I had my annual review today.
Before
The meeting request was sent out yesterday afternoon, which was just as well because it limited the amount of time I would spend worrying about the meeting. When I arrived at work this morning, my written review was sitting on my office chair. I think this was done to give me some time to read the review in privacy and prepare any comments that I might have. The feedback I received regarding the quality of my work was positive without exception. However, I have been “reclassified,” which means held back from progressing with my class to the next level because I wasn’t assigned enough work during the evaluation period, which ran from January to August.
During
Two partners were scheduled to be present, but one had to skip out because of a rescheduled meeting. The partner who attended reiterated some of the points from my written evaluation and stressed that I shouldn’t consider the reclassification as a reflection on the quality of my work, but a reflection on the amount of work that I was given. I was asked for comments on my development plan, which amounts to a paragraph drafted by the partners. My development plan includes two points. First, get staffed on more projects (elsewhere in my evaluation it was noted that I asked for work routinely). Second, integrate myself into the local legal community.
After
The notable consequence of my reclassification is that I won’t move to the next level in the firm’s lock-step compensation scheme (typically, associates receive a raise each year that they advance) and won’t be bonus eligible (obviously). I’m pleased to have received positive feedback on my work. But I’m frustrated. I’ve asked for work, accepted an overseas assignment so I could get some more hours, and then transferred offices on the promise that I would get more work here. I did everything within my control to obtain work over the last year and did well on the assignments that I was given. In exchange, I have received precious few opportunities to practice law or build my skill set.
Read the full article: My Review