7: Invest in Your Management Skills
You might be the new person on the block, but that doesn't mean you don't have to be a good manager. Immediately in your career you will have to manage at least four separate parties:
1.
Your clients.2. Staff at your place of employment.
3. Senior lawyers.
4. Yourself.
All clients need managing. Don't ever think otherwise. No matter how sophisticated they are, they've likely never walked in your shoes and even the ones that have usually forget what it's like to be you. You'll have to manage them with a soft hand and make sure you don't get into a situation whereby they spiral out of control and take you with them. This can be emotionally or intellectually draining. Manage the client and manage the project. In Chapter 13, we talk about managing different types of personalities.
Wherever you work, you'll likely have staff that support attorneys. These people need to be managed as well. If you get in good with the staff at a firm, you will be a star. Come off as a brat and you'll be treated as such—your life will be much more difficult. You'll want to manage the relationships, but also manage their time and work product as well. We'll go into detail on this point in the next chapter.
Managing senior lawyers is also called “managing up.” You'll want to manage their expectations and the relationships you have with them. Our advice is to develop personal relationships with senior people at your employer, but never forget you are junior. If you have the opportunity to spend out-of-work hours with your superiors, do so respectfully. No matter how nice they may seem, they are your boss. Be very careful when it comes to things like drinking and partying. Even if they are having a good time, make sure you are having less.
Finally, managing yourself is key. We'll discuss later how to be a happy lawyer, but realize that managing your time along with your physical and mental health is not always easy as a new lawyer. You will only be as good of a lawyer as you are a healthy human. You'll also feel like you are juggling a few more balls (or chainsaws) than you think is safe. Being able to manage yourself in a multitasking and multi-master environment is critical.