Generally
speaking,
“the
kids
are
all
right.”
Older
generations
consistently
bitch
and
moan
about
young
people
making
the
exact
same
mistakes
the
rapidly
fossilizing
pretend
they
never
made,
but
in
the
end,
the
next
crop
turns
out
fine.
Gen
Z
may
actually
be
breaking
that
proud
tradition.
Or
at
least
some
representatives
of
the
latest
generation
to
enter
the
workforce
are
ruining
the
reputation
of
the
whole
cohort.
Consider
this
Reddit
post
over
at
r/Biglaw
that
takes
insubordination
to
a
level
that
would
make
Eric
Cartman
seem
like
a
model
employee.
What
in
the
Bartleby
is
this
nonsense?
That’s
not
even
defiance.
That’s
performance
art.
Like
a
splinter
in
your
brain,
you
will
never
know
rest
as
you
forever
contemplate
what
this
junior
thinks
their
job
actually
entails.
Inserting
edits
is
the
junior
associate
job
description
par
excellence.
It’s
the
only
thing
standing
between
a
first-year
and
total
obsolescence.
Can
we
get
a
look
at
these
timesheets?
How
is
this
lawyer
spending
the
day?
6.4
—
Nothing
but
stand
at
window
in
dead-wall
revery.
1.5
—
Workshop
memo
declining
next
assignment.
0.3
—
Click
“Mark
as
Unread”
on
that
requested
work.
How
did
we
get
here?
The
pandemic
robbed
these
young
lawyers
of
formative
years
of
professional
socialization.
Not
just
because
they
spent
some
of
college
Zooming
from
their
couches,
but
even
after
the
lockdown,
getting
firm
lawyers
to
physically
go
out
and
meet
students
almost
certainly
suffered.
Current
midlevels
and
seniors
might
have
lost
key
delegation
instincts
during
that
era,
choosing
to
do
simple
tasks
themselves
rather
than
hassle
with
distributing
work
over
teleconference.
This
first-year
might
—
might
—
simply
not
understand
the
concept
of
edits
being
handled
by
anyone
but
a
midlevel.
Or
they
might
just
be
tragically
spoiled
from
a
helicopter
upbringing.
Whatever
the
issue
in
this
situation,
this
story
seems
like
an
extreme
manifestation
of
a
trend
firms
have
shared
a
lot
lately:
young
lawyers
are
simply
behind
where
they
need
to
be
professionally.
As
one
might
imagine,
the
replies
have
thoughts:
If
it’s
transactional
work,
let’s
not
sleep
on
“Chief
counsel
for
DUBIOUSCOIN
($PONZI).”
The
AI
conversation
involves
a
lot
of
hype,
but
between
AI
and
AI-enabled
ALSPs,
the
rote,
brute
force
work
that
fills
the
day
of
a
junior
associate
is
disappearing
fast.
The
number
one
priority
of
a
junior
associate
in
2025
has
to
be
demonstrating
indispensability.
Everyone
with
authority
over
your
job
—
or,
even
more
importantly,
with
input
valued
by
those
with
authority
—
needs
to
be
impressed
at
all
times.
Biglaw
as
an
industry
has
operated
as
a
pyramid
scheme
since
it
was
a
twinkle
in
Paul
Cravath’s
eye,
but
attrition
becomes
a
lot
more
professionally
existential
when
junior
lawyer
classes
shrink.
As
for
the
midlevel,
seeking
guidance
among
the
wisdom
of
crowds
is
a
good
start,
but
the
original
post
probably
should’ve
been
dumped
into
an
email
“To:
Senior
Partner,
Re:
Get
A
Load
Of
This.”
Channeling
Barack
Obama:
yes
you
can!
“Do
it
or
you
won’t
last
long”
might
be
too
harsh,
but
as
a
supervisor
you
definitely
have
the
right
if
not
the
obligation
to
say,
“hey,
yeah,
this
is
not
a
request
and
you
probably
should
exorcise
‘you
do
that’
from
your
‘asshole-to-senior’
vocabulary.”
Honestly,
this
is
the
FIRST
thing
that
came
into
my
mind
when
I
read
the
post:
Thankfully,
some
more
conscientious
Redditors
offered
a
more
human
resources
appropriate
response
for
this
junior
who
has
dishonored
their
ancestors.
While
a
substantial
driver
of
the
return-to-office
push
is
just
a
bunch
of
partners
who
miss
being
surrounded
by
sycophantic
juniors
all
day,
there’s
definitely
something
to
be
said
for
soft
learning.
All
the
formal
training
in
the
world
can’t
replace
the
sheer,
soul-crushing
power
of
seeing
a
room
full
of
colleagues
giving
you
that
look
after
doing
something
uniquely
stupid.
But
midlevels
and
seniors
(and
partners)
also
need
in-person
interaction
to
learn
basic
management
skills.
While
Biglaw
firms
function
like
high-end
corporations,
the
workflow
is
managed
by
people
who
never
learn
to
manage.
Companies
elevate
employees
to
management
and
send
them
to
seminars
to
learn
how
to
effectively
lead
people.
Or
at
least
to
learn
corporate
buzzwords
that
simulate
leadership.
Lawyers
are
elevated
based
on
their
ability
as
lawyers
which
is
not
the
same
and
may
well
be
counterproductive
to
management.
Being
able
to
look
folks
in
the
eye
matters
because
exclusively
working
with
faceless
cogs
over
the
internet
doesn’t
build
teams.
In
the
meantime,
Gen
Z,
come
collect
your
stray.
We’d
send
them
back
ourselves,
but
apparently,
they
prefer
not
to
move.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.