Surviving a Bad Performance Review, Part I

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Surviving a Bad Performance Review, Part I [by Jamie Barnes] Many lawyers and professional legal staff prefer to think of themselves as in business for themselves, merely using a group to provide office space, support services, and occasional camaraderie.

This assumed sense of personal indepen-

the performance-review process, you’re not

tions, and are team players. How does one

dence undergoes a rude awakening when a

alone. Such ‘heart-to-heart’ talks trouble

evaluate all that?

senior partner calls you into his or her office

everybody. What you need is a survival strat-

to detail for you, without your asking, how

egy to deal with performance appraisals.

Let’s deal first with the emotions that

you are perceived. Some of the thoughts that

Otherwise they can drive you nuts.

surface any time you receive a performance appraisal. Unless these emotions are well

may go through your head at a time like this Then there is this alarming news: According

understood and contained by you at the start,

to Ellen Wayne of the New York Law Journal,

a rational discussion of the performance ap-

“Just who the hell is (s)he to be judging me?”

“Evaluations have taken on an importance

praisal as an institutional tool--and how you

“All that negative stuff has been coming from

they never had before. Associates are not

can successfully deal with it--cannot take

X, who has been talking behind my back. I

only judged on the basis of their work skills

place.

knew I couldn’t trust him/her.” “(S)he acted

and performance targets but now have the

as if (s)he thought I was pretty cool. Now the

added anxiety that termination could be the

truth comes out!” “I feel dirty. I am neither as

result of a less than glowing review.” Rest

good or as bad as they say.” “Why is all this

assured that as law firms continue to be

Nothing is more threatening to one’s invio-

ancient stuff being drudged up and thrown in

operated more like businesses (as opposed

lable sense of self and its importance than to

my face?”

to being run like private men’s clubs), the

have a relative stranger sit down and dissect

performance appraisal becomes an impor-

you both professionally and personally. First

Recognize yourself in any of this? Had

tant tool for weeding people out, as well as

of all, the mere fact of delivering the apprais-

similar feelings? They are normal. By un-

identifying top performers at all levels, from

al solidifies that person’s superior rank. This

derstanding anyone’s normal self-centered

associates to paralegals to legal secretaries.

relative stranger also is acting summarily as

are:

and defensive reaction to being judged, and

Reason Versus The Emotional Self

judge and jury, dispassionately (hopefully)

realizing that your feelings are automatically

Most of us would agree that some sort of

enumerating your strengths, faults, suc-

programmed to respond self-protectively in

evaluation system is needed for everyone.

cesses, and failures and summarizing all this

such situations, you have won half the battle;

The problem is how to construct a system

with either a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”

because with understanding can come a

certifiably free of bias. This may be impos-

that leaves you either euphoric, confused, or

modicum of control.

sible: evaluation systems are constructed by

devastated. Even when an appraisal is flat-

humans, and humans are fallible. Fur-

tering, there remains an uncomfortable edge

You can’t avoid professional criticism. You

thermore, it is difficult if not impossible to

to the process. You may wonder why you feel

may have strong opinions as to the innate

categorize and quantify the qualities that

so uneasy and perhaps even embarrassed.

fairness of the appraisal process. You may

identify perfection in professions such as the

Such a reaction is driven by your knowledge

be unfairly damaged and have documents to

law, meaning billable hours alone do not tell

that no one can know you as you do; nor can

prove it. You may be thinking that you’re be-

the tale. For associates there is something

anyone else understand what you were going

ing criticized for stuff that happened months

called “partner potential” which remains

through when you wrote X, did Y, or said Z.

ago and is no longer relevant. Regardless,

both on the appraiser’s mind and on yours.

the criticism hurts and remains potentially

Paralegals may also be evaluated based on

To further muddy the waters, performance

lethal as long as it sits in some partner’s

billable hours, but they and legal secretaries

reviews can often be subjective. They can

drawer already signed off on by other

are also being evaluated on how well they

reflect group consensus or be driven by

partners. Well, if you’ve ever felt abused by

support a partner, carry out support func-

personal spite and used to settle personal

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scores. At times, it can all seem so unfair: A

bring unfavorable public attention to yourself

everyone screws up, and not all screw-ups are

heroic performance against all odds during

and your firm. Do that and you’re likely to hear

equal. What needs to be judged is the impor-

recessionary times can be considered inad-

about it on your next performance appraisal if

tance of the screw-up. Did it cause the loss of

equate; an average performance during spec-

not before.

millions of dollars in client revenue or, say,

tacular economic times can be considered

was the mistake made on a will and trust that

superior. All of this can make performance

2. Improved communication. This is a dubi-

had no substantive effect on the efficacy of the

appraisals uncomfortable to contemplate, dif-

ous claim. It can happen, but frequently the

document? The firm culture and its guardians

ficult to suffer, and almost impossible to trust.

opposite occurs. Bad vibes are generated. Yet,

must decide. They may disagree among them-

Now that this has been said, let’s examine the

if the people being reviewed can be convinced

selves but eventually must reach consensus.

other side of the equation: the appraisal ra-

that the system is unbiased and the appraisal

That is how the appraisal process works.

tionale. We’ll briefly discuss this and end with

process conducted dispassionately, the oc-

Thus, note that even the consensus judgment

adaptive strategies you can employ to weather

casional bad feeling will not become part of

handed down to you on your appraisal may

the stress and get on with the job.

a rising chorus of smoldering discontent.

be a matter of dispute among the partners.

The component missing here, it ought to be

The fact that there was internal disagreement

mentioned, is discretion. Rather than create

will most likely not appear on your appraisal,

improved communication, which smacks of

although it may be hinted at during your per-

Talk to law firm partners and they will tell

corpspeak, the goal of the appraisal process

son-to-person interview.

you that many positive outcomes can derive

should be to remain confidential--a private

from performance appraisals, among them (1)

summing up between appraiser and appraised

4. Facilitates Career Planning. In managing

meaningful feedback, (2) improved inter-firm

that hopefully clears the air, establishes base-

associates, this is corpspeak for “Am I Partner

communication, (3) maintenance of standards,

lines for future on-the-job conduct, and sets

Material?” The whole purpose for most asso-

and (4) facilitation of career planning. Not all

the agenda for a less fractious future.

ciates slaving away at their jobs and conform-

The Appraisal Rationale

ing to firm production and decorum standards

of these claims can be fulfilled all of the time.

Some are code for firm agendas the individual

3. Maintenance of Standards. Hard to

is to eventually grab the metaphorical brass

lawyer, paralegal, or legal secretary may or

argue with this one. A firm has a right to set

ring: a partnership. If you achieve that, you

may not pick up on. Let’s examine each of

standards, and it has a right to expect you to

think that you truly can be considered your

these suggested outcomes more fully so that

adhere to them. The problem comes when

own business, your own profit center, with

you can understand why they exist and what

these standards are not clear at the start. In

control over your own destiny. Again, there is

traps they may conceal.

an article on performance appraisals in the

some deception involved in any process which

March 17, 2003, edition of the Los Angeles

purports to outline the personal qualities and

1. Meaningful feedback. The idea here is that

Daily Journal, which specializes in local legal

performance level needed to make partner:

if you know what more experienced others

news, the writer, Consultant Ida Abbott, ad-

Let’s say that you are nice to your mother,

think of your work product and conclude about

vises any law firm to first assess the compe-

don’t smoke, drink or frequent hookers, don’t

you personally, you’ll want to mold yourself

tencies desired and then:

beat your kids, are still happily married to your original spouse and are punctilious in

into what is expected, and, parenthetically, if you don’t want to mold yourself into this im-

“…identify five to 10 specific components to be

your weekly attendance of religious services.

age, you’ll leave. Either way, the firm benefits.

evaluated for each key performance standard.

You have worked your way onto the boards of

In this instance, the performance appraisal is

If one of your standards is ‘professionalism,’

some small corporations. You are one of your

‘meaningful’ as a tool for generating confor-

it must be dissected into specific, observable

suburb’s council members. You have brought

mity and weeding out misfits. Before you raise

tasks, skills, attitudes, behaviors and at-

in new business, and you bill an ungodly num-

a cry of outrage, think about this a moment.

tributes that characterize what a lawyer must

ber of hours. Sadly, you can meet all these

The goal is not to turn you into a Stepford

do to demonstrate that quality. For example,

qualifications and still have your partner-

Wife. You can be a cross-dresser outside work

one component might be ‘attention to detail:

ship delayed if, say, existing partners do not

and secretly pull the wings off of live flies for

Is thorough and tenacious in completing com-

retire when they say they will, your firm has

all anybody cares. The purpose is to encour-

plex and multifaceted tasks; work product is

financial problems, or a new partner arrives

age you to become part of a team while at

neat and free of errors.’”

from somewhere else accompanied by several

work and not a planet circling around some

big-time, high-margin clients.

distant star. On your own, you can be as coun-

What Abbot does not address is this: a

ter-cultural as you wish, unless, of course you

subjective judgment is still required because

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For paralegals and legal secretaries, facilitat-

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CAREER CORNER

ing career planning is corpspeak for “Do I qualify for a raise or other promotion?� For example, there may be supervisory positions available such as floor secretary or office manager with commensurate pay and/or seniority perquisites. Alternatively, a paralegal may become head paralegal or be allowed to specialize in handling only certain matters or working with only certain partners. Insofar as you demonstrate your value and skills, the firm should try to recognize and reward those efforts. Whether firms will do so or even contemplate such a system varies from firm to firm and will likely be rooted in the simple math of is this person adding value (and real dollars) to the firm or not.

Next week: Part II will provide guidance on how to proceed now that you understand the review process.

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