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The Importance of Being Well-Liked in Your Legal Job [by A. Harrison Barnes, Esq.] Your job may seem to be all about putting in long hours and hard work, but our recruiters say personal relationships play as big a role, if not a bigger one, in how far you can advance.
One of the most persistent problems at-
ty. You need to always be in a position where
While this is not necessarily a bad thing for
torneys practicing law have is their failure to
others want to do you a favor.
these attorneys, many of these attorneys will
collaborate and learn from the other attor-
leave under bad circumstances where they
neys they are practicing law with. There are
There are several keys to being well-liked
have done something wrong. In addition, a lot
several factors that are essential for success
in a legal environment and this article will
of these attorneys will be angry with the firm
in the practice of law and advancing in your
examine some of the more important ones,
and the firm’s partners and the partners will
career. Being well-liked and collaborating is
including: (1) not getting involved in cliques;
know they are angry. If you and a group of
one of the more important ones.
(2) never saying anything bad about any
very close peers have been seen spending a
co-worker-no matter what; (3) making your
great deal of time with someone who leaves
This is at odds with the types of personalities
superiors feel important, (4) listening, not
under bad circumstances, the perception will
most attorneys have. Many attorneys were
talking too much, and asking about others,
be that you are angry about it too. The firm
once quite competitive in an academic sense
(5) participating in “group solidarity” activi-
may even think you are a candidate for leav-
and spent a lot of their time studying alone
ties, and (6) keeping your head down and
ing for the same reasons. You do not want to
to get an edge on their peers. In the law firm
smiling.
be associated with this. You will be perceived as being on the wrong team.
environment, most attorneys work alone in offices and do their best to generate as many 1. Do Not Get Actively Involved in Cliques
Second, if you are involved in a clique, there
One of the most dangerous things you can do
will be other associates who, by the very
Amongst all of this solitary activity, however,
in a legal workplace is to get actively involved
existence of your clique, will feel excluded.
attorneys are all part of a social dynamic
in a clique. While there is nothing wrong
They may not be invited to certain lunches,
inside their legal organization. Beyond any
with being part of a social group, because of
may hear about you doing things outside of
other single issue-including the attorney’s
reasons specific to their environments, law
work with other clique members and will
work product-the largest obstacle and risk
firms are likely the wrong places to do this.
walk by the office and see you and other
billable hours as possible.
clique members speaking. This will make
to an attorney’s success is a social dynamic turning against the attorney. If your fellow
First, cliques-like all social organizations-
them feel excluded. When people feel ex-
associates, or even worse, the partners you
go through their ups and downs. One of the
cluded they generally have a response.
work with, do not like you, word will get
most unifying things about cliques is that
around and your future with your organiza-
the members bond over a shared set of
The most typical response inside law firms
tion may be doomed.
circumstances. When bad things happen to
is that the excluded people will form a clique
the members of a clique, the clique tends to
of their own. Alternatively, they may decide
I would argue that being well-liked inside a
come together and unite against the “nega-
that, since your particular group is not all
legal environment is more important than in
tive outside forces” that created the bad
that interested in them (rightly or wrongly),
most other professions. If you are an associ-
circumstances. Rest assured, bad things will
their best course of action is to work harder,
ate and are not liked by your colleagues, the
happen to members of every law firm clique.
kiss up to partners more, or look better than
partners will assume that clients will not like
the members of your clique in some way or
you either. Additionally, if partners do not
In a large law firm, something in the neigh-
like you, then you will not get a lot of work. If
borhood of over 50% of the associates in your
you are isolated from others within your legal
class will leave and go to other jobs (or leave
Third, most of the people that make partner
organization, it is also far easier for the firm
the practice of law entirely) within the first
in large and midsized law firms were never
to let you go in times of economic uncertain-
two to three years of their time with the firm.
part of cliques. The reason? They did not
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