Junior Lawyer FAQs
Working with others
As a young lawyer, you can easily get stuck in the middle of conflicting deadlines.
It’s tough to say no when somebody asks you for help. But sometimes you really need to – and there’s a right way to do it.
1️⃣ Understand that sometimes it’s better to say no
It’s tempting to say yes to everything. You might worry that you’re missing an opportunity or letting somebody down.
Sometimes you can just fit it all in by working a bit later.
But sometimes you just can’t give both tasks your 100% – that’s when the deadlines affect the quality of your work.
Trust me, doing quality work > doing more work every single time.
2️⃣ Estimate how long tasks will take
Think about the budget. Ask your colleague how much time you should spend. Give it your best guess.
Then add 30% as a buffer.
3️⃣ Don’t get stuck in the middle
A common mistake young lawyers make is just saying “no I can’t – I’m too busy.” Or becoming the middleman.
Instead, communicate your availability and let them know you’re open to re-prioritising.
“Sorry I’m doing this task for John right now. I think it’ll take me until about 2pm. I can help with your task afterwards if that’s okay. Otherwise, happy to re-prioritise if you can have a chat with John and let me know which one to do first.”
As a young lawyer, we’re going to screw up at some point. It’s tempting to get defensive, or hope that nobody will find out – but overcoming that instinct is super important (both for yourself and your team).
Here’s what I’ve learned to do:
1️⃣ Analyse possible solutions
Spending a few moments thinking about what can be done, or who can be contacted, is worth it. Having a potential solution is better than just running around with a problem.
2️⃣ Communicate the mistake and the potential solution
This always feels like the scariest part – letting your partner / team know about the mistake. But half the problem is when nobody else knows there’s a problem. The key is to be completely honest, take responsibility, and let them know you’ve thought about the solution.
“Hi Jane. Sorry, I’ve made a mistake. I was meant to file X with the court but filed Y instead. I think I can fix it by [contacting the court registrar and refiling the document today] but I wanted to check if you think that’s the right solution.”
3️⃣ Think about how to prevent this in future
Mistakes are a part of learning – ‘experience’ just means not making the same mistake twice. Keeping track of what I’ve learned helps those situations feel constructive, not negative.
Some of the best help you’ll get in a legal team is from your support staff colleagues. But when I started my legal career, I wasn’t sure how to work with them effectively. And honestly, I was a bit scared about delegating to people who had many more years of experience than me.
In case it helps, here’s what I’ve learned to do:
1️⃣ Introduce yourself early
Really simple but can get overlooked with remote working, and certain cultures.
2️⃣ Understand their job
It’s good to get an idea of the tasks that your support colleagues are already helping other lawyers with (and can help you with in future).
Depending on the team, and your colleague’s experience, it could range from meeting room bookings, expense processing to property searches and matter management.
“Hi John – Since I’m new, I just wanted to understand what sort of tasks you’ve been helping others with. Also if there’s anything I can do to make your job easier when we work together.”
3️⃣ Check if they have time to help
It’s common for support colleagues to be working for a group of lawyers (partners etc), so they might be too busy to meet your deadline. Before diving into the task, I quickly check in to see if they have the time. If not, I’ll either check with other support colleagues, ask the other assigning lawyer if we can reprioritise work, or adjust my day.
“Hi Jane – I’m hoping you could help me with something. I think it’ll take about 2 hours and I’d need it by 5pm tomorrow. Do you have time?”
4️⃣ Call / discuss the task (mainly for shorter / simpler tasks)
If they have the time, I’ll discuss how I think the task should be done. Sometimes they’ll have a better method or will let me know if it will take longer / shorter to complete.
5️⃣ Follow up with an email
For more complex tasks, or to keep other people on the project in the loop, I’d send through an email that sets out (a) the steps, (b) an example, and (c) the deadline.
“Hi Jane – Please see attached the contracts. As discussed, could you populate a table with the contract names, parties and contract values? I’ve also attached an example with the first few rows populated. Please let me know if you think it’ll take longer than our 5pm deadline. Thanks!”
6️⃣ Check their work
Even if you’re getting help, you’re still responsible for the final work product that you’ve delegated.
7️⃣ Say thanks
🙂
As a junior lawyer, I used to look at my calendar as an empty canvas for other people to shove meetings into.
Then I learned from experienced lawyers that I should block out time from my own calendar so it actually works as a proactive scheduling tool – not an overwhelming mess.
I’ve learned that it’s okay to block out time for:
🔹 chunks of deep work (e.g. research memos and contract reviews)
🔹 regular ‘non-work’ tasks to progress your career (e.g. BD initiatives and learning legaltech)
🔹 time outs from non-stop virtual meetings
🔹 smashing out work admin tasks (e.g. entering your time)
🔹 ‘me’ time (e.g. exercise and proper lunch)
It doesn’t mean your calendar won’t get shaken up because of urgent work / calls, or new priorities. But it’s a way to limit how often you’re scrambling to meet other peoples’ availability (and trying to fit your work in the empty spaces).
If you’re worried about how to deal with clashes between your blocked out time and new appointments, try:
“Hi Jane, I’ve got something in my calendar for that time. I can try moving my thing around if yours is urgent – otherwise I’m free at 3pm if that works for you?“
Let’s talk about delegating work. It’s an essential skill for the modern lawyer to develop as they move along their career, but not everyone does it well.
In case it helps, here are some general rules that I’ve learned about effective delegation in proper legal teams:
1️⃣ Confirm whether you can delegate
As a junior, it’s usually assumed that you’ll be doing the work yourself unless your supervisor expressly tells you otherwise. But you should also keep an eye out for things that could be delegated for time / cost reasons (e.g. document formatting or working with your secretary).
“Hi Jane, just wanted to check if we should get [the document production team / secretary / insert other] to help out with this part of the task?”
2️⃣ Estimate time of task
If you’ve got a deadline, think about the time you’ll need to review / amend the delegated work (as well as doing your part). Then check if the other person has capacity to do the delegated work in the remaining time.
“Hi John, I’ve got this task that I’m hoping you can help with. Ideally, I can get your part back by [3pm tomorrow]. Do you have time to do this?“
3️⃣ Give clear instructions
Set out the task, form of work product (memo, email, quick chat etc), and timing. Ideally, you can also explain how the delegated part fits in with the other work.
For more complex tasks, it’s generally better to email written instructions instead of just relying on a conversation.
4️⃣ You’re responsible for final work product
Delegation is a responsibility, not a way to palm off work.
Delegated formatting tasks? Scroll through the document to make sure it’s correct.
Changing party names in precedent contracts? Do a spot check.
5️⃣ Take the blame – give the credit
Following on from this, if a delegated task isn’t done well – it’s still ultimately your work product (“Sorry I should have checked that part of the work more carefully.”)
You should give feedback to your delegatee, but that’s a separate discussion.
If they did a good job? Proactively relay that to your supervisor (“Thanks, John was actually a huge help on this task.”)
If you feel like you’re not getting enough direct feedback, here’s a few things you can do:
1️⃣ Generate compares
Using document comparisons will show the differences between your draft and the final version that goes out to the client.
It’s the easiest way to show the changes your supervisor has made both in style and in substance. It’s also great for generating specific questions for your supervisor to answer instead of a general “is there anything I could improve”.
2️⃣ Set up post-project catch ups
Often it’s easiest for supervisors to give feedback after a matter (or phase in that matter) has finished, instead of when everything is still ongoing.
“Hi Jane, I’m trying to get a bit more feedback on my work. Would it be okay if I set up a 15 minute meeting for me to ask you a few questions after we send this out to the client?”
3️⃣ Ask specific questions
Speaking of which, one of the most difficult things for supervisors to do is give ‘general’ feedback. It’s much easier (and more constructive) if you can identify a few specific areas to improve.
“I felt like I had trouble juggling the different tasks on this matter. Could you walk me through your process?”
“This is how I approached the task. Is there a better way you’d do it next time?”
4️⃣ Implement feedback and follow up
Just as you’d like to receive constructive feedback, supervisors like to know if it’s had an effect. Taking a bit of time to follow up and share how a piece of advice has worked out can motivate them to keep providing feedback in future.
“Hey I just wanted to let you know that I tried out your process and it’s been working a lot better now. Thanks!”
“Asking for work” isn’t really mentioned in law school. You might be part of a legal team that’s really good at assigning work. But there are many junior lawyers who feel like they’re not getting enough experience or consistent assignments.
This can be disappointing (and also stressful with billable hour targets).
Here’s a way I’ve learned to approach it:
1️⃣ Learn about the work your team is doing
“Hi Tim, I realised I haven’t actually done that much work for you. If you have a minute, I’d really like to learn a bit more about what you’re doing and how I can help.”
2️⃣ Is there a ‘new matters’ list?
Many teams have regular meetings to talk about the current matters they’re working on. Or there might be a regular email with the new matters opened.
This is a good way to see who might need some help, or spot work opportunities that look interesting to you.
3️⃣ Who should you ask?
Not just the partners – ask the associates and senior lawyers.
If you’re really in a lull, you can even check with your supervisor if you can work with other teams. When I was between projects for a few weeks, I basically had a mini internship with our disputes team.
4️⃣ Making the ask
While there’s nothing wrong with sending a message or email, I’d suggest either asking in person (bring your notepad) or over the phone. Especially if you haven’t really worked with them before.
“Hi Jane, I’ve got capacity this week. Did you need any help with [new matter]? Or is there anything else I can help with?”
5️⃣ Follow up
They might not have any work when you first ask, but letting them know if you still have capacity in the following days will be appreciated. Things change quickly.
Even if we know HOW to do the tasks – understanding WHY we’re doing them (and the results they can lead to) is an important part of our learning.
If you feel like you’re not getting enough context, here are some things I’ve found helpful to do / ask:
1️⃣ “Where does our client fit in the contract structure?”
This gives an idea of the relevant parties, sources of dispute, appropriate risk profiles, and commercial interests at stake.
It also helps us understand the different contracts that we may need to look at in a transaction or dispute.
Sometimes it’s as simple as two parties. Other times, it’s a tangled web of financiers, government agencies, special purpose vehicles, contractors, and subcontractors (shoutout to PPPs 😫).
2️⃣ “What are we trying to achieve?”
Knowing our client’s ultimate goal isn’t just helpful for our learning. It also adds more value to the tasks we do.
You might be doing a discovery task like a glorified ctrl+F button. But if you understand what you’re trying to prove, and how that fits into the overall case strategy, then you could find relevant evidence that you may have otherwise overlooked.
3️⃣ “Any other documents I should look at for context?”
Sometimes, there’s a summary of the matter already available (e.g. handover note, chronology, presentation). It’s worth a shot.
4️⃣ Read the file
Taking a few minutes to scroll through the matter’s recent emails can give you an understanding of why the task is being performed. It’s also handy for learning the emailing style for that particular client.
As a junior lawyer asking for leave (potentially for the first time in your career), you might want to consider these steps to help out your team:
1️⃣ Flag it in person with your supervisor(s)
“Hi Jane, I’m thinking of taking a week off work from 1 March to 8 March. Just wanted to check if that’s okay with you first.”
2️⃣ Follow up with an email / enter it into your leave booking system
“Hi Jane, as discussed I’ll be taking leave from 1 March to 8 March. Thanks!”
3️⃣ Send a calendar to your team
“1-8 March – Jason on leave”
4️⃣ Prepare handover notes (especially for longer leave periods)
Your notes should set out key files, upcoming deadlines, and a snapshot of matter progress. You can also consider checking with your supervisor whether anyone in particular would be stepping into the matter, and offering to brief them in person.
See “Handing over work” in the FAQs for an example handover note.
5️⃣ Set an out of office message
“Thank you for your email. I am on leave from 1 March to 8 March and will respond when I return. If your query is urgent, please contact colleague @ firm[.]com.”
As a side note, some juniors are worried about taking leave because they feel like they’re letting down the team or want to show they’re hardworking. In reality, taking scheduled leave is encouraged, helps with firm budgeting, and helps dodge burnout.
After working in law for a while, you might come across the phrase “take criticism seriously, but not personally”.
Unfortunately it’s easier said than done – and something that I struggled with for the first few years of my career.
Here’s a few actions that have made it easier to for me to respond constructively to criticism:
1️⃣ List the lessons
It’s difficult to separate mistakes we’ve made from feeling bad – even if it’s a natural part of the learning process.
Listing the lessons can help shift the tone and provide a useful reference in future:
“Partner roasted me for a bad research memo” ➡ “Research memos – put answer before reasoning, attach supporting cases…”
2️⃣ Sub yourself out
Many of us are better at giving advice than taking our own medicine.
Taking a step back and picturing how we’d advise ‘our buddy Dave’ to respond in that situation can help us see a bit clearer.
3️⃣ Build an honest support network
Your colleagues can be an invaluable source of support.
During university, I spent a year or so volunteering at a community legal centre. A lesson from that experience (which I find useful in my law firm career) is “don’t be a dead end.”
At the legal centre, we would receive dozens of phone calls from people looking for help with home building disputes, tenancy issues and domestic violence.
But we’d also get phone calls from people wanting advice on legal issues that we didn’t work on, or who lived outside of our catchment area.
Did we just say “sorry we can’t help you” and hang up? Of course not.
We’d dig through a booklet and try to connect them with a service that could help.
Examples of how “don’t be a dead end” has stuck with me in a law firm context:
🔹 Too busy to take on a task? Tell them when you’ll be available or help to find a replacement.
🔹 Asked a question for somebody else’s matter that you don’t know the answer to? Think about who might know the answer or offer to look into it with them.
🔹 A junior asks for work but you don’t have anything to delegate? Refer them to a colleague that you know is busy.
The situations will be different, but the habit is the same – try to give a path forward or at least an option to take.
Common junior lawyer tasks
As a junior lawyer, I had to learn how to remove metadata from documents (identifying information e.g. author, editing times, date created).
There’s two situations I’ve used this in:
(A) Ghostwriting – sometimes clients ask for input on notices, correspondence, term sheets etc. but don’t want to show that there are lawyers involved
(B) Precedents – drawing from examples / drafting that may have identifying information from previous projects
In case you’re in a similar situation, here’s how you can do this for Word documents:
1️⃣ Click the “File” tab
2️⃣ Click the “Info” tab
3️⃣ Click “Check for Issues” -> “Inspect Document”
4️⃣ Check the box for “Document Properties and Personal Information”
5️⃣ Click “Inspect”
6️⃣ Click “Remove All” next to “Document Properties and Personal Information”
NB: If you want to keep any mark up in the document, don’t click “Remove All” for “Comments, Revisions, Versions and Annotations”.
As a junior lawyer, one of our core responsibilities is to manage the file. When done properly, it’s also one of the best ways to leave a good impression on your supervisors / colleagues.
In case it helps, here are the steps I’ve learned:
1️⃣ Ask to be involved
Let your colleagues know that you’re happy to manage the file and ask them to keep you copied in on emails.
It’s also a good time to ask if they have any preferences for how the file is managed, documents are saved, and whether there’s an example file that they’re happy with.
2️⃣ Folder structure
This can differ between practice groups (which is why an example file is so handy) – but some general rules I follow are:
– separate folders for emails, meeting notes / letters, contracts, court documents, fee materials and other documents received from the client
– sub-folders for different agreements / types of court documents
– further sub-folders for final versions vs drafts
3️⃣ Naming convention
Again, subject to existing preferences but at a basic level – I like to identify the date, type of document, sender/recipient, brief description of content, and whether there are edits. As examples:
For letter: “2021-10-10 – Letter – ABC to XYZ – Initial Notice of Claim for Contamination [Law Firm draft comments 2021.10.14]
For contract: “2021-10-10 – Project Deed – Received from Other Law Firm [Law Firm mark up 2021.10.14]
4️⃣ Version control
Some general rules I’ve learned:
Ask if your changes are to continue existing mark up, or if you should accept existing changes and show only your amendments.
New versions of the same document that’s still being internally revised. New document for anything sent out / received.
When sending documents, attach both the live link as well as a read-only copy (this can also help you to generate compares to learn from how they’ve amended your work).
5️⃣ Save all documents
I’m not going to sugarcoat it – this can be a sucky admin task. But it’s better than spending 2 hours trying to find an important email when everything’s urgent.
So save yourself some hurt and save things as they come in. Or at least allocate time at the end of each week to do it.
Oh, and when you’re saving emails – remember to save the attachments separately 🙂
As a junior lawyer, I didn’t get formal training on how to do a proper handover. Whenever I went on holiday, it was a mad rush to do as much work as possible before giving a final status update to my supervisor.
In case it helps, here’s the process I’ve learned over the years:
1️⃣ List out the matters / tasks that might need work during your time off.
2️⃣ A few days before going on leave, remind your colleagues and ask whether there’s anyone they’d like to bring onto the matter to cover for your absence.
“Hi Jane, just wanted to remind you that I’ll be on leave for 2 weeks starting next Monday. We’ve got a few tasks on this matter during that time – is there anyone you’d like me to hand these over to?”
Often, your colleagues already on the matter can cover for you themselves without needing an additional handover.
3️⃣ If you’re asked to handover to a colleague, set up a time to brief them on the task.
“Hi John – Jane mentioned you could help out with some tasks while I’m on leave for two weeks. Would you be free for about 30 mins this week so I can brief you? Please let me know and I’ll send through a calendar invite.”
4️⃣ Information to provide in the handover meeting
In the meeting, it’s helpful to set out (a) the background to the matter, (b) the relevant parties / supervisors / client contacts, (c) the deliverables and timelines, and (d) the key documents as well as where to find them.
5️⃣ If required, follow up with handover notes
While this isn’t always necessary, I’ve found it helpful to receive handover notes when covering for extended absences (and when colleagues have changed jobs).
Here’s an example note that I had found myself referring to many times when I was asked to step into a new matter.
Template handover notes
6️⃣ Keep your handover colleague informed on the matter
In the days leading up to your absence, consider copying your colleague into any important correspondence or sending them a record of the latest movements on the matter.
“Hi John – in preparation for the upcoming handover, please see attached the key emails we’ve sent over the past few days.”
As a junior lawyer, I used to take meeting notes the slow way. I’d scribble in a notebook during the call or meeting, scan or type them up in the ‘file note precedent’ afterwards, then save it to the document management system.
Here’s something I wish I learned earlier – write an email to yourself and file it to the matter (especially handy for short calls and meetings).
What I include in my meeting note emails:
1) A clear subject line with the date.
2) The attendees at the meeting (and their organisations).
3) The time of the meeting – for time entries afterwards.
4) My meeting notes (this will be a bit rough at first but I’ll tidy it up after the meeting).
5) A summary of the actions (figure this out after the meeting but put it at the top of the notes).
Below is an example of how this might look (drawing on my nerd love for fantasy football).
Junior lawyers are often tasked with sending out meeting invites. But we’re often not taught what would be best practice for setting up productive meetings in a business environment.
In case it helps, here are some elements of a meeting invite that I’ve learned to consider / include:
1️⃣ Can this meeting be an email instead? If not sure, you can make a note in the invite flagging that the meeting can be cancelled / shortened.
2️⃣ Invite the minimum amount of people that need to be there – or otherwise use the optional invite function for others.
3️⃣ Include a clear topic that identifies the matter and the reason for the meeting.
4️⃣ Set out a clear agenda / goal for the meeting. It’s helpful to structure topics according to priority, responsibilities, and estimated timing (if possible).
5️⃣ If there are any relevant materials, then it’s helpful to attach them and identify their purpose (e.g. to be discussed in the meeting, or to be read in advance of the meeting as assumed knowledge)
6️⃣ It can also be handy to designate a note-taker, and make it clear whether participants can expect a summary of action items after the meeting.
Here’s something junior lawyers aren’t taught in law school – how to enter your billing time so that it won’t be written off.
In case it helps, this is what has worked for me over the years:
1️⃣ Ask for a copy of a finalised bill and see what sorts of narratives your colleagues have been writing (and their style).
2️⃣ Aim for concise but informative descriptions that you would be happy reviewing (and paying for) if you were the client. For example:
5 hrs: “Reviewing and amending contracts”
would probably raise more questions and frowns than:
5 hrs: “Reviewing proposed departures to contract, advising on key commercial risks, and preparing amendments in line with client’s contract risk matrix.”
3️⃣ Find a time tracking system that works for you
I personally use multiple timers in the billing software to switch between different tasks (with a ‘bucket’ admin timer to capture non-billable time throughout the day).
Other lawyers simply write down the time and narratives as they go / at the end of the day.
4️⃣ Enter time regularly
Honestly, I thought I could wait a few days and rely on my memory for time entries. Unfortunately, it has never worked for me. Unless you have a photographic memory, regular time entry will probably save you some pain.
As a junior lawyer carrying out a legal research task, one of the best starting points is other law firms’ publications on the topic (especially if Wikipedia carried you through high school / uni).
These are publicly available, generally accurate, and framed in a way that’s practical and easy to understand for clients.
A handy tool that I’ve been using is www.feefiefoefirm.com – it’s essentially a search engine for law firm / other websites with legal content.
Currently, it operates for the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Singapore and South Africa, with more jurisdictions on the way.
Situations I’ve used this in:
🔹 Learning about upcoming changes to legislation that we regularly refer to.
🔹 Providing a high level summary to a client on legislation that I wasn’t too familiar with.
🔹 Getting up to speed on current developments in contract drafting (e.g. market practice / negotiation issues on indemnities).
🔹 Reading through a quick summary of recent case law (without having to read the whole case myself).
Ghostwriting emails gives us an opportunity to learn how to properly communicate with clients, with the upside of receiving feedback and having your work checked.
Here are some of the elements of a draft email that I’ve learned to include to make it as easy as possible for your coworker to review:
1️⃣ Clearly identify and attach all relevant documents (worth a double check).
2️⃣ Set out and identify questions / assumptions (if any).
3️⃣ Set out the recipients (“to” and “cc”).
4️⃣ Identify it as a “Draft Email”.
5️⃣ Include the sender’s email signature.
Below is an example of how this might look (drawing on my trauma and saltiness as an OKC fan watching Kevin Durant leave as a free agent in the 2016 offseason).
After sending this, you could consider following up with your colleague in person to stay involved in any revisions to that email.
One common task that new lawyers are asked to help with is amending part of a contract.
If you’re starting out, here’s a short checklist that I found helpful:
1️⃣ What’s the intention?
Before drafting, ask what outcome you’re trying to achieve with the amendments. It’s tempting to just copy+paste precedent wording, but if you don’t understand the goal, then you might miss the point.
2️⃣ Flavour of the contract
Skim the definitions and some of the clauses in the contract. This way, you can pick up on the sentence structure, formatting, and terminology (e.g. ‘Contractor’ vs ‘Supplier’ / ‘Principal’ vs ‘Client’ / ‘Works’ vs ‘Services’).
3️⃣ Track changes
Make sure that your changes are marked up so your supervisor can see what you’ve amended. In Word, you can find this function in the ‘Review’ tab.
4️⃣ Follow cross-referencing
The changes you make to one part of the contract can have flow-on effects on other parts. Knowing every flow-on takes experience, but checking the cross-referred clauses (and ctrl+F the references to the clause you’re amending) is something you can do straight away.
5️⃣ Paintbrush tool is your friend
To preserve the formatting in the contract, use the ‘Format Painter’ function in your ‘Home’ tab.
One stressful scenario that many young lawyers experience is being asked to do a research task with no clear answer.
I always felt uncomfortable about time ticking on but having nothing to show for it.
Here’s a few ways I’ve learned to deal with this a bit better:
1️⃣ Ask how long you should spend on the task
This helps with managing budgets, keeping everyone on the same page and reduces the chance of a never-ending wild goose chase.
“Hi Jane, I can get started on this now. Just in case there isn’t a clear answer, how long should I spend on this before reporting back to you?”
2️⃣ Keep track of where you’ve looked
Setting out your process in a short file note or email will help your supervisor suggest improvements, and assist others on the matter.
“Hi John – as discussed, I couldn’t find any authority on the interpretation of ‘practical excellence’. A summary of my search is set out below:
Sources: LexisNexis, Westlaw, [Textbook]
Terms: “practical excellence”, “excellence”, “practically excel!”
3️⃣ Provide updates and offer to assist with another aspect of the matter
“I’ve spent [3 hours] using these sources and search terms – happy to spend a bit more time on this. Otherwise, I have capacity [for the rest of today] to help out with other tasks if you’d like.”
Other scenarios
A few years ago, I changed law firms for the first time. But I had no idea how to formally resign, or what to expect during the notice period. Luckily, I received great advice from experienced lawyers that might also help you with a similar situation:
1️⃣ Confirm the new offer
Let your new law firm / recruiter know that you’ve accepted the offer, but will need to confirm the start date after sorting out when your last day will be at your current firm.
If you want a bit of between-job holiday, you can try asking for a later start date.
2️⃣ Check your notice period and leave balance
Have a think about whether you’d like to take your leave during your notice period, or whether you’d like it to be paid out at the end.
If you’re in Australia, just note that superannuation isn’t applicable for leave balances that are paid out.
3️⃣ Meet with your supervisor(s)
Set up a meeting with your supervisor(s) to break the news. They’ll probably know what the meeting will be about but it’s better than surprising them on the spot.
“Hi Jane, mind if I set up a [15-30] minute meeting in your calendar for us to have a chat?”
The meeting is a good opportunity to thank them for their help, but also to confirm when your last day will be, what you’d like to do with your leave, and how to best handover your matters.
4️⃣ Send a formal resignation email / letter
After the meeting, send a formal resignation – helpful for HR records.
“Hi Jane – This is my formal notice of resignation as an [Associate] at [Law Firm]. Thank you for the opportunity to work in this position. I am grateful for everything I have learned over the past [2 years].
As discussed, I will be on leave from [1 December 2021] and my final day at this firm will be [14 December 2021]. I’ll do everything possible to wrap up my duties and hand over to other team members before I go on leave.”
5️⃣ Confirm start date with new employer
6️⃣ Prepare handover notes
Link in the comments if you’d like a more detailed guide to handover notes.
7️⃣ Update your client contacts
It’s a good idea to give your client contacts a heads up that you’re leaving and how their matter will be managed afterward.
“Hi Greg – I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be leaving my current role on [14 December]. It’s been great working with you and I look forward to the opportunity to work together in future. I’ll still be staffed on [client project] until my last day, after which my colleague [Lisa] will be helping out with any final tasks.”
8️⃣ Send your colleagues / team a final email
On your last day, send your colleagues an email with your contact details.
9️⃣ Stay in touch
It’s surprising how easy it is to become distant with your ex-colleagues. Which is a shame because some were very good friends. My biggest tip would be to give this step a bit more effort than all the others.
One of the most helpful things I learned as a junior lawyer was to set up a personal precedent / career bank. Now that I’ve used this for a few years, here are the folders I’d set up from day 1:
1️⃣ Legal Documents
Depending on your practice area, this could include court documents, contracts (and contract reviews), letters, emails, departures tables, research memos, execution checklists etc. These can each be separate sub-folders.
Although larger law firms will have precedent databases, there’s many times that I’ll use my own folders to look up compromise positions or particular drafting to refresh myself.
2️⃣ Business Development
In this folder, I’d keep track of articles, presentations (recordings / slides) and any fee estimates or tenders that I come across.
You can also add a document for the key contacts that you work closely with throughout your career.
3️⃣ Career Development
Here I’d save the firm’s performance review criteria, career development guide / promotion process and notes from feedback sessions.
It’s also been helpful to create a document that sets out the key matters / tasks that I’ve been working on. Keeping this updated on a monthly basis will really help with those reviews / promotion applications down the line.
4️⃣ Feel Good Folder
Home to positive feedback emails etc. – again, handy for reviews / promotions or if you just need a reminder after a bad day.
5️⃣ Expenses
Anything reimbursable goes here – late night work dinners, travel receipts, IT equipment etc.
As a junior lawyer, I made every email mistake you can imagine – typos, forgotten attachments, wrong addressee, reply all etc. ☹️
Then I learned to put a 2 minute delay on my emails and it’s been a real lifesaver.
Here’s how you can do it too (on Outlook 2013):
1️⃣ In the “Home” ribbon, click “Rules” -> “Manage Rules and Alerts”
2️⃣ Create a “new rule”
3️⃣ Select “Apply rule on messages I send” and click “Next”
4️⃣ Click “Next” again without ticking any of the boxes (so the rule is applied to every email you send)
5️⃣ Tick “defer delivery by a number of minutes”
6️⃣ Click the words “a number of” and choose how many minutes (I like 2 minutes) and click “Okay”
7️⃣ Now you can add exceptions to the rule. Then click “Next”.
Mine is “except if it is assigned to (blue) category”. This way, if I don’t want the delay (e.g. quickly sending a document internally) then I can do so.
You might want the exception to be emails marked with “High Importance” – but I find that’s usually when I’d really need that double-check.
8️⃣ Review the rule (and give it a name if you want) – make sure the check box next to “Turn on this rule” is ticked, and then click “Finish”.
And now we can all avoid trying to use the email recall function (because it never works when I need it to).
If you’ve hit ‘send’ and you want to make an edit during those 2 minutes – you can find the email sitting in your Outbox, delete it, and resend the amended email.
1️⃣ Understand what your team does – what’s your selling point?
E.g. As part of Herbert Smith Freehills’ projects team, we act primarily for contractors in the infrastructure and energy sectors. We’re particularly experienced in road, rail, and renewable energy projects across Australia and the broader APAC region.
2️⃣ Google your clients
Knowing how your clients make their money will help you identify the real risks and solve the right problems.
E.g. A demolition contractor that sells the leftover materials -> negotiating a contractual right to salvage and removing some design /insurance requirements.
3️⃣ Get an overview of your projects
E.g. New airport in the middle of nowhere -> can accept onerous obligations re interfacing with adjoining owners because there aren’t any adjoining owners.
4️⃣ Know your rates / fee structures
E.g. My charge out is $100 p/h. There’s a fixed fee of $500. My supervisor needs time to review my work. After 2 hours, I should check in and give an update.
5️⃣ Get used to making recommendations
It’s not enough to just identify problems. Or even spell out the options. The real jump is providing recommendations and actual advice on why a particular option is the best choice.
“In a law firm – you’re either a finder, minder or grinder”. The classic view was that you’d be fine as long as you excelled in one of these roles. Now it seems that junior lawyers should start developing skills towards all three roles early in their career.
If you’re unfamiliar:
🔹 Finders generate business for the firm. Usually the partners or senior lawyers that have client relationships – the ‘rainmakers’.
🔹 Minders take on the day-to-day management of matters. Think the Senior Associate that takes on project management, delegation, and communication roles.
🔹 Grinders are the technically skilled people – good at taking instructions, familiar with the details, and doing the legwork.
It’s no longer enough / possible to just fall into one of these roles. Being able to transition between all three roles is becoming essential because:
🔹 Clients are increasingly conscious of where they can get the most value for their money. They’re (rightly) demanding more from their lawyers.
🔹 At some point, career progression will require you to demonstrate that you can be a subject matter expert, a good manager, and a competent salesperson.
An active approach to developing these skills earlier will avoid career surprises/barriers in future.