Reputation as an Articling Student

[Not.a.lawyer]

Hi everyone,

I am struggling a lot with the following and would love some thoughts or advice on how to approach the situation.

 

I have about 4 months left in my articles at a 3 lawyer firm. 2 of these lawyers work remotely so it’s essentially myself, 1 lawyer and his 2 assistants. 
 
Throughout my article I have become the main point of contact for the majority of files. Prior to my summer and then article here (I worked throughout law school after my first year summer), my principal did not answer most emails for months.

Now my principle continues to leave nearly every file to the last minute, but now he does so with my name being the point of contact for clients. Some wait several months for the promised draft of an agreement or a demand letter and will email me continuously for an update. I think perhaps his 20 years at the bar makes other lawyers and clients more understanding when it was him who was not responding. 
 

I have usually drafted the required document within a couple days of receiving the file , but it has not been reviewed and will not be for weeks at a time. My principle does not allow me to respond to these clients or provide any updates until he gets to reviewing the file and then has me send the draft. I have started adding appointments for file review to the firm calendar but was sternly warned not to do this. 
 

in the last couple of weeks, the firm has received 3 very negative and public reviews that mention me by name. My principle brushes this off as “those never happy clients”.

 

I have come to realize my reputation is being effected and as a soon to be new lawyer that is all I have.

[CleanHands]

Sadly I don't have any good ideas for how you should handle this, but I do have sympathy and this is legitimately a terrible situation that makes me angry on your behalf, so I'm responding just to bump this in the hopes someone better equipped to give advice sees it (since threads have a way of getting lost if not responded to in the first few hours).

[BlockedQuebecois]

This is a difficult situation, and not one I feel particularly well suited to advise on—I am a junior call and have only ever had incredibly pleasant and competent mentors. So all I can do is tell you how I would approach this situation. 

In my opinion, this is one of the times you need to stand up for your own career. That means you need to sit down with your boss and have a serious conversation. You need to tell him you have concerns about how this will affect your career going forward and that you are not comfortable with continuing on this basis for the remainder of your articles.

Then you need to present solutions. There are two obvious ones, though you may be able to see more from your vantage point and will need to use your judgment as to which one(s) you propose. The first is to no longer be the primary contact person for these files. Your principal or one of the assistants at the office can be the primary point of contact, and you can do the work behind the scenes. The second is for you to continue as the primary point of contact, but with your principal agreeing to review the relevant document in a timely manner (or asking one of the other lawyers to review it if he is too busy). 

In either event, you need to be firm, confident, and respectful in communicating this to your boss. You need to make sure it does not come across as you criticizing him or suggesting they have failed in their professional obligations to their clients (or you, as a student). And once you have come to an agreement you need to make sure it sticks. 

I know that standing up to a much more senior individual can be stressful, particularly where there is a power imbalance. But protecting your career and your reputation is far more important than not ruffling your articling principal's feathers. 

[Zarathustra]

Might be time to start looking for associate positions elsewhere. It's not easy for fresh calls to land a job but definitely doable if you have the knack for networking and cold calls.  

[Apple]

I have a lawyer at my firm that does this sort of thing. It's annoying, but thankfully they're not my principal and I have a number of other lawyers I am working with on matters. I learned very quickly that this lawyer's style is not like mine and generally results in a lot of fires to put out.  Whenever I have a file with them I always make clear to the clients right away that I am an articling student, that I take all my instruction from X lawyer and that I cannot help how quickly things get back to them. Whenever I complete work for a client, I send them an email or shoot them a call to say, "I have completed the drafting work for X lawyer and now it is awaiting their review". 

I've found this helps with management of client expectations and protecting me from being associated with the fires.