New York Lawyer
July 29, 2004

Q:
I work at a firm with very loose departments and an even looser assignment of work system. For instance, there are several partners who do litigation work, but there is no litigation department. As a result, partners tend to do their own client's work and assign work to associates as they see fit. Even though I am listed as a litigation associate, some of these partners know nothing about me. I suspect I have experience from my previous job as a federal law clerk that would be useful to them, and would like to do work for a broader number of partners.

We do have an assigning attorney who is supposed to monitor our workload. Mine attempts to do so, but is very busy and I often find I am out of work for up to a day waiting for assignments. I'm sure other attorneys could fill that time, and other associates often take work directly from partners without going through their assigning attorney.

What is the best way for me to solicit work from partners I don't see on a regular basis? Is e-mail appropriate? Should I talk to my assigning attorney first?

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A:

It sounds like you will need to be much more proactive and aggressive than you are now being to get work. Put simply, it could be that by nature you are a rule-follower and systems person who has entered a rule-free universe, and you will need to adapt.

It�s frustrating when firms impose half-hearted "systems" on an informal machinery, without providing necessary support. If many people who are handing out assignments don�t use the assignment process, it�s worse than useless, because it looks like organization which in fact isn�t there. This raises expectations for new lawyers that there�s a coherent way to do things, when really the assignment system is done the old-fashioned way, based on who�s around, who you feel comfortable with, and so forth.

Of course your background as a federal clerk is useful! And I�m sure you have other credentials that go along with that that would be extremely impressive. So start with a personal effort to buck up your confidence and spirits. You certainly have the smarts and ability to succeed, but you need to cover the political front as well as the substantive one.

Specifically, if people don�t know you, they won�t have a clue about you and won�t give you work. Make sure you clarify for yourself what areas you're especially interested in, so that you can focus on your own career goals, rather than taking assignments from just anyone. Next, you need to get to know people. Stick your head in the door to say a quick hi, say you�re interested in their area, and want some work with them. Don�t emphasize that you have little to do, as they�ll perhaps suspect that you�ve done bad work and are getting the cold shoulder from those who have previously given you work. And I wouldn�t rely on email - other attorneys still won�t know who you are, so having a personal meeting is far more effective to get them to focus on you.

As for the assigning attorney, it�s possible that he or she may give you some pointers on who is most approachable, does the best work, etc. On the other hand, if you ask directly about soliciting work from others, the assignment lawyer may get hung up on whether you are supposed to solicit work informally (and may be embarrassed, since your very request implicates his/her inaction). Therefore, if other people get work on the fly and aren�t being penalized for it, you should too, and don�t worry about the system or the putative assignment process.

Sincerely,
Holly English
Principal Consultant, Values at Work