When is the toxicity enough? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Third year biglaw associate here. I work with a partner who is abusive, harassing, and extremely demeaning. I actually loathe him/her and have the hardest time doing assignments for them because I absolutely hate how they treat myself/other associates and they have a horrible management style (i.e. get upset when you ask questions, they don't respond to emails for days and then get upset they missed something). I really like the associates I work with and my commute is great but I don't know when the toxicity from this partner is enough to make me walk away. When is it time to leave and give up the good things about your biglaw job because the bad things are just too bad?

[shock259]

What's the nature of your practice group? Are there other partners that you could work with within the group? Do the associates you like find the partner as horrible as you do, or are you being singled out? Does your firm give any flexibility for juniors to switch groups? Are there senior folks you trust to air your grievances? Are you in a major market or a smaller one?

It may be time to start looking at other firms. But I think it's also a good idea to exhaust all reasonable avenues at the firm itself to see if you can continue working there under someone that treats you better.

Sorry you're having to deal with that, though. Sounds horrible.

[Anonymous User]

First year. Dealing with something very similar. I don’t have anything to add other than idk if I will make it to 3 years, so OP you deserve credit for making it this long.

[mvp99]

Look for something else, you don’t deserve being treated like shit in any situation and for any amount of money.

[melloyello]

There's a difficult partner like that at my firm in my practice group (though sounds like he's better, as he's at least super responsive - just really demanding), but the practice group is large enough that I've managed to move away from working with that partner. If that type of positioning isn't possible, I'd look to move. Big law is hard enough as it is when you're working with normal people without having to deal with that type of crap.