Finals to the Firm

We just shared with you that practicing law is a business. Well, while growing up, our parents considered running the household a business as well! As such, if threats of moral doom and damnation didn't bring about behavior conducive to making the household run smoothly, our parents often resorted to a more corporeal method to bring about corrective action -- a good old-fashioned spanking! As a matter of fact, Calvin's mom would add the psychological to the physical by ordering Calvin to obtain the instrument of his own punishment. That is, he would be ordered to: "Go get the belt!"
In the law firm context, we cannot advocate that you pull out the old leather strap the next time your supervisor (i.e., partner or senior associate) sends you on a three-week assignment looking through an old warehouse for documents to be produced in a litigation. What we do advocate, however, is that you seek out constructive criticism from your supervisors and that you make sure that the constructive criticism goes both ways. That is what we mean by: "Go get the belt!"

Seeking Constructive Criticism
Unfortunately, your supervisor probably did not take "Supervisor 101" in law school, nor did they register for the "How to Give Constructive Feedback to New Associates" continuing legal education (CLE) class. Thus, it is your job as a new associate to obtain constructive feedback that will help you become successful in your law firm career. Face it, your supervisor is going to be very busy. She's balancing billing her 2000 hours and supervising you -- ye of little faith and even less knowledge. So when you finish that research memorandum or new document that you spent fifty billable hours working on, she may not think to give you feedback on your performance.

* * *
What can you do? How will you know? Well, you must go get the belt! It is important to seek out constructive criticism during the course of, and immediately after, a project. This will, at a minimum, help you avoid similar mistakes in the future or, at a maximum, allow you to correct mistakes before you become the topic of negative bar room conversation. Receiving positive and negative feedback not only will help you build your talent, but it will also assist you in avoiding nicks in your meticulously polished image so that you can get crucial future exposure. (Remember that the only reward for good work is more work!)

* * *


		About the Authors \| Excerpts from the Book \| Leave Feedback for the Authors NO. 9: GO GET THE BELT We just shared with you that practicing law is a business. Well, while growing up, our parents considered running the household a business as well! As such, if threats of moral doom and damnation didn't bring about behavior conducive to making the household run smoothly, our parents often resorted to a more corporeal method to bring about corrective action -- a good old-fashioned spanking! As a matter of fact, Calvin's mom would add the psychological to the physical by ordering Calvin to obtain the instrument of his own punishment. That is, he would be ordered to: "Go get the belt!" In the law firm context, we cannot advocate that you pull out the old leather strap the next time your supervisor (i.e., partner or senior associate) sends you on a three-week assignment looking through an old warehouse for documents to be produced in a litigation. What we do advocate, however, is that you seek out constructive criticism from your supervisors and that you make sure that the constructive criticism goes both ways. That is what we mean by: "Go get the belt!" Seeking Constructive Criticism Unfortunately, your supervisor probably did not take "Supervisor 101" in law school, nor did they register for the "How to Give Constructive Feedback to New Associates" continuing legal education (CLE) class. Thus, it is your job as a new associate to obtain constructive feedback that will help you become successful in your law firm career. Face it, your supervisor is going to be very busy. She's balancing billing her 2000 hours and supervising you -- ye of little faith and even less knowledge. So when you finish that research memorandum or new document that you spent fifty billable hours working on, she may not think to give you feedback on your performance. * * * What can you do? How will you know? Well, you must go get the belt! It is important to seek out constructive criticism during the course of, and immediately after, a project. This will, at a minimum, help you avoid similar mistakes in the future or, at a maximum, allow you to correct mistakes before you become the topic of negative bar room conversation. Receiving positive and negative feedback not only will help you build your talent, but it will also assist you in avoiding nicks in your meticulously polished image so that you can get crucial future exposure. (Remember that the only reward for good work is more work!) * * * Copyright © 1999-2003, Finals to the Firm, LLC. All Rights Reserved. FINALS TO THE FIRM is a registered trademark of Finals to the Firm, LLC. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Design By: van-studios.com