I’m a rising 4th-year commercial litigator, and I’m struggling with case management.
I’m being given more responsibility for managing cases, but honestly, I don’t feel like I’m succeeding. Balancing case management with motions practice and hearings feels impossible sometimes. There are endless procedural rules, deadlines, filing requirements, and little things to keep track of, and it feels like no matter how careful I am, I’m always missing something.
The worst part is that the things I overlook can actually delay resolution of cases. I’m trying to take responsibility for everything and be proactive, but sometimes I simply don’t have the knowledge or experience yet. I’m also being asked to draft motions I’ve never handled before, and I’ll spend hours on something only to have it essentially written off because it took too long.
My entire time at this firm has felt like this weird cycle where, if I do something successfully, I just think, “Okay, good,” and move on. But if I screw something up, I feel like an absolute monkey.
I know intellectually that I’m still learning, but I’m a rising 4th-year. I feel like I should have more of this figured out by now. Everyone around me seems like they have their shit together, and I constantly feel like I’m barely keeping my head above water. Our firm isn’t even a v500 anymore and doesn’t pay to market.
For those of you who became competent commercial litigators and actually felt like you knew what you were doing: when did you finally get into the swing of things? Is this normal, or am I just not cut out for this?