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2 Things You Should Never Say To A Partner

Partners aren't crazy, but these phrases are sure to raise their blood pressure.

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What should you never say to a partner?

“I know it was due today.  I don’t have it for you.”

If you say that it will be ready by today, then it should be ready today.  (Yesterday would be alright, too.  It’s “next week, maybe” that I’m talking about here.)  “Today” means “today at 9 a.m.,” not “today at 11:59 p.m.,” when you’re heading out the door.  “Today at 11:59 p.m.” means that you’ve delivering something “tomorrow.”  It’s the partner’s perspective that counts, not yours.

When you say you’ll have it today, why should you deliver it today?

First, it’s responsible.  You said it would be done.  It should be done.

Second, your responsibility is part of your stock in trade.  If you promised it today and didn’t deliver, then I’m going to work with a different associate next time.  That’s not personal; I’m just hedging against irresponsible people ruining my life.  But it means there are now fewer partners seeking out your help, so there’s a smaller internal market for your work.  Eventually, the loss of partners seeking your help will add up.

Third, it could be quite important that I receive the thing today.  We might be sending it to a client tomorrow and delivering it to court on the next day.  If we’re cutting things close, we’ll pay a price for your irresponsibility.

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Fourth, what should you have said?  “I know it’s due in three days.  I won’t be able to get it to you.”  I won’t be delighted to hear that, but at least I can recover from your negligence.  If you give me three days’ notice that you can’t do it, then I can find another associate to pinch-hit for you.  Or I can do it myself.  But if you tell me that it isn’t ready on the day that it’s due, we’re toast.

Finally, don’t complain about my setting artificial deadlines.  “He said he wanted it on Tuesday, but I know for a fact that he doesn’t need it until Thursday.  Damn partners are always setting artificial deadlines.”

No, no, no.

I told you the deadline was Tuesday because the last time I asked an associate to deliver something on Tuesday, the associate waited until Tuesday to tell me that he’d dropped the ball.  That was irresponsible, and it ruined my life.  I’m not making that mistake again.  I’m now telling you to deliver stuff on Tuesday that isn’t needed until Thursday to hedge against incompetence.  I know that’s not fair, but you’re paying the price for incompetent associates past.

What else shouldn’t you say to a partner?

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“Here’s a draft.  I haven’t yet had time to read all the cases, but I wanted you to see where I was going.”

Keep it.

Give it to me when it’s ready for prime time.

If you haven’t yet read all the cases, then you don’t yet know what the answer is.  Why should I waste my time reading something that doesn’t draw the right conclusion?

The truth is, you don’t want me to read your early draft.  Your early draft is predictably bad.  Suppose I look at your draft.  I see that it’s terrible.  Who do I want to work with next time?  You, the producer of terrible work, or Jarndyce, whose work product is flawless?

Yeah, yeah:  You told me it was only a draft.  But so did Jarndyce.  Jarndyce may have been lying — maybe he had fired off every last brain cell to write the thing, proofread it to a fare-thee-well, and had a legal assistant cite-check it — but I don’t know that.  I know only that you produce crappy work, and Jarndyce produces good work.  Next time, when I have a choice between you and Jarndyce, I’m picking Jarndyce.  That’s not good for you.

Be smart.

Partners aren’t crazy. 

(Okay, okay:  Some partners are crazy, but I’m giving my hypothetical partner the benefit of the doubt.)

Partners are hedging against past catastrophes repeating themselves.  Partners are searching for great associates to work with.

View things from the partner’s perspective, and put yourself on the right side of the line.

Don’t speak forbidden words to partners.

Mark Herrmann spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and is now deputy general counsel at a large international company. He is the author of The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law and Inside Straight: Advice About Lawyering, In-House And Out, That Only The Internet Could Provide (affiliate links). You can reach him by email at inhouse@abovethelaw.com.

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