First-year in litigation. Had my first review with a partner yesterday and was told that although it's clear I'm ambitious and other associates like working with me, it seems I'm having comprehension issues and struggling in general. He named as examples three briefs I'd written with senior associates that had subsequently been heavily edited by partners.
I was surprised to hear this because 1. I thought it was obvious first-years rarely unilaterally draft briefs; these briefs had gone through multiple iterations with senior associates before I sent them to partners for review; and 2. It's not like my initial drafts were completely off-base; the final drafts retained at least some of my initial arguments. And I thought it was expected that my briefs would suck and have to be largely rewritten. I don't think that's necessarily a sign that I'm incompetent.
I know I'll inevitably get accused of leaving out important context, so I can promise I haven't made any egregious mistakes like blowing a deadline, biting someone, hanging up a fake Picasso in my office, etc. At worst I've missed some detail (that didn't affect the client or any work product), like saying the opposing party filed a complaint on x date without realizing they filed an amended complaint a month later. And I worked in a client-facing role for years before law school, so I know I'm not an alien or otherwise socially inept.
I confided in a couple mid-levels I work with and trust and they were shocked I received such negative feedback. They told me this partner has a reputation for being interested only in putting people down, never mentoring or developing associates. Regardless, I feel like this reputation will follow me around, at least at this firm, and I'll never be able to shake being labeled as a shitty associate.
Not looking for any specific advice, just feeling so demoralized and venting. I'll go back to billing now.