Don’t escalate, quietly start planning your exit. Take time out to assess the job openings in the market, within your firm (in another vertical/with other partner) - run it like a covert operation. And then when you get a favourable opportunity, make an exit. Life is too short to worry about managing an incompetent boss - this can be so damaging to your growth as a lawyer. Also, based on my limited experience, for whatever reason the firm is sheltering him, they will continue to do so, don’t make a martyr of yourself in trying to fix this situation, just find an exit from it - also maintain your relationship with ur current firm, this is a small world, you never know whom you might need in the future.

Been there done that, my reporting manager does not even know the basis, and though i spent my initial years at a very very highly sought after senior's chamber, yet he things he knows all and is very averse to mu suggestions.

When we go for draft approvals to the partner, this guy just showns like he's done everything. Honestly I'm not at a stage that I don't give a sh** to it. I just think that's its my personal work , do my thing with 100% effort and then sleep at ease!

Since it's a T1, I'm now just here for the tag . Don't take it to heart and keep going! This too shall pass

There is a corporate/M&A partner with a similar work profile in the ▮▮▮ office of ▮▮▮ ▮▮▮. A big chunk of associates had left his team due to his incompetence. He had even been reprimanded by the MP in office in the presence of the ▮▮▮ that he would be chucked out if he does'nt mend his ways. ▮▮▮ is still being asked to continue as one of the rainmakers rom ▮▮▮ left last year with ▮▮▮ entire team. As per insiders, ▮▮▮ is on his way out soon.

At the end of the day, the bottom line rules every law firm—and every business. I learned this early, and not in a pleasant way. I was once asked to “fix” and issue a clarification to an advisory that had been completely botched by a partner-track fee earner on secondment. Everyone senior to me knew the original advice was indefensible; it directly contradicted a Supreme Court judgment. The firm should have apologised. In any system that even pretends to be fair, there would have been consequences.

But the real world operates on a different rulebook.

That fee earner went on to become a partner. They reel in marquee clients through their connections, and they come from a community globally stereotyped as affluent and business-savvy. They were never held to account. They even market themself as “first generation.” ;)

The double standards are blinding. And they teach you quickly what many only realise far too late: this profession is brutally unfair, and without leverage, you’re disposable. If you’re not a nepo kid, and you don’t have a godfather-like figure with heft backing you in the office—and you enter this industry without obvious client-generation potential—you’re essentially toilet paper, especially in India. You can be tossed out before orientation even begins if it’s convenient. Fuck you and your career, because the career trajectory of the in-house nepo baby matters more; after all, they have parents, uncles, and aunts who can return favours.

“Don’t worry, you’ll land on your feet,” is the parting schtick you’ll be handed at the door—along with a notice period as a consolation prize, if you’re lucky.

And this was at a Tier-1 firm—the kind that never stops patting itself on the back for its “ethics,” “standards,” and all the predictable corporate sanctimony. What an absolute farce.

Hi everyone,

I’m a Senior Associate at a leading ▮▮▮▮▮▮ law firm in Delhi and I’m in a bit of a professional dilemma. I’d really appreciate some honest perspectives from the Legally India community.

Our team partner is… let’s just say highly inconsistent. He’s unreliable, unpredictable, and often ends up creating more chaos than value. The strange part? Since the overall revenue targets are being met, the firm hasn’t called him out on any of this. So he continues functioning the same way, and the rest of us are left cleaning up, firefighting, and dealing with the fallout.

For those who’ve been in similar situations — where the partner is “protected” because numbers look fine on paper — how did you handle it?

Did you escalate something like this to another partner or management?

Did you just keep your head down and coast until a better opportunity came?

Did sticking it out actually benefit your career in the long run?

Or is this the classic sign that it’s time to move?

Also, what’s the best way for the team to shield itself from the instability this creates? Any coping strategies or practical steps would be hugely helpful.

Would love to hear from people who’ve navigated politics at mid-to-top tier firms or dealt with unpredictable partners.