A partner “shouted”. One partner “screamed”. One emptied a lever arch file on the floor and asked the associate to “start again”. Another “slow-clapped” after an associate explained why an email went out late. Just some of the types of partner behaviour we’ve heard about.
Working at a law firm involves shouldering a fair amount of pressure at all rungs. Clients have deadlines. Which means partners have deadlines. By the time these deadlines reach associates, they’re freighted with expectation and urgency—so much so that, by this point, the matter itself has its own sort of intrinsic rage.
