Small Law Firms

Partners Usually Have Difficulty Keeping Secrets From Associates

Once one associate knows confidential information, most of the other associates will shortly find out such details.

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gossip LF water cooler gossipPartners often try to keep information about a firm secret from associates. At times, law firms go through precarious financial periods, and partners might want to keep plans for layoffs, expansions, office closures, and other information secret so that morale is not impacted. However, partners often have a difficult time keeping secrets from associates and should usually assume that anything the partners know will eventually be leaked to associates for a variety of reasons.

Shared Email Accounts

One of the biggest reasons why information might leak to associates is the access some associates may be granted to email accounts of partners. When I was working at a large law firm earlier in my career, some of the partners were not too proficient with technology. As a result, some associates had access to the email accounts of a partner so they could apprise a partner of information faster since the partner rarely checked his email. Moreover, the partner was responsible for thousands of cases, and having associates access his email made it easier for our law firm to handle the loads of associated messages.

However, giving associates access to the partner’s email account also gave associates access to communications that were unrelated to the matters upon which the associates were working. Indeed, some of the associates conveyed that they saw emails scheduling curious meetings and other messages about the financial health of the firm. In this way, associates could tell that layoffs were on the horizon even though partners were trying to keep this information under wraps to protect office morale. Of course, it seems less likely in the present day that partners would share email access with associates, but if they do, partners need to be extremely careful to ensure that associates are unable to access confidential information about a law firm.

Friendships With Partners

Some partners are very friendly with associates and speak about all types of topics. Usually, the partners with the best connection with associates are younger ones who might have only recently been elevated to the position of partner. Since these individuals might have recently been associates themselves, they might have more rapport with associates than partners who have been partners managing associates for decades.

In my experience, the easiest way for secretive information to leak from partners to associates is when junior partners share information with favored associates and these associates spread such information with other associates. Everyone loves to gossip, and junior partners might want to show off their access to secretive information by sharing details with associates to which those associates might not be privy. Even though a junior partner might think they can trust an associate to keep secretive information to themselves, this rarely happens, and once one associate knows confidential information, most of the other associates will shortly find out such details. In any event, if partners want to ensure that less secretive information leaks out, they should tell partners that they should not discuss such matters with even trusted associates to ensure the information does not leak.

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Administrative Professionals

People always underestimate how much information administrative professionals like secretaries and IT professionals know about a law firm. However, these individuals might know more about the happenings of a law firm than associates in many circumstances. For instance, secretaries might be involved in booking travel or making other kinds of arrangements which can signal news that might be on the horizon at a law firm. In addition, information technology professionals might be tasked with cutting people off from their technology once they are laid off, and this can give them valuable information about who might be on the chopping block at a law firm.

Some associates do not have the best relationship with administrative professionals since associates and other professionals may not mix and mingle at some shops. However, if associates want to know all of the secretive information floating around at a shop, they should definitely become friendly with administrative professionals. Everyone loves to gossip, and once an administrative professional starts talking about a secretive matter, the information is sure to travel to other people at a law firm.

In my experience, there were only a few times in my career that partners were able to keep important information from associates at a law firm. But if partners focus on securing avenues that secretive information typically leaks from partners to associates, they can have a better chance at keeping confidential information from spreading.

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Rothman Larger HeadshotJordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothman.law.

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