Four Common Delegation Mistakes at Law Firms (and How to Fix Them)
Delegation in law firms is a leadership skill that can make or break an attorney’s ability to scale their practice. It matters for both associates and partners. Yet even the most seasoned attorneys often struggle to delegate effectively.
Part of the challenge is structural. Lawyers work in matrixed teams across client matters, often without formal authority over the people they’re assigning work to. Assigning attorneys may have little insight into others’ workloads, availability, or priorities. Thus, effective delegation in law firms relies less on hierarchy and more on clarity, trust and consistent follow-through.
Below are four common delegation mistakes that I see in law firms and how to fix them.
1. Mistake: avoiding delegation altogether after a bad experience
You tried delegating before but the work came back subpar or late. It frustrated you. Now you think, “Why bother if it’s faster for me to do it myself? I’ll start delegating again when they show me they can do it.”
Mindset shift. This is a common belief among high-performing lawyers but it is backwards. People cannot show you that they can do the work until you give them the opportunity. And leaders who want to scale cannot do everything themselves. As Stephen R. Covey, the author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, wrote, delegation is one of the highest-leverage leadership skills. When done well, it shifts you from an individual contributor to a true leader.
Do this instead. Remember that delegation starts with your willingness to give others a chance. When you approach people with a focus on developing others’ capacity instead of guardedness, the delegation relationship changes and so do your outcomes.
2. Mistake: skipping the delegation stages
You move straight from giving instructions to waiting for results. When results fall short, you assume that the issue is the other person, not the process, and quietly remove them from your mental list of people to trust.
Mindset shift. Before concluding that others are the problem, consider that your delegation process may be incomplete. Effective delegation has three distinct stages, and skipping any of them undermines the final work product and your relationship with the person you’re delegating to.
Do this instead. Follow all three stages of delegation.
First (Agreement)
Set clear expectations at the start.
The goal is simple: the other person should know exactly what success looks like.
It’s helpful to walk through these different things: desired result (for example, a memo addressing X, Y, and Z), guidelines (such as a word count or tone suitable for busy senior executives), useful resources (X precedent, Y colleague), the timing for check-ins and final delivery, and why the task matters within the broader deal or case strategy. Upfront time pays for itself many times over.
Second (Support)
Position yourself as a source of help.
The goal is for others to see you as an advocate rather than as someone to fear.
Offer time for questions, remove roadblocks, and check in at milestones. As Covey noted, this supportive stage turns delegation from a transactional exchange into a collaboration.
Third (Accountability)
Help others to understand how they did.
The goal is to hold others accountable in a way that supports their growth.
If the work product missed the mark, use it as an opportunity for constructive feedback: what worked, what didn’t, what to adjust next time, and what support they need from you. If the work was excellent, be generous with your appreciation. Accountability paired with support builds trust and strengthens performance over time.
3. Mistake: using a one-size-fits-all approach
You delegate the same way to everyone from brand-new associates to senior team members.
Mindset shift. Delegation is not one size fits all. Different people need different levels of direction and support depending on their experience, confidence, and motivation. When you use the same approach with everyone, you set yourself up for unnecessary frustration, and you unintentionally demotivate others.
Do this instead. Adapt your approach to the person you are delegating to.
For newer attorneys or those with lower motivation, give smaller, simpler assignments. Offer clear instructions upfront, schedule more frequent informal check-ins, and point others to helpful resources.
For more seasoned attorneys or highly motivated team members, assign broader, more complex tasks. Provide fewer instructions so they can co-shape the work. Use milestone-based check-ins rather than constant oversight, and trust them to locate needed resources.
4. Mistake: viewing delegation as just offloading a task
You treat delegation as a way to clear items off your to-do list.
Mindset shift. Delegation is not all about offloading work. It is also about cultivating relationships, one person and one project at a time. When you delegate well, you build trust. Trust leads to motivation, engagement, and ultimately, a high-performing team.
But here is the catch. Effective delegation takes patience and time. Covey wrote, “Trust is the highest form of human motivation. It brings out the very best in people. But it takes time and patience, and it does not replace the need to train and develop people so their competency rises to the level of that trust.”
Do this instead. Think about the people who gave you a chance and how much it shaped your career. Delegation gives you the opportunity to do that for someone else. Identify three people you want to invest in and use delegation as a tool to strengthen that relationship along with the work product.
Bottom line
When delegation is done well, it not only lightens your load. It strengthens your entire practice. And, it starts with having the right mindset and process.
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