Then, I'd meet with my boss and say:
1) I love the opportunity of this job and look forward to success here.
2) I see that I'm producing strong X, Y, & Z work.
3) I'm concerned with A, B (make sure this list is shorter than #2).
4) I'd appreciate your direction as to how I can improve in these areas. I've been devoting extra hours to this work, but wonder if there's a [writing coach, editor, whatever] or someone else you can recommend to me. I'd like to be more efficient and produce a stronger product.

Be confident and don't cry! If this job isn't for you, it isn't for you and your boss will give you a heads up. If it's really just about your writing, you can fix that.

Now put down that drink and make yourself a superfood smoothie and a salad! Natural uppers not downers in times of stress!!

Being a lawyer sounds miserable.

Since we are talking about writing, it's "fazed", not "phased".