Upset About Yelling Partners? Too Much Work? Get Over It, an Associate Says

It sucks
Aug 4, 2009 7:43 AM CST

Great article to demonstrate why working in these types of firms sucks.

anonymous
Aug 4, 2009 8:52 AM CST

Wives that get abused by their spouses should also suck it up and just learn a thing or two.

JR
Aug 4, 2009 9:27 AM CST

Is this guy from a N. Korean firm?

Anonymous
Aug 4, 2009 12:17 PM CST

This just encourages people to open their own firms or go in-house.  Considering these partners will also sabotage someone’s career and not bother advocating for the associates when layoffs hit, why should the associates act like slaves?  I work in the entertainment business & most lowly interns (even those getting food for people & doing personal tasks) are treated with more respect.  I bet these partners behave more respectfully to strangers on the street than toward their own employees.

Jason Braun has low self-esteem
Aug 4, 2009 3:27 PM CST

Somewhere there’s social psychology class having a field day with this column.

James
Aug 4, 2009 5:40 PM CST

Dumbest article I’ve ever read in my life. 

Hey ABA why don’t you find some way to fix the lull of the profession by turning off the supply of lawyers from private diploma mills…

Oh wait, sorry that’s too hard?  Just keep publishing BS like this.

This is garbage
Aug 7, 2009 5:14 AM CST

ABA- this is a terrible article. I read it when it was posted on Above The Law the other day, and couldn’t disagree more. First off, this is truly terrible advice to be giving young associates.  While this may be this individual’s chosen path to “success,” it is certainly NOT the only one, and I’d say it is probably the least sustainable path—one with pretty unpredictable results.  More effective than a tyrant supervising partner is one who will patiently mentor her associates.  Mentoring creates amazing, sharp, and CONFIDENT lawyers in the end, so long as they put in the effort on their side as well.  That effort should also not involving shunning all non-paying humanity in favor of a client.  I suppose everyone has a choice of job over family, but choosing the job will not always make you a more successful lawyer (that divorce down the road will likely be a big distraction), and choosing family is not a nail in the coffin of your career. I agree that complete work-life balance might be an unattainable gold standard, but to say that the job must come first in order for success to follow is simply an untruth.  I would actually say that, although this is an opinion article, it is terribly irresponsible for ABA to be publishing such garbage when many unemployed lawyers and graduating law students are turning to your resources for career advice. You have just done a disservice to your membership and readers by publishing this drivel.

David B
Aug 7, 2009 5:47 AM CST

I once worked for a screaming partner, and it was no fun.  She would scream at everyone, including staff, associates, fellow partners, patent examiners, and clients.  She was ultimately asked to leave the firm.  And the next firm. And the next firm.  Almost all of her former associates have gone on to become partners at major firms.  The conclusion I draw from this is that the associates weren’t bad enough to be yelled at all the time - they were fine lawyers. 

The firm management told me that they couldn’t change her, but encouraged me to seek counseling on how to deal with a screaming partner. 

I met with a counselor one time.  The counselor tried to give me pointers, some of which were quite good, as I recall.  I asked the counselor “who stays with a firm when they work with a screaming partner?” He said if you are stuck in a geographic region, or there are no other opportunities available, then those people stay.  I asked about people who weren’t tied to the area.  He said pretty much everyone leaves.  I said “thanks, that’s all I need to know.”  And I left.  I had to move to another state, take another bar exam, and make all new friends.  On balance, it was worth it. 

My heart goes out to those who can’t find another job in this economy, who are stuck with a screamer.  When the market picks up, I hope you all find jobs with someone who treats you with respect. 

Someone needs to stand up to the screaming partners, and associates don’t have the power.  Firm management does have this power, and should exercise it.  Of course, if the screamer is a rainmaker (and most often is), firm management cares more about keeping rainmakers than losing associates. 

As a partner, I learned from my former colleague, and NEVER yell at my associates.  I always try to be constructive with my criticism, and never demeaning or degrading, because I know how much it hurts.

Dave
Aug 7, 2009 6:45 AM CST

This is pretty much the greatest article I’ve ever read and it has not only made me a better person but increased my productivity tenfold. If only it had been posted sooner I could have saved years of my life where I “thought like an associate”.

attorney ron
Aug 7, 2009 7:12 AM CST

There is a kernel of truth to be had in the article - if you’re getting dressed down for making a stupid mistake, take the lesson learned and don’t let your pride get in the way of learning. Step back from the situation and separate the lesson and the delivery.
Then decide if the delivery was really part of an abusive pattern. Be honest with yourself. All of our egos need feeding, and when my ego gets a beat-down my first thought is not going to “jeez, this really is my mistake.”
If it is part of an abusive pattern, though, you’ve got some choices to think about. If you want to work in an abusive environment and aspire to become an abuser yourself, by all means stick around. You’ll have great role models.

MikeIP
Aug 7, 2009 7:14 AM CST

This guy works at an 8-person firm, with two partners.  To say that he’s a success is to overstate things a bit.  The name partner is probably a yeller, but brings in all the work.  So people live with it.  That’s not a life, that’s plantation mentality.  If Mr. Braun keeps ignoring his 3,500 sq. ft. wife, she’ll find someone else and take half of his “BigLaw” earnings.

still carries a backpack
Aug 7, 2009 7:35 AM CST

I disagree with the prohibition on backpacks - I carry so much home with me every night to work on until I can’t stay awake any longer that I needed a more appropriate means of carrying it, particularly when I have to walk across the city from the train. I do have a nice bag for court appearances, but it doesn’t hold very much.

Beavis
Aug 7, 2009 8:16 AM CST

I am a partner in a five attorney firm.  Unfortunately, I started my legal career getting yelled at by partners in a big law firm.  My current firm just had our best month ever and business is booming.  You do not need BigLaw, and all the crap that goes with it, to be successful.

Disappointed Reader
Aug 7, 2009 8:33 AM CST

ABA Journal, you have just lost immeasurable credibility for presenting this op-ed as if it were legitimate news.  You should be ashamed of your sloppy journalism.  Your readers expect more.

Jeff T
Aug 7, 2009 8:36 AM CST

How to suck up to partners:

Step 1.  Write an article about the virtues of sucking up to partners.

Step 2.  Get a patronizing little pat on the head from the partners for writing said article.

Step 3.  Assure yourself that your career is thriving because the partners admire your professionalism—not that they consider you to be a useful little lackey in their own practice.

pch
Aug 7, 2009 8:56 AM CST

Screaming at anyone in a professional environment is simply not acceptable.  Why the legal profession has allowed it is incomprehensible.  Screaming at associates will promptly destroy any loyalty or desire to work for that partner.  It is rude, juvenile, and should earn the offending partner a prompt kick in the nuts.

Terry
Aug 7, 2009 9:09 AM CST

Mr. Braun is a sycophant.

Mikey
Aug 7, 2009 9:12 AM CST

Some great, funny posts above.  It’s easy and entertaining to make fun of this guy, but you know he does make several pretty good points. 

1.  Stop whining.  Be glad to have a job and work to do.  If you don’t like the job, take any positive steps you can to find another one, but do so without the pointless drama.

2.  Get over yourself; you are not the center of the universe.  Yes, you will have to make personal sacrifices sometimes to be successful - in any profession, not just law - and yes, work will sometimes have to come first.  Doesn’t mean you neglect a sick child, and finding a work-life balance that works for you personally is very important, but the point for new associates that it is not all about you is a reasonable one.

3.  Listen to the advice of people who have been practicing longer than you have.  Consider various perspectives. Your appearance needs to be professional.  You need to pay attention to detail.  You are going to make mistakes sometimes, and you should try to take others’ pointing out those mistakes as constructively as you can, putting aside your own ego.

Now, none of that is to say that partners who scream at others should be tolerated.  Any partner, or any person for that matter, who does that is an insecure loser in my book, regardless of how much rain he/she makes.  The associate getting dressed down needs to understand that - and should try, for his/her own good, to take whatever constructive information he/she can gleam from the partner’s rant and disregard the rest.

At my first firm there were a couple screamers in my department, and I clearly remember sitting in one of their offices as a 1st year getting yelled at hysterically about some case or another while sitting there thinking, this guy must be really insecure to have practiced for 25 yrs yet feel the need to tear a first year a new one.  I actually kinda felt sorry for him.  Not easy of course, but I tried to learn from the substance of what he was saying (if any), and disregard the rest.  Then after getting a couple of years of experience under my belt, I moved to a better firm.  Living well is the best revenge.

m
Aug 7, 2009 9:49 AM CST

I cannot believe this associate posts this nonsense under his Publications, Speeches and Presentations section of his attorney bio.

Jeff
Aug 7, 2009 10:10 AM CST

Well, it’s heartening to see that most of the commenters think this article is crap. 

“Your children may be sick or you may be going through a messy divorce, but those things aren’t an excuse for bad results.”

You’ve got life upside-down, my friend.  The statement should read: “Getting good results is no excuse for neglecting the health of your children or marriage.”

s
Aug 7, 2009 10:40 AM CST

Luckily I chose to go work for the legal services rather than big law.  It’s a great experience and I have handled my own cases from day one and I get to have a life!  Working primarily in the domestic violence arena there are some serious concerns if some partners are crossing the line to verbal and emotional abuse.

dean
Aug 7, 2009 2:27 PM CST

Comment removed by moderator.

bpe
Aug 7, 2009 5:00 PM CST

I agree with this article!  I hate people who complain!  On a side note, I cannot stand how secretaries complain all day long about doing their job.  Do it.  Like it.  Or quit!  Stop complaining, it accomplishes absolutely nothing!

B. McLeod
Aug 7, 2009 7:59 PM CST

It stems from an ancient Greek management style, known as “Beller-o-phonics.”

B. McLeod
Aug 8, 2009 7:04 PM CST

In all my years in practice, I have never yelled at any of my staffers.  I agree with the poster who said it is out of place in a professional environment.  Mistakes do happen, and law offices are not going to be free of them.  The key is to remain calm and get the mistake fixed (with the causative staffer hopefully learning something in the process).  Most mistakes are reparable, including even jurisdictional errors if you get to them in time.  Lawyers who intimidate their staff to the point that people are afraid to admit a mistake are simply setting themselves up for a whipping.