Task list

Notebooks are good for capturing detailed instructions, but not so good for giving you a high level reminder of what needs to be done and helping you to prioritise different matters and tasks. Once you have taken detailed notes of your instructions, consider summarising the specific tasks deriving from those instructions on a shorter to-do list, alongside the tasks that you have been set on other matters. You could then try to get in the habit of updating this to-do list at the end of each day, so that you know what needs to be done when you come in the next morning. This will help you to manage deadlines and any capacity requests that subsequently come in.

Try to break larger tasks down into a series of more manageable tasks. This can help you to better prioritise tasks and keep track of your progress more effectively (whilst also making the tasks seem less daunting). For example, rather than simply writing “Prepare presentation” on your to-do list, you could use “Presentation” as a heading, then split this into sub-tasks, for instance: research topic x, find a PowerPoint template, discuss the topic with my supervisor, write a first draft of my speech, work on the PowerPoint slides.

You should also keep a list of what you are waiting for from other people – for example documents, input, advice or sign-off – and get in the habit of regularly reviewing it. If you miss a deadline because someone else has forgotten to get back to you (or if you submit an incomplete or incorrect piece of work because you forgot that you were waiting for input or sign-off), this won’t reflect well on you. Such a list will also help you to keep track of who you need to chase and when you should chase them. It might also be helpful to keep a note of any “deferred” tasks, for example tasks that you know you will need to complete at some point in the future once some other action has been completed (e.g. tasks that must be carried out only once a deal closes or once a case reaches a certain stage in the litigation process).

Practical tip: try to avoid writing tasks on random sheets of paper/post-it notes, as it can be hard to keep track of a fragmented collection of reminders and the approach might not inspire confidence in your supervisors (I was called up on this during my training contract). Moreover, as tasks progress, you may need to add details to instructions that you have previously written down, which will be difficult if you have used a series of small sheets of papers.

Calendar

Use your calendar wisely. Make sure your appointments are all set up with reminders and get in the habit of checking your calendar at the start of each day (and if necessary, the night before) so that you can keep track of how much time you actually have available to work on legal matters. This can help when managing capacity requests and keeping your supervisors informed of your progress. For instance, one morning you may be given a task that you think will take seven hours. However, if you tell your supervisor that you will deliver the work within seven hours, then discover that you have a three hour training session later in the day, you will end up missing your deadline and messing that supervisor around. This is easy to avoid!

Email filing

Every time you deal with an email, make sure you file it immediately. You should aim to have an inbox that only shows emails that you have not yet dealt with, as this will mean that your inbox serves as a back-up task list. Don’t rely on leaving emails as “unread”, as it is easy to accidentally mark these as read and then forget about them. This approach was truly game-changing when it came to organising myself and I still use it to this day. I genuinely can’t recommend it enough, so try to get in the habit!

Consider setting up email folders for each team you sit in, each matter you work on within those teams, and even different aspects of the matters you work on (e.g. due diligence, transaction documents, legal research etc.). You could also set up folders relating to corporate social responsibility/pro bono, human resources/graduate recruitment, firm announcements, miscellaneous etc. This way, you will have somewhere to file every email that you’ve already read and (if applicable) dealt with, meaning your inbox will only display the emails that you haven’t yet got around to dealing with.

Another reason why an intuitive email filing system is important is that you will likely be asked by supervisors at times to retrieve old emails from clients/other lawyers etc. It may be difficult to remember which specific contact(s) emailed you a few months previously and subject lines may be unhelpful, so without a decent filing system, it could take a long time to locate a specific email.

Practical tip: try to get in the habit of unsubscribing from newsletters that you don’t read, as spam can be very distracting and you will likely otherwise waste ample time having to repeatedly delete/file these emails.

Communication

If working for multiple associates, make sure you keep them all informed of the work you have on for other associates. One supervisor may otherwise assume you are working only for them and allocate work to you accordingly (which means you’ll either be pulling all-nighters or risking inadvertently letting them down last minute, especially if they then don’t have enough time to delegate elsewhere).

If you think you will be unable to meet a deadline, let your supervisor know at the earliest possible opportunity. Let capacity partners/associates know if you are too busy/not busy. Too much work could have an adverse effect on the quality of your output, whilst too little will stifle your learning curve (and might reflect negatively on you come appraisal time).

Negotiating deadlines

You do sometimes have scope to negotiate deadlines. If someone sends you a “capacity request” (meaning a request for your assistance with a piece of work), it’s wholly reasonable to tell them that you would like to help, but have two other pieces of work to complete by X date, so would not be able to deliver their work until Y date. In a majority of cases, supervisors will be ok with the extended deadline, or will appreciate your flexibility but delegate the work to someone else. Also remember that the people with whom you are working will not necessarily be aware of your existing workload, your upcoming deadlines and which other supervisors you are working which, so keep them up-to-date.

What can be especially challenging however is when supervisors grossly underestimate the time commitment required in relation to a particular capacity request. Sometimes “two hours” will actually turn into “five hours”. If you are in a situation where you can genuinely only spare the amount of time they have predicted, accept the request but make it clear to them you only have X amount of time available that day.

After delivering a piece of work, expect follow-up work, for example further questions, research or amendments. If you have let the supervisor know in advance that you are unlikely to be able to find time to carry out such follow-up work until a later date, they won’t then be able to criticise you for pushing back the deadline for such follow-up work.

With this in mind, when considering whether to respond to a capacity request, where possible ask your supervisor:

• Whether they have anything you need to do for them in the short-term;
• Whether any existing work you have been set needs to be carried out right away; and
• Whether they are ok with you accepting the capacity request.

Also check with anyone else that has set you work whether they expect the matter to escalate and in light of this, whether they are ok with you accepting the request.

Work Log

You may have to provide a record of the work you have done to help with your appraisal and/or may be expected to discuss the work with supervisors. Consider keeping a work log from day 1, as it may be difficult to remember the range of work you have completed further down the line. Also keep a record of who you have worked for, as you may need to ask a range of people to provide feedback as part of your appraisal process