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As stated above, I dont like the culture here either, its hard enough as it is for me to maintain my position in the firm, but the added load to get the A0s-A1s perform; that is not manageable. I have to get harsh even when I dont want to.
My partner is not a good guy. He still ridicules me if I am not able to extract enough output from the team, and whenever the team bungles up, its my ass. I dont let my A0s get exposed to the wrath of my partner, but I have limited time and resources. I would love to hand hold, but not able to.
Its overall terrible, but going by the amount of downvotes, I dont think most people understand the hell us middle management guys go through. Being FORCED to do terrible things that I would never do IRL.
This industry sucks and it needs reforms. Maybe when (if) I become a partner, I will change things, but I am tied and I cant do much.
I am constrained because of the pressure that I face from the partner/clients. I have found people who have fit very well with the team, but most of them break because of the unreasonable expectations that law firms in general have.
Hoping you guys make it through.
You might not like me saying this, but it is actually difficult to built rapport among colleagues or get discipline when involved in WFH.
During my WFH days, to counter this problem, the HR created a system where there was one common room on meets where the entire team had to be present with their cameras on, and then you can move to other apps if you had to talk to a client or a team member in private. This was nerve wrecking, under being constant surveillance.
I genuinely hate to admit it, but most A0-A1s that I have come across are grossly incompetent and most of them have no motivation or the penchant to work hard, I try to push them non violently to try to get them to work and some dont do, they are just not cut out for the fast paced grunt work that corp law is associated with, then you find 2-3 people from every batch, who make mistakes but are willing to work hard. It is almost impossible to spot the good ones while working from home as physically you can see how focused an associate is, how frequently do they go out for smoke breaks etc., that is not possible with a WFH setup. I absolutely loathe how much "survival of the fittest" this practice area is, but there is no other choice for the most part. I would love to sit and have sessions with A0s, but who has the time? Either you learn on the job or leave. Client ke pass kami nahi hai teams ki, wo koi aur pakad lega.
Sorry for the long side rant. I had to fire an A0 last week and she was crying and begging.
I love law, drafting, negotiation and sometimes the long work hours; but loathe all this.
Sorry for the long tangential rant, but yeah, WFH for 10-15 days impacts deliverables. Other friends who are engaged in other professions have seen growth in productivity, I personally have observed the opposite when it comes to law.