How to Make Partner: Top 10 Traits of Superstar Law Associates

How to Make Partner in a Law Firm: Top 10 Characteristics of
Superstar Associates Who Make Partner
By Harrison Barnes from Los Angeles Office Managing Director
Superstar associates do their work efficiently and accurately, and ask for more work.
They instill confidence from other associates as well as partners.
As a whole, the entire firm realizes the superstar associate can be trusted.
In addition, these superstar associates are usually nice to work around.
Summary: What are the characteristics of the best associates that eventually make partner in a law
firm? Check out these top 10 characteristics of superstar associates.
The first step in the careers of most successful associates in law firms is gaining the trust of the partners they
are working for. The best associates are given assignments, complete them thoroughly and without errors, do
so without aggravating the partners they are working for and then ask for more assignments. The ability to do
good work and want more work is something that gives the partners the associates are working for security
that the work will be done properly. The associates' reputations for caring about their work, being reliable and
doing good work makes them stand out. In addition, these same associates work well with others, support the
firm and its objectives and are nice to be around.
In contrast, the associates who get weeded out will often cut corners in their work, question whether the
partner really needs certain things done, act unhappy a lot of the time, make errors, and, in general,
approach the assignments with a lack of care and attention to detail. They will not seek out work and rarely
will treat each assignment as if it is the most important thing in the world to them. Compared to the best
associates, this behavior gets noticed and puts them at a lower level than the other associates out there.
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1. Superstar Associates Enjoy Their Jobs and Are Enthusiastic
The best attorneys of all types enjoy their jobs. In fact, some of the best ones have said things to me like, "I
cannot believe I get paid to do this."
When a really talented associate gets a choice assignment, he often appears so excited he could jump out of
his skin. Partners love this enthusiasm and want to give work to (and advance) people who find joy in their
work. It is this love of the work that often gets clients good results, impresses clients and makes people
around these associates enjoy their jobs.
You are generally only going to advance, get more work and be favored by the law firm if you truly enjoy the
work you are doing. Therefore, it is imperative that you work:
in a practice area you enjoy,
with people you enjoy,
in an environment you enjoy.
If you are not having fun, you will not do well. Do you think that the most talented athletes, businesspeople,
musicians, actors and others got where they are by not enjoying what they do? Everyone at the top of every
profession gets there by loving the work that they are doing, and you should too. When you truly love what
you are doing, the people around you want to give you more work and advance you.
If you were to go to a restaurant and be served by someone who clearly did not enjoy their job, how would
you feel? You would leave a poor tip. Most people would. It is the same thing with the work you do for
supervisors. They want to see enthusiasm and that you love what you are doing.
There has always been a large amount of age discrimination against attorneys in the legal profession. Older
attorneys have a difficult time getting jobs in law firms unless they have a lot of business. I have worked with
countless attorneys throughout the years that are older and do not have business. The ones who do get hired
typically have an infectious enthusiasm for their jobs and clearly love the work they are doing a great deal.
However, most older attorneys are not as enthusiastic, they often are a bit angry and they do not appear to
love the work as much. I think this may be the reason there is so much discrimination.
The very best associates love the work they are doing and get enthusiastic about it. If you cannot love the
work you are doing, the odds are that you are going to be in trouble. Law firms want people who love their
work and are incredibly enthusiastic about it.
See the following articles for more information:
You Need to Enjoy What You Are Doing
Love What You Do
2. Superstar Associates Treat Partners (and Everyone they Encounter) Like Valued Clients
Being an attorney is a service profession. Therefore, it is important that associates understand how to provide
the best possible service to the partners they are working for and also treat others around them in a way that
garners respect.
The best associates make partners and others around them feel like everything is taken care of. Things go
smoothly.

Years ago, I was being interviewed for a book about how to be a good legal recruiter. One of the things the
best recruiters do is take care of all of the details behind the scenes so both sides feel limited stress. The best
recruiters make both sides feel as if the transaction happened without them having to do any work. If the law
firm tells us about a job, the following may occur:
We may spend thousands of dollars advertising the job.
We email and call hundreds of attorneys.
We take phone calls and speak with hundreds of attorneys.
A week or so later, after 100+ hours of work, we may submit a candidate to the law firm. Prior to the interview,
we will spend time with the attorney telling her the positives of leaving her current firm and joining the new
one. We may also convince the law firm to interview the new person despite issues they may have with the
attorney.
By the time the attorney and law firm meet, both have been vetted, and their meeting goes smoothly. There
may be further interviews and back and forth before an offer is made and the attorney is hired. It looks like
nothing happened, but an incredible amount of work occurred behind the scenes to make everything go
smoothly. The interaction between the law firm and attorney was nothing but positive (despite the fact that
had I not been involved, they never would have gotten together).
The ability to make things go smoothly and resolve issues along the way is one of the characteristics of the
best attorneys and people in every profession. Partners want to feel limited stress and want the assurance
that each assignment will be done properly.
The worst people in every profession create additional stress for people when they do work.
The best associates understand the personalities and likes and dislikes of the partners they are working for.
They anticipate the sort of information these partners expect without having to be told. They know what it
takes to impress the partner and get on their good side and understand the precise expectations of the
partner. This makes partners more likely to give them work in the future because the partner feels that the
associate thinks like them and feels comfortable giving the associate work without being micromanaged. It
gradually builds trust and makes the partner comfortable having the associate represent the law firm in
meetings with clients and takes stress away from the partner.
Being the best possible associate has a lot in common with being an outstanding server in a restaurant. A
good server is going to know when to fill your water glass, when to take your order, when they need to speak
with you about a delay, how to time your appetizer and main course, and when to present the check. The
very, very best servers will exceed expectations and get the best tips. Similarly, the best associates anticipate
the needs of their superiors and make sure they are addressed on an ongoing basis.
The best associates empower those around them by virtue of their presence. Partners are given extremely
good service which makes them feel good about the associate. The good service makes them feel respected,
like they can trust the associate and like they are valuable.
Even fellow associates, paralegals and legal secretaries are treated extremely well by the best associates.
The best associates know that when they empower people around them, the entire firm is stronger. This is a
leadership trait that is very powerful and important for advancement. Leaders make others (and the group)
stronger based on their presence.
You Need to Be Connected With Others at Work
Get Security by Concentrating on the Needs of Your Employer

Production Assistants and Assessing Your Employer's Needs
Treating Your Career Like a Small Business
You Will Succeed in Your Job Search and Life When You Are Concerned With
Giving and Not Taking
Love People Who Give You Work and Love Your Work
3. The Best Associates Get Mentors on their Side
Most of the best associates have mentors on their sides. These mentors generally attach themselves to the
associate (as much as the associate is attaching themselves to the mentor) because they are attracted by the
associate's enthusiasm and desire to provide such outstanding service to every aspect of their job. When a
partner feels respected and as if their knowledge and guidance is important, they naturally want to help
younger associates who go out of their way to (1) anticipate their needs and (2) do a good job for them.
I am still in touch today with many of the mentors that I had when I was younger and practicing law. One of my
strongest mentors was a partner who was very powerful, but at the same time quite socially awkward. I would
sit in his office for hours while he analyzed cases and was generally astonished by how brilliant many of his
insights were. I told him how brilliant I thought he was, spoke highly of him to others and loved the
assignments and work he gave me. I am pretty confident that all of this helped our relationship and the bond
we had together.
Many of these older attorneys become mentors to the associate because the associate is able to be
vulnerable and ask the partner for advice. This creates a bond between the two of them where the partner
feels invested in the associate's career. Partners want to be in a position where they can offer advice and
help associates. The bonds that come about as a result of the mentor-mentee relationship are something that
protect and help advance the careers of the most successful associates.
An additional factor that I have noticed is that the mentor-mentee relationship typically works the best when
there is a certain amount of informality to it. Partners will generally feel free to open up to some extent with
the associate. A mutual understanding will develop over time where both people are on the same team, and
the associate and partner both would sacrifice somewhat for each other. There are countless instances I
have seen in my career where an associate and partner start a law firm, or move to another one together.
They have a bond together that seemingly will keep them working together forever. These bonds are
incredibly important and something that every associate needs to work to earn. These bonds will protect you
for the rest of your career.
The biggest mistake you can make is not cultivating mentors.
The Importance of and How to Find a Mentor
Mentors, Attachment Disorders and Your Career
4. The Best Associates Are Always in Control
When I am visiting law firms, there are always various associates who sit at their desks looking slumped over,
tired and as if putting in another hour may lead to their final demise. Their offices are generally filled with
papers randomly scattered about and perhaps some crumpled clothes in a corner. They may be wearing a
crooked tie, and their hair may be a mess.

The best associates know that the people they are working for are like clients. They need to look good and
be in control at all times. If a client was to walk into that associate's office and see how messed up everything
(and the associate) looked, they would not have a lot of confidence giving that associate more work.
Partners, associates and others want to have confidence in the associate, and confidence means being in
control.
Being in control takes many different forms. For example, being in control means:
looking your best,
keeping your office clean and organized,
having your shoes polished,
having your clothes dry cleaned,
not acting inappropriately,
taking care of your health,
not letting your personal life interfere with work,
not playing and talking on your cell phone at work all the time,
not abusing substances,
having good hygiene (shaving, showering, getting your hair cut)
not having affairs with people in the office (regardless of whether either party is married),
always acting professionally with colleagues and others.
I have seen people not get hired, or get fired, for tons of reasons when they do not look in control. The more
in control you appear, the more trustworthy you appear, and the more likely you will be considered a good
associate.
If you had some sort of horrible cancer and went to the doctor, how would you feel if the doctor himself looked
unhealthy, unkempt and unorganized? I do not know about you, but I would run from that doctor before I let
him operate on me (and most people would).
Work, Details, Your Surroundings and Your Mind
Play Each Day Like it is Your Most Important
5. The Best Associates Are Committed
A significant number of the attorneys inside of law firms are not committed to the work. This lack of
commitment becomes obvious in a huge variety of ways to partners and others. You need to be 100%
committed to the firm you are with and the work you are doing to get ahead.
As a recruiter, I am regularly approached by attorneys who are interested in moving firms for the wrong
reasons. If you move every few years (consistently), then the next law firm you work for is not likely to believe
that you are committed to them. This lack of commitment will make them trust you less, it will make it more
difficult to get mentors and your advancement will be that much more difficult as well. There is nothing wrong
with moving firms; however, generally you only want to move firms if there is a real chance that doing so is
likely to put you in an environment where you can be committed.
If you are not committed to the firm you are in, it will show in all sorts of ways. Often, when many associates
move, a partner is incredibly rude to them and dresses them down after weeks of the associate doing very
hard work (or they receive a review which is not that strong). The associate then gets upset and starts
looking for a job.

My advice: this is often a time to show the firm you are committed by working even harder and getting over
the bump in the road. This will go a long way toward keeping you employed in the long run.
Be Committed to What You Do
Consistency and Commitment Beats Brilliance and Talent
The Only Thing that Matters is Commitment
6. You Need to Protect and Build Your Reputation
Your reputation is largely built by your reliability, enthusiasm and how seriously you take every matter the
partners assign to you. Whenever you are given an assignment, it should be the most important thing in the
world to you.
One of the biggest mistakes young associates make is turning in work that is not complete and perfect. You
should never show a partner a memo with a typo on it, for example. When a partner asks you to do
something, you should not delay completing it. Showing partners anything less than your best with every
assignment will upset and alienate them.
In most law firms, you are expected to work every day of the week if there is an important assignment
pending. Earning a reputation for being prompt, reliable, and thorough will help you tremendously.
Partners discuss the associates they work with among each other all the time. If you get a reputation as
someone who does not take work seriously and does not do things effectively, they will simply stop giving
you work.
When I was working in large law firms, there were always associates inside of these law firms who did not
have any work. Often times, they may have done a poor job on just a few assignments for one or more
partners and gotten a bad reputation that spread like wildfire throughout the entire firm. I have seen this
happen to more attorneys than I can count, and it is never a good thing.
Your reputation will be built not just on the work you do, but also on your personal behavior, relationships
with subordinates and colleagues and others. You need to do everything you can to develop a reputation
that will help you.
Protect Your Reputation at all Costs
You Must Produce and Do Quality Work
7. You Need to Work Hard and Always Be Available
Many law firms will, unfortunately, judge you and evaluate you based on the number of hours that you bill.
However, this is not always the case. If you seem to be billing simply for the sake of billing, this is not likely to
impress partners (they are your clients after all). You should be billing lots of hours only when it is necessary
to get command of what you are doing so that you can be as effective as possible.
Attorneys who understand the matters they are working on in great depth are generally more effective than

those who do not. If you take the time to dig into a matter so that you can win a negotiation, or complete a
transaction to the benefit of your client, then this will be respected by the partners you are working for. These
partners will love it when you have a better command of the facts and law than the other side (or even them).
This will give these partners confidence assigning you additional work and having you work directly with
clients. This is the main reason you want to work as hard as you can.
If you are working on a matter with a partner, you generally need to be in the office working with her when
she is working on the same matter. The partners you are working for expect you to be around when they are
in the office. If it is a Saturday, they will feel good knowing you are there supporting them even if they just
want to pop in and ask you a question.
If you are given a very important assignment the day before a holiday weekend, the partners need assurance
that you can be relied upon to do the work. You need to be seen as reliable and available at all times to take
on assignments for the people you are working for. Sometimes the best opportunities may come when it is
the most inconvenient. If you develop the reputation for reliability and are there to help when others are not,
this will benefit your career tremendously.
Try as Hard as You Can
Why You Should Work Weekends and Holidays
8. The Best Associates Know How to Make Work
Making work means finding things to do. This is part of the legal profession. You cannot simply stand around
waiting for work to come to you. Attorneys who operate this way rarely stay busy for long. If you are given a
matter to work on, it is always important to find other things that can be done to get the client a more effective
result. This mindset creates higher billable hours and more profit for the partners and the firm.
As a partner, your job will be to find work that needs to be done and convince your clients about the necessity
of this work. This will keep you busy, protect the client's interest (and hopefully make them more money) and
create additional profits for you and the law firm. This is the type of thinking that law firms like to see.
Your job is not simply to do assignments; it is to have work to do. Partners do not like when associates are
constantly stopping by their offices with questions like, "Do you have any work I can help you with?" This
becomes something for them to worry about. The better approach is to make each assignment lead to a new
one by suggesting additional research, briefings, or finding a connection between that assignment and
something that another client could benefit from.
See the following article for more information:
To Succeed in any Job You Need to Make Work
9. The Best Associates Are Always Improving
The best associates want to learn everything they can about practicing law and being better attorneys.
When they are given an assignment in one area of the law, it is not uncommon for them to do extra reading
about this area of law during their free time or attend seminars to learn more. Litigators may ask to go to court
with partners so they can observe (even if they are not billing). They will ask various questions about how

things work and throw themselves into whatever they are doing.
The best associates consider learning and improving extremely important. In order to get better, they will also
try to work and learn from the very best partners (and senior associates) in the firm.
In addition, the best associates are always learning in other areas. They may try and become more effective
personally by learning to become better team players, feel less stress at work and become better overall
people. They will observe the best traits of the partners and try and model their own behavior after them.
The Most Important Advice You Will Ever Receive
The Importance of Asking the Right Questions, Self Improvement and Perception
10. The Best Associates are Always Honest
One of the real "career killers" of associates is any sort of dishonesty. The list of dishonest things I have seen
associates do (and get caught for) is very long. In most cases, they ended the associate's career in the given
law firm.
If you make a mistake on a matter, the best thing you can do is make the partner(s) you are working for aware
of it. They will respect this because you are protecting them (and the client) and giving them the opportunity
to fix the problem. In contrast, if you make a mistake and try to cover it up, it is almost always fatal, and you
will generally get caught.
Here are some lies I have seen people get caught for:
Lying about hours worked
Lying about completing an assignment
Lying about doing work for another partner
Lying about being sick
Lying about who caused a mistake
Lying about needing time off to attend a relative's funeral
While not all of these people were fired for these infractions, the lack of trust each of these episodes
engendered put the associate in a position where advancement in the firm became very unlikely.
Can You Be Trusted
Tell The Truth
Conclusions
There are very few associates out there who have an unquestionable reputation for reliability, are completely
trustworthy, make the jobs of partners easier, are committed, know how to create work, attract mentors, take
responsibility, want more work all of the time, are constantly growing, and all of the other qualities of the best
associates. This is one reason why there are so few people who ever make partner in the largest and most
competitive law firms.
See The Only Seven Reasons a Law Firm Will Ever Make You a Partner for more information.

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