An Expert Explains How to Delegate
Effective lawyers know how to make themselves look good by helping their junior colleagues to work efficiently. A key skill required to do so, a consultant notes, is knowing how to delegate.
Lawyers want to feel that they are working on an important matter. So, helping associates to understand the big picture, including the roles of others involved in the project, promotes their sense that their efforts are worthwhile. Meanwhile, it also enhances their ability to conform their work to the client’s needs and expectations, explains Jay Sullivan in a New York Law Journal article. It is reprinted in New York Lawyer (reg. req.).
It’s also important, however, to discuss very specifically what work an associate will do, and make sure that he or she understands the assignment and will not be prevented by other work from getting the job done. This part of the conversation, of course, includes deadlines—and don’t wait until one is near to find out how the job is going, Sullivan writes.
“If you delegate an assignment on Monday and it’s due on Friday, don’t wait until Thursday to check on the associate’s progress. Ask for periodic progress reports. (Send me an e-mail by 10 a.m. Wednesday to let me know how many documents have been reviewed, whether you have uncovered anything, and what questions you have about the process.)”
