AIBU to think they want to kick me out of my job?

[SVDW1136]

Hi MN, posting here for traffic and advice.

Been in my job just over a year. Passed 6 months’ probation without any problems. A couple of months after that, I was told I was having issues with:

• not being proactive in getting work;
• being defensive when receiving criticism; and
• my output not being 100%.

My area is law and I am quite junior, with a year of mat leave thrown in post qualification, and coming back to work PT in this new role, 3 days a weeks. So my experience doesn’t match my years of qualification which they recognise.

In the same meeting I am put on an informal performance improvement plan (PIP), I tell my manager I am pregnant. A month later, even though I have been working extremely hard to improve (and been getting positive feedback on some pieces of work, being recognised that I am working hard to build a pipeline of work, not perceived to take feedback badly), I am told they are worried that I don’t have the ability to legally analyse which is obviously the fundamental part of my job. There have been a few instances of where I have looked at something and got the wrong conclusion (nothing sent to clients) and I’ve been told it’s just plain English language and they are frustrated I don’t understand. To a point, I can see that but a lot of it is learning what the words mean is by experience. But I take responsibility for not understanding and perhaps rushing to get work done and not being methodical/thorough enough.

I am worried about being put on a formal PIP (not sure how long it will last, manager is getting advice from HR this week) and how it affects maternity, and also my job prospects. I would leave to avoid being let go but as I am visibly pregnant (3rd baby, due late Jan) I doubt anywhere else would take me on currently.

My priority is to really improve... I am just scared I don’t actually have the legal analysis skills they have talked about. I trained at a top 20 firm and worked for 2 years at another top 30 firm before moving here and never had such an issue.

Do you think they are just managing me out at this point? It’s a large team, quite clique-y, some of the senior people don’t like PT parents and I don’t think I’ve had enough time to bed in. I’m so worried and upset, have barely slept. Any advice, including how to sharpen my legal analysis skills, would be greatly appreciated.

Hello, OP,

I am a lawyer myself (quite junior too, I've only been doing it for a few years), albeit in a completely different country.

Are you rushing through your work? Do you have anything on your mind that could clash with work? Are you unhappy, perhaps, with the work environment?

If someone gives you negative/bad feedback about your work, how do you react? What do they mean by "defensive"?

What surprised me a bit is that here they don't expect you to be proactive in "getting work", we have so many cases, there's no need for that. Although, I have to admit, I have built great relationships with clients and when they do come back they come back directly to me.

What support have they offered you ?

The PIP is a fantastic support to you and you should take the opportunity to listen and learn exactly what’s been put in there for you

The maternity adds a layer of protection for you, but ultimately if you’re not performing the PIP performance reviews will show that

Have you got another mentor or someone IRL you can talk to? I’m also in law and have seen similar before, and have also managed a few people out. In one instance though, he was truly hopeless and didn’t even try (ie lying about training completed) so it was very easy, but for others if we could see them making good improvement, listening and trying then they’ve stayed on.

My best advice would be that they’ve told you very clearly what they want from you. Don’t be too big to think they’re wrong, actually act on all the feedback, put the time in and you might be ok.

There’s a lot of areas you could go in to also if you don’t have the basic skill set to be a lawyer - either within law or in the corporate environment

What surprised me a bit is that here they don't expect you to be proactive in "getting work", we have so many cases, there's no need for that. Although, I have to admit, I have built great relationships with clients and when they do come back they come back directly to me.

I would read this differently - we expect our juniors to be proactive in helping out, seeing a step ahead on what else we might need and acting on it then and there rather than waiting to be given a “to-do” list. Would be worth OP clarifying what they mean by “being proactive in getting work”

Er could you be having problems accepting their feedback op by any chance?

@ShirleyPhallus I agree with this 100%, however we have so many cases that we barely have time to be proactive. Plus the returning clients. But I'm not sure if it's the OP's case too.

I would say in my experience of working in large corporates, they would be very unlikely to try to manage you out during pregnancy or mat leave.

What they might be doing is trying to build a stack of evidence for setting you up to fail when you return from mat.

Has your manager given you any written advice about how to improve? Have they set a SMART goal with you? Have they given specific examples of the issues raised - "not being proactive" and "being defensive" are very subjective terms.

I feel for your employer to be hogan I check, do you mean you’ve worked there for just over a year total or did you start then go on mat leave come back part time and now looking to go off again?

I am told they are worried that I don’t have the ability to legally analyse which is obviously the fundamental part of my job. There have been a few instances of where I have looked at something and got the wrong conclusion (nothing sent to clients) and I’ve been told it’s just plain English language and they are frustrated I don’t understand. To a point, I can see that but a lot of it is learning what the words mean is by experience.

What type of words are you talking about? Can you give an example? This is a big problem if I am honest.

I would say in my experience of working in large corporates, they would be very unlikely to try to manage you out during pregnancy or mat leave.

In my experience, I’d disagree with this. It’s because they’re doing it so by the book that it’s possible to manage out while pregnant - a tribunal could never look at a PIP and the full process being done correctly and see that it could be at all relating to pregnancy

Tbh it sounds like this firm may not be a good fit for you professionally and you are being managed out accordingly. It may simply be that they require a different level of analysis to firms you’ve worked in before and your training hasn’t been to the requisite standard. There can be a huge difference in the quality of work produced by individual firms IME.

None of that means you can’t have a perfectly good/successful legal career; just that this firm isn’t right for you. Unless this firm is being supportive about your development needs, I’d suggest you hold on until mat leave then consider returning to a different firm.

It does sound quite challenging to be inexperienced but also working part time in an area like Law, although clearly they agreed to it.

Is it the sort of environment where a lot of people work late and take work home? Are you perhaps not perceived to be fully pulling your weight if you have to leave on time for a nursery pick up? Have you had much time off to look after your little one?

Maybe not, I'm just trying to think of some possible other reasons that they might want to manage you out.

In terms of your work skills, it would be useful if you could give examples that they've brought up. If you think their criticism is fair (being defensive on getting feedback is not to do with experience, nor would I say is general comprehension of standard English) then I can see why they might feel you are not an asset to the business as things stand. Attitude you can improve, but ability is more difficult - and it might be worth thinking seriously about whether this is really the right career for you longer term, particularly with a third child on the way. Would you be willing to put more hours and more effort in if that was what was needed to improve?

Although I'm not a lawyer I am a professional account manager working for varying medical companies over the years.

In my experience- sometimes there is a cultural mis - match.

My last company cancelled my employment after 3 weeks of training course

I was absolutely devastated

Now looking back they clearly didn't think I would fit into their culture and now in my current job I'm very highly thought of.

Same job and I haven't changed my personality or attitude - just different management and culture.

I would however ask for more specific feedback - examples of where you are failing with tangible explanations.

My advice would be bide your time - have baby then reconsider a new company

scottjeffrey.com/effective-feedback/

Hope this link works for feedback - but I would personally want my feedback to adhere to the principles outlined in this article.

This would demonstrate to me that you were serious about your performance improvement

Another lawyer here.

How is the feedback they have been giving you on specific pieces of work? Is it sufficiently detailed, and does it help you understand where you have gone wrong? If so, and you're still making the same mistakes, it might be worth you thinking about whether there is any training that might help. If you are proactive about asking for this, I think it would look good to your colleagues.

It might just be a bad fit as a firm - some are indisputably better at training and supporting junior lawyers than others. If you think that's the case, don't be afraid to look around for a better firm (although this might have to wait for your return from mat leave).

It’s a concern to me that you don’t understand the basic terminology of your job, and then don’t make an effort to check your understanding of terms and definitions before coming to an (incorrect) conclusion. The fact you say that you feel that you need to be allowed to “learn by experience” rings alarm bells. You effectively want to be picked up on your mistakes and have them caught before they go to clients. This sounds like a lack of proactivity and rigour on your part, and I’m not surprised your colleagues are frustrated to have to catch your errors before they become problematic for clients.

I think you need to eat humble pie, REALLY listen to the feedback of your managers and peers, and find ways to become more accurate, more proactive and more open to feedback.

With a third baby on the way I can imagine finding the will might be difficult though. Can you foresee ‘making a good end’ with this firm and finding a better fit somewhere else after mat leave? Avoid blaming cliques and people who don’t like part time parents. You need to be totally honest with yourself if you are being overly defensive and digging yourself a hole.

To a point, I can see that but a lot of it is learning what the words mean is by experience.

Are you working in an area of law that's new to you? Because if not you should already have the required training and experience to be able to understand legal language.

Another lawyer here. Are you working in a new area and is this your first job as a NQ? I've worked within government legal, private practice and as in-house counsel for an insurance firm. All very different with different expectations, however the basics are the same. Some appraisals are tougher than others. I wouldn't look for a new job just yet, I would at the moment way humble pie and see how this pans out but ask for help if you need it and perhaps become more methodical in your approach. Depending on the area, it's not always possible for a learn on the job approach.

What surprised me a bit is that here they don't expect you to be proactive in "getting work", we have so many cases, there's no need for that. Although, I have to admit, I have built great relationships with clients and when they do come back they come back directly to me

How exactly is this meant to help OP, @proseccoaficionado? If you need additional commendation for your amazing success I would gently suggest this isn’t the thread for that. You are free to start your own. I’m sure it would be well-received.

@yellowish I did try to help, on my first comment, if you read that too. I was genuinely surprised as to how a junior can bring work in a firm?!

What area of law are you in OP? It sounds to me like your mat leaves and part time working have had quite an impact on your learning and development in the crucial early few years of your career. If I was working with you, I think I’d be suggesting going right back to basics, almost like I would with a trainee or NQ. So give you a task, spell out the instructions, ask you to look at it and then come back to me to discuss before you start work, so we could iron out any misunderstandings before you spent time drafting advice which then needs correcting.

However, I don’t know if your team will be prepared to do that with you, and you might find it hard to accept. I think if I were you, I’d be trying to hang on until you go on mat leave in January, but looking for another role to come back to.

Lawyer here - they are pushing you out because of your mat leave. I have seen it happen to a pregnant colleague in the past. She was one of the best associates in the team btw, it was very obvious. She held on to the job and, while on mat leave (she didn't quit before mat leave which is what they really wanted here to do), interviewed in other places and got a new job.

The law firm's unofficial position is - if we can manage without someone while on mat leave, it means we don't need them at all. That is how partners and senior associates justify their illegal behaviour. It's very common in law firms and people talk about it openly. It's brutal and I'm very sorry it's happening to you.

There is only one senior female lawyer where i work - she is childless. It was the same at my last law firm - the only senior women with children there had them while employed somewhere else.

Hold on to the job - it's extremely difficult to fire someone, they're hoping to undermine your confidence enough for you to quit. Then start interviewing.

Also, it's pointless to ask people not working in law firms for advice. Law firms don't follow HR rules and some of the worse mysoginistic bullying happens in law firms. They take advantage of the fact that 1)they know the rules and 2) you have a lot to lose as you will have to have worked extremely hard to be where you are.

And there is no way a 3rd year associate would be expected to bring in clients. That's complete and utter bullshit.