Performance reviews are one of the more nerve-wracking rituals at law firms, but they’re a crucial part of your career development. They really do help you become a better lawyer by learning from your successes and your inevitable missed marks.
As important as they are, they’re not easy. Here are a few strategies for navigating your first few performance reviews. Underlying each strategy is the idea that you should never be surprised by your results — by the time you arrive at your review, you should already have a pretty solid idea of where you stand. Seeking feedback year-round will ensure that you consistently meet expectations (and then blow them out of the water).
1. Gather your own feedback
I supplement my annual review with extra feedback that I collect through two avenues: non-lawyers and assigning lawyers.
360-degree feedback
Collecting feedback year-round from non-lawyers is essential — I rely on these colleagues to be an effective lawyer. In particular, I ask for feedback from those I delegate work to, as they may not be as forthcoming with advice. I schedule quarterly coffees breaks with my assistant to discuss how we can better work together or how I can be more effective. I also ask for feedback on my managing and delegating skills from articling students with whom I work closely.
Contemporaneous
At the conclusion of a major project, I will ask the assigning lawyer for an informal debrief on my performance. In my experience, asking for this type of feedback has been well-received — it shows initiative and an eagerness to learn. The key is timeliness. Seek out feedback just after a project is finished while it’s still in the assigning partner’s memory. That way you’ll get concrete and relevant advice.
2. Critically assess your work
Self-reflection is crucial to the success of a performance review. Before my annual review, I use the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis tactic to examine each of my files. This allows me to speak confidently in my review and present concrete examples of areas where I excelled and areas where I can improve.
3. Advocate for yourself
This can be daunting. It’s tough not to feel like you’re bragging, but it’s important for your reviewer to know about your successes. To prepare, I jot down three or four points — such as my business development activities or my contribution to Precedent — that I want to highlight for my reviewer. While my work on cases and files is usually evident, the work I do behind the scenes is just as important, but it’s less obvious. Not only is speaking to your successes empowering, but it demonstrates to your reviewer a level of professional maturity.
In your early days of lawyering, performance reviews are critical for giving you insights into your progress. The key to a successful review is being open to the feedback, learning from it and growing as a professional.
Atrisha Lewis is a first-year associate in McCarthy Tétrault’s litigation group. Follow her on Twitter: @atrishalewis