Handling Criticism

During the summer you will receive criticism. Most firms give periodic evaluations. It is also possible that an assigning attorney will take time to offer you feedback on your work. The coin of feedback has two sides — praise and criticism. You learn more from the latter than from the former. If you are a solid citizen who is committed and enthusiastic you can learn great deal from constructive criticism. You must understand why it is given and what it means.

            Criticism is usually well-intended. Firms want you to succeed — if you are bright, well-liked, and energetic — the natural human instinct takes over. The partners running the summer program want to run a successful program. Experienced lawyers love to find new lawyers who they can bring into their groups or teams.

             That, in one respect, is what the summer program is all about. Criticism is not delivered in the abstract. It is delivered on the spot when you have made a mistake at a quieter moment during the project when the assigning attorney has a moment to breathe or during the regular review process.

            Some lawyers are just unpleasant or angry people. Usually, however, the lawyer is angry about because your mistake disrupted his schedule, confused his client, screwed up an issue in a brief, or otherwise made his professional life unpleasant.

            Depersonalize your reaction and learn from it. Contain your own hostility, rage, anger, and other emotional reactions. Do not head to your office in tears, vent your emotions to other summer associates or storm off into professional oblivion. At the end of the day run five miles or bike around the lake. (For those of you in cities without a waterfront or bike paths, I’ll await your call in 2010 about your next job.)

            Regain your focus and knock the next pitch out of the ballpark. Nothing distinguishes you faster than overcoming adversity — a trait common to all exceptional lawyers.