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What I struggle to understand is the complete lack of client exposure.
I am routinely excluded from client meetings and calls. Even when I do attend, I'm expected to remain completely silent. On one occasion, I was asked to wait downstairs while the partner met the client. On another, I wasn't even allowed to hand my own visiting card to the client.
What has made this harder to process is that when I raised the issue, I wasn't given any constructive feedback about my communication skills, judgment, or readiness to interact with clients. Instead, the response I received was a dismissive response about how these clients are of the partner**.**
That left me wondering whether I'm missing something.
At this stage of my career, I would have expected to gradually develop client-facing skills, learn how to build relationships, and be trusted to contribute in meetings.
I'm genuinely trying to understand whether this is:
- - common in law firms;
- - a deliberate strategy to protect client relationships;
- - a reflection that the partner doesn't think I'm ready (although that was never communicated); or
- something else entirely.
My concern is less about immediate frustration and more about long-term career development.
If the goal is to eventually move into a leadership role, technical ability is only one part of the equation. Client management, communication, relationship-building and commercial judgment are equally important. If senior associates are consistently prevented from interacting with clients, when are they expected to develop those skills?
To be candid, these experiences have taken a huge toll on my confidence. Being told that "these are my clients," rather than being given any developmental feedback, made me question whether this is simply how some partners operate or whether I'm in an unusually restrictive environment.
I'd really appreciate hearing from lawyers who've experienced something similar.
- - Is this common in law firms?
- - Did things improve with time, or did you have to move teams/firms to get meaningful client exposure?
-
This is called pulling the ladder.
You have a bad boss.
I had one too.
Best to look elsewhere.