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Many law firms have a traditional law firm hierarchy in place where junior associates eventually progress into senior associate roles. Taking that step from junior to senior sets lawyers up for long-term success in that particular firm, any other, and/or any in-house roles they pursue in the future.
However, becoming a senior associate can be challenging and requires a careful approach.
To that end, this guide aims to support junior associates and other early-to mid-career legal professionals interested in advancing to senior associates in law firms. We’ll break down the responsibilities to expect, give an overview of the skills you should build, and take a deep dive into networking, leadership, client management, career planning, and navigating firm politics and culture.
Senior associates in law firms have more experience than their junior counterparts and take on greater responsibilities. They are typically responsible for handling multiple high-stakes legal matters simultaneously, with a combination of independence and accountability for their direct reports. Senior associates often provide the final touchpoint for client- and public-facing materials, and they take on duties of client management as well as guidance for junior professionals.
One key difference between junior and senior associates comes down to the responsibility of management.
A junior associate may be able to delegate responsibilities to interns, paralegals, and other legal professionals, but that is not guaranteed. A senior associate, however, will almost certainly be responsible for assigning work to, managing, and mentoring or training junior associates.
Given the importance of this role to law firms and in the context of an individual attorney’s career, it is imperative to prepare carefully and take an intentional approach to the job search.
Aside from perfecting your legal resume and proactively preparing for law firm interviews, you should also make longer-term commitments as a prospective senior associate.
Namely, you should be building skills in three key areas:
Let’s take a closer look at each of these critical skill sets.
Senior associates are expected to have mastered legal research and writing practices. You’ll be responsible for a greater volume of responsibilities that generally involve much more complex and challenging legal matters. That added responsibility leaves no room for error or inefficiencies in discovery processes, document generation and management, and other associated tasks.
Depending on the firm and position, you may also be expected to demonstrate expertise in a specific legal specialization—or flex mastery across multiple high-leverage legal matters.
Another consideration here is the extent to which senior associates oversee and manage legal writing and research. Depending on the firm you’re targeting and its resources, you may be put in a position where junior associates and/or other subordinates are doing the majority of the preparation and drafting. You’ll need to hone your prompting and editing skills to ensure your team performs the best work they can and sets you up for success with swift, easy final edit passes.
Effective communication and negotiation are absolutely essential throughout an attorney’s career path, and they become even more critical with every step upward. A senior associate attorney will have to communicate effectively with more parties, at a wider range of levels, about more complex matters, and in higher-stakes contexts than junior associates. You should prepare accordingly.
For example, improving communication with clients comes down to simple steps such as1:
Similar practices and sensibilities apply to all kinds of communication lawyers at all levels depend on. Prioritizing these skills sets a prospective associate up for success in any field.
Soft skills are also closely linked to both leadership and client management—see below.
Another key factor in advancing as a lawyer, to senior associate and beyond, is continuously seeking out and making the most of development opportunities. On one level, this means engaging in ongoing research and education to stay abreast of the trends in scholarship.
You should also seek out opportunities to attend conferences, at the least. And, if your current situation allows for it, you should consider applying to give presentations and/or lectures.
On another level, continuous development can take the form of formal certifications and training in new specializations. If your current or target firm works closely with a specific industry, you could seek out certification in key skills or sensibilities related to it.
Networking is critical to advancement in any industry, and the legal profession is no different. A lawyer seeking a senior associate position needs to cast a wide net and meet as many people as possible, then cultivate those relationships over time to sow the seeds of career opportunities.
In practice, effective networking for lawyers means leveraging all available approaches:
Meeting people is only half the battle, as you’ll also need to make yourself a resource to them. Offering support and guidance and being a good listener are critical.
Senior associates are leaders in their firms. They’re expected to manage their own caseload, as well as at least one (often multiple) direct reports and subordinates. With that comes the burden of mentorship and guidance—not just delegating but inspiring others and getting the most out of them. You’ll need to build up those skills to be qualified for and succeed in the role.
To do so, you should be taking on as many leadership roles as you can in your current position, asking for additional responsibilities and offering guidance to others when possible.
You should also be taking on the most challenging assignments possible and delivering.
Experts from the ABA’s Business Law Today recommend taking cues from teaching and progressive pedagogy, given the expectation of mentorship.2 Taking an active, “lean forward” approach to guiding others will help you build—and demonstrate—leadership skills effectively.
Another major part of being a senior associate is having greater client-facing responsibilities than your junior counterparts. As such, you’ll need to develop client management skills.
There’s a lot of synergy between effective communication, networking, and client outreach and engagement. The same sensibilities of empathy and proactivity will serve you well in forming and maintaining strong relationships with clients. You need to be committed to meeting them where they are and tailoring advice and strategy around their business and personal needs.
Client management gives firms a competitive edge, making them stand out against competitors, especially highly sought-after clientele.3 The same is true for prospective senior associates.
Early and mid-career legal professionals seeking senior associate roles need to be engaging in strategic, proactive career planning. You should be setting goals and creating a roadmap of how your next months and years will look and what milestones you need to achieve, by when.
Another major factor here is seeking out, evaluating, and acting on career advancement opportunities. Weighing the additional responsibility in a given project against both work-life balance and your ambitions is critical, but other factors such as efficiency and visibility are also worth considering. Prioritize commitments that demonstrate your value and set you up for success in the traditional associate ladder, an in-house role, or wherever your career takes you.
You should also be open to and actively seeking out feedback, especially in the earlier stages of your development. Listening to what peers and especially superiors have to say helps you make direct improvements and also fosters a greater understanding of what’s valued, how, and why.
Last but not least, advancing into a senior associate role means understanding the ins and outs of a firm’s politics and culture and how to survive and thrive by navigating them. This starts with understanding a firm’s stated values and the ways individuals are expected to uphold them.
As a senior associate, you’ll play a bigger role in establishing and maintaining the culture than a more junior professional. On the one hand, that means you should be seeking out a strong law firm culture or one that aligns with your own values. Look for positivity, supportiveness, professional development, and technological innovation. It is possible to effect change in a firm and help build a culture that suits it (and you) more aptly, but it helps to start from a place of strength.
On the other hand, you should also be looking to bridge gaps and avoid conflicts to the extent possible. Working within a culture that is not 100% aligned with your own helps build empathy, making you more capable of working with and leading a wider variety of future colleagues.
Ultimately, lawyers seeking senior associate roles need to build a strong understanding of what the position entails and then develop skills and sensibilities commensurate to it. Technical, soft, and professional skill sets go along with networking, leadership, and client management. But true success also requires strategic career planning and flexibility to navigate law firm cultures.
E.P. Dine is an expert in associate lawyer hiring and has helped law firms find ideal candidates—and candidates find ideal firms—for nearly fifty years now. We understand what makes legal professionals excel at all levels, and we help them find the roles that are best suited to their particular skills. We’re committed to helping you become a senior associate in a law firm, succeed in that role, and build a strong career path.
For more information on how you can advance in your legal career to and beyond the senior associate level, check out our tips for legal career success. And don’t hesitate to get in touch!
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At E.P. Dine, we are committed to delivering content that is not only relevant and insightful but also rooted in professional integrity and expertise. To achieve this, every article published on the E.P. Dine blog undergoes a meticulous review process by qualified professionals with deep knowledge and experience in the legal field and legal recruitment.
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