LAW FIRM ASSOCIATES: HOW TO PERFORM AT YOUR PERFORMANCE REVIEW

Associates often learn very little during their year-end performance review – they are told to keep up what they are doing, perhaps they are given the obligatory comment related to something to work on, and they are back at their desks shortly after.  It must be frustrating – to work tirelessly on a range of matters for a year and have a 15-minute one-sided chat to show for it.

As an associate, you should want more from your review – you need more from your review.  And it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to get more from your review, especially this year, when nine out of 12 of the months are being spent virtually, with limited opportunity for impromptu, informal feedback.

WHY?

·       As a developing associate, you must be proactive about your professional growth.  To do that, you need to know how your colleagues view you, how your skill set compares to others at your level, and in what areas you excel or need to focus.  You don’t want to tread water in your career, you want to progress.  You can’t do that without feedback.

·      Law firm leadership is not always comfortable initiating conversations involving constructive feedback because it can be awkward. But they will do so if pushed.  And if you leave your review with only a vague understanding of your performance and status at the firm, you are the one who loses out most.

·      You have a shelf life at a law firm and the length of that shelf life has everything to do with how you are perceived, both individually and in comparison to your colleagues.  If there is something you need to enhance, tweak or change altogether, you have limited time to do so.  

HOW?

·       Prepare.  Associates spend little to no time preparing for this rare opportunity for feedback.  Don’t be that associate. You will squander an educational moment if you aren’t prepared.  Set aside time to decide what you want to get out of your review.  Write down your questions and goals so you have them at the ready.  Decide what you want to say, both in response to feedback and proactively – feedback is a 2-way street and it is equally important for your reviewers to hear from you but only if you are prepared for that discussion.  

·      Set the stage.  Try to control who conducts the review and at what time you get that review.  It isn’t productive to have an audience with someone who doesn’t know your work or can’t answer your questions.  And you want your review scheduled for a time when neither you nor the reviewer is rushed or when it is prone to being rescheduled.  Early morning?  Late evening?  After a deal closes or a brief is filed?  Be strategic.  

·      Control the Conversation and Get Granular.  Too often, reviews are a monologue – the partner speaks, the associate listens.  For the sake of your professional growth, be an active participant in your review.  Push back (respectfully) when necessary and get the specific details you need for this review to be of value to you.  Don’t rush.  And ask the hard questions.  Don’t settle for vague answers that are of no value.

·      Schedule follow-up.  Your reviewers may not have immediate responses to your questions or comments but you are entitled to them.  Ask for the follow-up meeting if you are owed one, schedule that meeting in your review and make sure it happens.  

WHAT?

What you ask depends on your goals, which differ based on your seniority, your practice area, your personal priorities etc.  But some questions or themes that are most helpful to raise include:

·      What hard/soft skills should I have at my level?   

·      Where can I improve?  What steps can I take to improve?  How can the firm be helpful in me taking those steps?

·      What is my reputation within the firm?  How do I compare to others in my class?  How am I perceived by my colleagues?  My clients?

·      What is the growth strategy for our group?  

·      What does partnership track look like at the firm?  What can be learned about the partnership decision-making process?  

·      Am I on partnership track?  Who am I being considered next to and how do I measure up?  What does that track look like for me?

·      If I’d like to consider going in-house, how can the firm be helpful?

Many of these questions will not be easy to ask.  Pushing back on responses may be uncomfortable.  But if you own the awkward, then you own your career.  You cannot afford to avoid the awkward or be passive.  Look your performance review dead in the eye and don’t flinch.  And then take a bow.