I, like many first-year associates, am now working full-time at a firm where I began working as a summer associate between my 2L and 3L years of law school. However, this summer, I’m lucky enough to be on the other side of the summer associate program, and am one of the attorneys tasked with training and supervising the summer associates. Throughout my (limited) experience managing summer associates, I’ve learned that supervised delegation, combined with a conscious effort on your part to implement your own advice, is the key to a great summer experience for you and your summer associates.
KNOW WHEN AND WHAT TO DELEGATE TO SUMMER ASSOCIATES
When I arrived at our firm as a summer associate a few years ago, I was eager to get the practical research and drafting experience that I felt I was missing in law school and actively sought out as much work as I could get. This year’s summers (which we call Legal Apprentices) are no exception. And that’s a good thing. My colleagues and I like to give summer associates work revolving around research, discovery, and, on occasion, drafting.
Delegation is key to making sure that each summer has the substantive work they need in order to have the experience they have come to expect. However, knowing when, and what to delegate is easier said than done.
There is no science to knowing when it is better to delegate an assignment or to complete it yourself. In my time as an intern supervisor, I’ve relied on a non-exhaustive list of factors including: client management, efficiency, the opportunity cost of you doing the task compared to another activity, and the difference in the total cost to the client.
If and when you do decide to delegate a task to a summer, best practice is to follow up any in-person meeting with an email containing a summary of the task, and any interim deadlines which you set, in order to make sure that everyone is on the same page regarding how to complete the task. While important not to over-do it, checking-in during the middle of an assignment helps make sure that your instructions were clear, and streamlines your editing process.
PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH
Like anything in our personal and professional lives, it is important, as a supervising attorney, to, as the saying goes, “practice what you preach.” Cliché’s aside, following your own advice is important not only to set a good example for your summer associates (and hopefully reinforce the best-practices and behavior that you just explained), it can be helpful for you too. After all, we’re all busy, and often skip the important step of deeply thinking through our assignments which delegating requires.
By knowing when and what to delegate, and making sure you follow your own advice, you can make sure that the summer experience is great for everyone involved.
David Forrest is an attorney for Balestriere Fariello. He graduated from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in June 2018. David works on all aspects of complex commercial litigation and arbitration from pre-filing investigations to trial and appeals. You can reach him by email at david.a.forrest@balestrierefariello.com.