Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for? Forum

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Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 15, 2021 10:51 am

On a hellish matter with a hellish partner at my V10 and it's driving me up the wall. Commiserate with me.

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 15, 2021 10:52 am

Nice try, Neil Barr!

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:05 pm

When I was in law school people always talked about Dennis Block as being a total tyrant, but I have no first-hand information.

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lolwutpar

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by lolwutpar » Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:06 pm

It's funny because depending on your personality the answer will be different. For example, I can handle mean partners, but I cannot deal with the neurotic partners who bend over backwards to please their clients. I'd rather get a snippy, rude email than spend my night going down a rabbit hole that the client didn't ask for simply because the partner is a neurotic worry wart and wants to anticipate the clients needs. So many hours wasted of my life doing that crap and I actively stay away from those people now.

Of course, there are certainly some partners that are universally terrible.

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:07 pm

lolwutpar wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:06 pm
It's funny because depending on your personality the answer will be different. For example, I can handle mean partners, but I cannot deal with the neurotic partners who bend over backwards to please their clients. I'd rather get a snippy, rude email than spend my night going down a rabbit hole that the client didn't ask for simply because the partner is a neurotic worry wart and wants to anticipate the clients needs. So many hours wasted of my life doing that crap and I actively stay away from those people now.

Of course, there are certainly some partners that are universally terrible.
Really good point, actually. Neither are ideal, but yea, if i had to choose one of those i'd agree with you

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by NewSouthernAssociate » Mon Mar 15, 2021 5:01 pm

Partner who ignores all of your emails for days, but then sends every single email, including emails to opposing counsel, with the “high importance” exclamation mark (in part because he/she waits until the last minute to do everything).

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 15, 2021 5:24 pm

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Last edited by Anonymous User on Mon May 03, 2021 10:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by nickofdime » Mon Mar 15, 2021 10:53 pm

lolwutpar wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:06 pm
It's funny because depending on your personality the answer will be different. For example, I can handle mean partners, but I cannot deal with the neurotic partners who bend over backwards to please their clients. I'd rather get a snippy, rude email than spend my night going down a rabbit hole that the client didn't ask for simply because the partner is a neurotic worry wart and wants to anticipate the clients needs. So many hours wasted of my life doing that crap and I actively stay away from those people now.

Of course, there are certainly some partners that are universally terrible.
Which practice area?

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 16, 2021 9:22 am

Christopher Eckert, Mayer Brown DC. Screamer with unreasonable expectations. Midlevels would rather lateral than work for him and when I was at MB he was trying to get first and second-years to do the work which made it all the more worse.

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 16, 2021 10:30 am

Good rule of thumb IME: if the partner isn’t smiling in their firm bio pic, you’ll have a bad time working for them.

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:05 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:05 pm
When I was in law school people always talked about Dennis Block as being a total tyrant, but I have no first-hand information.
I'll be joining GT corporate (NYC) as a first year...am I fucked? lol

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:26 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:05 am
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:05 pm
When I was in law school people always talked about Dennis Block as being a total tyrant, but I have no first-hand information.
I'll be joining GT corporate (NYC) as a first year...am I fucked? lol
oof well hopefully he'll retire soon

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:45 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:05 am
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:05 pm
When I was in law school people always talked about Dennis Block as being a total tyrant, but I have no first-hand information.
I'll be joining GT corporate (NYC) as a first year...am I fucked? lol
If you’re specifically joining his group, yes. There’s usually one (sometimes none) sacrificial lamb a year. He doesn’t have enough actual work anymore to support more associates.

If you’re joining the general corporate group, you’ll be fine and probably won’t interact with him ever.

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:53 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:45 am
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:05 am
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:05 pm
When I was in law school people always talked about Dennis Block as being a total tyrant, but I have no first-hand information.
I'll be joining GT corporate (NYC) as a first year...am I fucked? lol
If you’re specifically joining his group, yes. There’s usually one (sometimes none) sacrificial lamb a year. He doesn’t have enough actual work anymore to support more associates.

If you’re joining the general corporate group, you’ll be fine and probably won’t interact with him ever.
Above anon. Do you mind sharing more about GT's corporate group culture (NYC)? Any particular partners that I want to avoid?
Last edited by Anonymous User on Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:27 pm

There was a partner at my old firm who was so outdated that his idea of IP still involves typewriters and fax machines. That plus his inability to stop talking made it so that many associates did drastic things to avoid him. Even other partners sent summer associates/ first years to take his calls. The one time he ended up on our case, I saw a stapler fly out of my supervising partner’s office.

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 16, 2021 3:43 pm

I've since left the firm but there was a particularly difficult associate at my V3 (in the flagship corporate group) who was notorious for not respecting the work/life balance of her juniors. She made partner a year or two after I left, and I've heard she's even more insufferable now. Multiple juniors left because they were staffed on her deals.

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lolwutpar

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by lolwutpar » Tue Mar 16, 2021 3:57 pm

nickofdime wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 10:53 pm
lolwutpar wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:06 pm
It's funny because depending on your personality the answer will be different. For example, I can handle mean partners, but I cannot deal with the neurotic partners who bend over backwards to please their clients. I'd rather get a snippy, rude email than spend my night going down a rabbit hole that the client didn't ask for simply because the partner is a neurotic worry wart and wants to anticipate the clients needs. So many hours wasted of my life doing that crap and I actively stay away from those people now.

Of course, there are certainly some partners that are universally terrible.
Which practice area?
Me? Corporate. Nothing worse than a partner who wants to anticipate what their client will do/wants and sends you on some dumb obscure securities rabbit hole, for example.

I've worked at a few firms now and wish I could offer up some names, but there aren't any I've personally worked for that I would say NEED to be avoided. Some are better than others.

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 16, 2021 6:07 pm

Deb Festa at Milbank LA's alternative investments group is a well known must-avoid. Juniors have quit ASAP and it's known that incoming first years will frantically search for another job if they get placed in her group.

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by bodylikeatwizzler » Tue Mar 16, 2021 6:16 pm

The one thread where you can use the anonymous feature to shit on assholes and no one's using it. Sticky this thread now and trash the pieces of shit.

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:24 pm

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Last edited by Anonymous User on Thu Apr 08, 2021 5:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Sackboy » Wed Mar 17, 2021 12:08 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:24 pm
David Marriott from Cravath is also as notorious as others I believe.
Not quite what I expected from a Mormon

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by bodylikeatwizzler » Wed Mar 17, 2021 5:24 am

I looked up the pics of the partners mentioned thus far and jesus, there's a face for law. The seventh circle of hell is having to spend every waking moment being subservient to these sinister-looking people. Their faces should be next to the dictionary definition of constipation.

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:50 am

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Re: Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:02 am

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