Law firm associates dream of partnership. Do they really? Blawgletter thinks many of them do. And yet so few get her or his wish.
Blawgletter recalls a time when a law firm’s offer of employment reflected confidence that the offeree would in time make partner. That era may have passed, even in cities way beyond Manhattan.
But pockets of resistance remain. Who succeeds at those renegade firms where meritocracy still works? Those who see a routing slip that instructs "pls handle" and nothing more and in those words recognize the compliment — and opportunities — that they convey.
Blawgletter urges associates to rejoice if a partner sends you a "pls handle". It means that she trusts you to figure out what needs doing, how to do it, and to do it. Justify her confidence in you, and before long you’ll enjoy the fine art of scribbling "pls handle" to go-getters hoping to emulate your success.
Barry Barnett
