Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Feedback Made Easy for Partners
Partners are saddled with one of the most important yet difficult tasks related to managing a team of lawyers: providing constructive feedback. Feedback is a partner's tool to improving performance, efficiency and service quality.
The objective in giving feedback is to enhance performance by supplying information to guide the individual toward the level and quality of work that is expected. The following are seven steps to effective and useful feedback sessions.
- Establish rapport. Create a positive climate in which the feedback session is to take place. A neutral locale like a conference room allows both parties to be focused. The partner should make it clear that two-way communication is expected and encouraged.
- Focus on the behavior or work product, not the person. For feedback to be effective, focus the communication on modifying a situation, correcting a behavior or improving work quality. There should never be statements made that can be interpreted as an attack on character or personality.
- Specially describe the problem. Describing specific observations or work product helps the individual understand exactly what needs to change. General feedback, such as 'improve your work,' is often confusing, whereas examples of exemplary work clarify what is to be expected.
- Encourage the individual to respond. To be successful, the feedback must include two-way communication. It is the partner's responsibility to ask specific questions and solicit thoughts and reactions to what is being presented. There might be valid reasons, unknown to you, for the behavior or work product you have criticized.
- Offer specific suggestions. Because most people are likely to perceive any criticism as negative it is important to show genuine intent to assist the individual. Offering constructive suggestions shows that the partner values and wants to help develop the individual.
- Listen. Allowing others the opportunity to respond without interruption builds their confidence and shows value in their comments and ideas. Getting the other person's point of view checks for misunderstanding or misinterpretations.
- Summarize and express support. Use the summary of what has been discussed as an opportunity to clarify one more time the expected behavior or quality improvements. Also use this time to show support and encourage the individual to make the necessary improvements. Be sure the person leaves the session in an optimistic frame of mind so the feelings are positive toward the partner, the communication and toward making the changes.
Guidelines for Giving Feedback
This premium content is locked for LJN Newsletters subscribers only
ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE SINGLE SOURCE OF OBJECTIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS, PRACTICAL INSIGHTS, AND NEWS IN ENTERTAINMENT LAW.
- Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
- Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
- Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts
Already a have an account? Sign In Now Log In Now
For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.