Career Clinic: Bullied - do I stay or do I go?

Jump before you're pushed

Hmmm... whether or not it’s bullying may depend on the bits of the story you haven’t mentioned – how exactly did you "bruise" the partner’s ego and is it fair to hold you responsible for it?

Here, it sounds like you should leave while you have the luxury of choosing to do so. Your team either does not have enough work to do for the headcount that’s there or you are being managed out. It sounds like it may be the former – witness the easy working hours, senior associates hogging work, lots of BD work being done by junior assistants, partners pressurised by management kicking downwards, workload depending on how effectively you schmooze partners, etc. In a busy and successful practice you don’t normally need to go digging for work at +2PQE. If, however, you are the only person in your peer group in this position, that might suggest it’s more an issue with you personally.

Whether you stay or go, bear in mind that: (a) partners and senior associates in all firms will discuss and compare the merits of people at your level; (b) all firms are full of people with undeserved reputations (good and bad); (c) when things tighten up, those reputations usually determine who stays and goes; and (d) it’s easy to motivate people by talking up the value of non-chargeable activity but in most places what really counts is doing chargeable work and billing it successfully.

Young Fogey -25 Jul 2011 | 09:37

Go!!!!!

Go!!!! I was previously bullied as an NQ but stayed as I thought it was important to have at least 2QE on my CV before moving. I realise now that it was not worth it. I am now 6PQE and working in a great firm with a great boss. It is not worth the stress to stay anywhere where you are unhappy.

Anonymous -25 Jul 2011 | 10:15

Get out

Of course it's "out of the frying pan into the fire"!

It's called "working at a City law firm"! City law firms are generally unpleasant places to work.

Does that mean you should stay? No - definitely not.

There are degrees of bad behaviour by partners and plenty of partners at plenty of other firms will treat you better than this. Go as soon as possible. You owe it to yourself. This partner has taken against you and things can only get worse. The longer you leave it the more opportunity he will have to shaft you - you won't get credit for anything you do right and anything you do wrong, no matter how small, will be held against you.

Get out.

P.S. A tip - its always the partners that gush the most that turn on you the quickest. The ones that are indifferent are the ones least likely to treat you badly.

Magic Circle Associate -25 Jul 2011 | 10:17

Leave

@ Magic Circle Associate "P.S. A tip - its always the partners that gush the most that turn on you the quickest. The ones that are indifferent are the ones least likely to treat you badly."

Very true. All insincere and without substance.

My tip - leave if you have options (why would you stay)?

Thor -25 Jul 2011 | 12:13

Keep a record of everything Partner X says or does to or about you that could constitute bullying or give you evidence for an unfair dismissal claim.

I agree with posters above saying you should probably go - life is too short to be unhappy and worrying about what is being said about you.

Could you tell us how you bruised his ego, though?

Anonymous -25 Jul 2011 | 13:02

City law firms have more than their share of unpleasant people, and the proportion gets higher with seniority.

Move, but don't be surprised to find people just as unpleasant - or even more so - elsewhere. If you want to work with genuinely nice people - as opposed to people who pretend to be nice, but only when they feel it to be in their interests - then find another career.

Anon -25 Jul 2011 | 15:34

go

Not sure that what you describe amounts to corporate bullying, but it is unpleasant and a clear indicator that it is time to go. Get a better job with more pleasant colleagues.

in-houser -25 Jul 2011 | 17:51

Go!!

Oh dear, whether it is justified or not, you are being given a clear message, namely that you are not wanted. That might be hard to take but patently your time is up and I would go whilst you have a choice.

In my opinion, whilst BD and pro bono works get you credit, you need the billable hours on top to justify continued employment, so if you are not billing as you should, whatever else is going on I suggest that issue needs addressing immediately if you are minded to stay and fight on.

All the best with this.

Anonymous -26 Jul 2011 | 10:47

Learning comes from challenge

Bullying is all too common sadly, and the pressures in the legal profession currently are likely to make it more prevalent. We do not get taught how to deal with difficult emotions and it sounds like your boss is projecting theirs onto you.

Try to put yourself in their shoes and rather than getting defensive which it is easy to do when you are under attack, stay positive and use a coaching style of communication to clarify where he is coming from e.g. What change do you need to see from me and what will be the evidence? What mistakes have I made and how can I learn from them?

Define communication objectives for key stakeholders in the firm and make time and be creative to focus on changing any negative perceptions.

Success is about politics as well as being a good lawyer so see this as a gift not a problem so early in your career. Good luck!

Talentliberator -27 Jul 2011 | 09:48

Open the secret!

Please tell us how you think you bruised your partner's ego!

Interested -27 Jul 2011 | 20:36

@Talent Liberator

No one gets taught how to deal with difficult emotions, and no one ever did. You are meant to learn "on the job" by growing up with close family and friends, and having to get on with them. Unfortunately, modern society doesn't allow Nature's training course to run properly, and we find that emotional cripples abound.

However, law was always full of emotional cripples, as it attracts people who have intellectual ability but little imagination or social skills. Add to that, as you point out, an employer's (i.e. partner's) market for recruitment, and you can see things are going to get a lot worse.

Trying the tactics you suggest in a traditional law firm will probably see one branded as a touchy-feely nutter and, much as I agree with them in an ideal world, I would not try them myself.

Indahouse -28 Jul 2011 | 11:31

Go

As others have said, life is too short to work with people like this. I know exactly the type of partner you mean having worked with one previously. Get out of there, and if you can, get in-house. Not just because it is better all round (although it is) but because in a reasonble sized team you have a better defence against one individual taking against you as you can get personal references from the business even if your line manager takes against you. Whereas it is quite hard to get a reference from a client whilst you're junior, and few law firm partners will put their neck on the line with a personal reference in the situation you describe, particularly when you have low profitability.

Stupot -28 Jul 2011 | 17:43

You are going to come across two-faced people wherever you are. There's the client who one minute thinks you are great and then hangs you out to dry and makes a claim or complaint or both. Then you have the colleague who appears to be a friend but will shaft you at the first opportunity if he gets ahead as a result. Then the partner or manager who does his best to make your life miserable and for whom you can do nothing right. We have all met all of them and the truth is, it is not easy to tackle any of them. Even if you have PQE by the bucketload.

I'd jump ship quickly; don't wait for them to fire you. From what you are saying that may not be too remote a possibility. I agree with the other posters, and for a change they are being constructive in their advice. Life is too short to spend any of it in a job that makes you miserable. Whatever you decide to do, good luck.

high street solicitor -29 Jul 2011 | 14:05

You're probably being managed out. Firm has decided that it can do without you/maybe wants to make cutbacks and is trying to get you to leave. Stay long enough and they'll probably eventually pay you to leave - you'll be in for a miserable time of it though...

Anonymous -01 Aug 2011 | 10:03

Constructive dismissal by every other name.

If you do leave, make it clear that the firm's actions will affect your career trajectory and would therefore be considered constructive dismissal. To be forced to work in an atmosphere where your reputation has been smeared is not on. Good luck!

Marcia Simpson-James -01 Aug 2011 | 16:11

Manage how you go...

It's up to you to manage your own situation and do a bit of preparation regardless of whether you stay or go.

Look at:

.. what other options you have - how long can you afford to be unemployed before the sky falls in, how soon will you find alternative work, how will you prove you have kept your skills up to date if you have any unemployed periods. Go and talk to a couple of recruitment agents about the marketplace. Don't forget that if you give in your notice you only get your notice, if you're pushed you get severance and a chance to agree a reference. Talk to the solicitors helpline and/or any helpline provided in your house insurance etc (in case you need representation later on).

.. get more billable hours work from a wider group of partners/ colleagues. In the current climate your KPIs are crucial and bringing in enough money to cover your salary plus firm's costs is crucial to keeping your job.

.. if you work for other partners, they'll be able to judge how you handle their work and although they'll never admit it to you; will factor that in when listening to any bad press. Also don't forget they know this guy/girl, they know the behaviour under stress/ generally etc.

.. talk to HR (they aren't a waste of space and can be useful) about what's happened & how to retrieve your position because that lays the groundwork for asking for an agreed reference if you do leave. It's unlikely you're the first to suffer, you're more likely to get decent severance & reference if your hands are clean.

.. put double the effort in now. Very few people don't have this sort of crap at some stage in their career, but what sorts out the 'men from the boys' is how they handle it. Maintaining a professional attitude in the face of imminent job loss can just (sometimes) mean the hatchet falls elsewhere.

.. a job is not for life. Moving on even if it's cos you've been pushed isn't necessarily a failure. Pick yourself up, learn from it (ie don't align yourself to a single partner again, go for a couple) and get on with your life.

Good luck!

Anonymous -04 Aug 2011 | 15:00