How To Delegate Work As A Lawyer

A guide to effective delegation for lawyers: why it matters and how to do it well

Last updated:
January 17, 2025
How To Delegate Work As A Lawyer
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Most lawyers are bad at delegation.

We think it has something to do with the fact that most are perfectionists who like to control every detail of the things they work on and have a primal fear of mistakes.

This drive for excellence can lead to a reluctance to let go of tasks, driven by a fear that mistakes might slip through the cracks.

The mindset becomes: “If it’s going to be done right, I have to do it myself.”

Having worked in private practice and also on the business side, this mindset is one of the biggest weaknesses we see in lawyers.

It impacts productivity, limits team growth and burdens senior lawyers with more than they need to take on, which is often the first step on the road to burnout.

In contrast, what you notice in large corporate organisations is that delegation is seen as a key skill to help teams deliver more work, more efficiently. It is actively encouraged and mastered by the highest performers.

The same applies in law firms. We’ve all seen the expert delegation skills of the best partners - it’s something that great lawyers are really good at.

Equally, we’ve all been on the receiving end of the terrible delegation skills of partners who haven't mastered it - poorly communicated deadlines, unclear instructions, practically non-existent support on the work you’re given. It’s not a nice place to be.

This guide looks at why good delegation matters for high-performing lawyers, and how to do it well.

Why good delegation matters

Fundamentally, delegation matters because law firms are businesses and your time as a lawyer has a real cost attached to it.

  • Cost - Clients should not be paying partner rates (north of £1,500 an hour at the elite firms) for a partner to carry out work that could be done by someone junior for half the price. The same principle applies all the way down the hierarchy.
  • Productivity - From a lawyer’s perspective, delegation increases your team’s productivity and allows you to focus on the types of tasks that are commensurate with your experience level.

In summary:

Your team will get more done, more profitably, by being good at delegating work.

When to delegate

This will depend on your seniority.

As a trainee solicitor, for example, your default mode is obviously not to delegate everything on your to-do list. At this level, you are the one being delegated to.

A senior associate or partner, meanwhile, should clearly be thinking about delegation.

Whatever your level, if delegating a task means that it will get done sooner and to the required standard, then you certainly should think about delegating it.

For junior lawyers, here are some simple steps you should follow to decide if you should delegate something:

  1. Do you have capacity? - Depends on the task, but you should only really be delegating tasks that you don’t have time to do yourself as a junior.
  2. Apply the 70% rule - This is a widely used rule of thumb. Ask yourself: could someone else perform the task at least 70% as well as you? If it’s a yes, think about delegating it.
  3. Ask your manager - Ask your supervisor or the relevant partner first if they’re happy for you to delegate the task to someone else in the team.

If all of these are satisfied, then your task is eligible for delegation.

How to delegate

The moment you delegate something, you become a manager. Never forget this.

Good managers don’t manage by abdication. They don’t pass the task off and walk away because now it’s someone else’s responsibility.

Proper delegation is about giving someone else the responsibility to complete the task to your standards, but with overall responsibility and accountability staying with you.

This is a really important point to remember. You are responsible for the final work product.

So whenever you’re delegating something, follow these steps to get it right:

1. Give clear instructions

This is the biggest determinant to the success of your delegation.

You must give the other person a scope of work for the task or project that's as complete as possible.

  • Background - Give background, explain the task and provide context on the matter, the client and parties involved. Explain the ‘why’ behind the task and how it fits into the wider project.
  • Deadline - Agree a precise deadline for completion of the task.
  • Deliverables - Give specific deliverables for the task and agree the format you want them in e.g. email, letter, memo, the length and level of detail you expect.
  • Resources - Supply the other person with all the resources they need to get the job done e.g. client file details, precedent documents, know-how guides and intros to other team members needed to complete the job.
  • Ask - Always finish by asking the other person if anything isn't clear.

2. Manage accordingly

How hands-on you need to be managing the task depends on the skill level of the other person.

Line managers will often use a so-called 'Skill/Will matrix' to think about this. It’s a really helpful management tool.

The matrix places ‘will’ (motivation, essentially) on the vertical axis and ‘skill’ (their capability) on the horizontal axis.

Your management style should depend on where the other person sits in the matrix:

  • High skill, high will: top right. These people have the skills and they’re committed. You can trust them to do a good job and give them the most autonomy.
  • Low skill, high will: top left. These people lack the necessary skills but are committed. Show these people what to do, give regular feedback and be hands-on.
  • Low skill, low will: bottom left. These people lack skills and easily get discouraged. Set clear expectations and deadlines and closely monitor their progress. Encourage them to reach out for help when they need it.
  • High skill, low will: bottom right. These people have the skills but they get easily discouraged. Figure out what excites them, provide regular position feedback.  

This is just to give you a general idea of the type of support the other person might need from you.

Really it’s just about being aware that different personality types demand different management styles.

3. Give feedback

Tell the other person how they did.

Here are two simple rules to follow whenever you give feedback:

  1. Tell them what they did well - you want the other person to continue doing what’s working so tell them what they did well.
  2. Tell them what needs improvement - focus on the future (what they can do better going forward), be specific and explain the ‘why’ behind your feedback (don’t just say “Don’t do this”, say “Don’t do this because…”).  

4. Pass the credit and take the blame

This is what team players do.

If you get praised for the work, pass the credit: “Thanks, X was a massive help on the board minutes and did a really good job.”

On the flip side, you’re the one that needs to take responsibility if something goes wrong: “Sorry, I should have checked the board minutes more carefully. That was my mistake. It won’t happen again.”

Visualising good delegation

Here's another way to think about great delegation:

It’s known as the 10-80-10 rule and its premise is very simple.

It says that in relation to any task or project you delegate to someone else, be hands-on for the first 10% of the project, allow the other person to handle the next 80%, then return for the final 10% to review and refine the work to make sure the output meets the required standard.

You can visualise it like this:

  1. First 10%: This is step 1 we just covered: give clear instructions.
  2. Middle 80%: This is the ‘doing phase’ and where you need to manage the other person as we covered in step 2.
  3. Final 10%: This is where you review the work, provide any feedback, and make any changes to bring it up to the required standard. This is you making the final finishing touches, you putting the cherry on top.
Law Firm
Trainee First Year
Trainee Second Year
Newly Qualified (NQ)
Addleshaw Goddard£52,000£56,000£100,000
Akin Gump£60,000£65,000£174,418
A&O Shearman£56,000£61,000£150,000
Ashurst£52,000£57,000£125,000
Baker McKenzie£56,000£61,000£140,000
Bird & Bird£47,000£52,000£98,000
Bristows£46,000£50,000£88,000
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner£50,000£55,000£105,000
Burges Salmon£47,000£49,000£72,000
Charles Russell Speechlys£50,000£53,000£88,000
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton£57,500£62,500£164,500
Clifford Chance£56,000£61,000£150,000
Clyde & Co£47,000£49,500£85,000
CMS£50,000£55,000£110,000
Cooley£55,000£60,000£157,000
Davis Polk £65,000£70,000£170,000
Debevoise £55,000£60,000£173,000
Dechert£55,000£61,000£165,000
Dentons£50,000£54,000£100,000
DLA Piper£50,000£55,000£110,000
Eversheds Sutherland£46,000£50,000£100,000
Farrer & Co£47,000£49,000£88,000
Fieldfisher£48,500£52,000£95,000
Freshfields£56,000£61,000£150,000
Fried Frank£55,000£60,000£175,000
Gibson Dunn£60,000£65,000£180,000
Goodwin Procter£55,000£60,000£175,000
Gowling WLG£48,500£53,500£98,000
Herbert Smith Freehills£56,000£61,000£135,000
HFW£50,000£54,000£100,000
Hill Dickinson£43,000£45,000£80,000
Hogan Lovells£56,000£61,000£135,000
Irwin Mitchell£43,000£45,000£76,000
Jones Day£56,000£65,000£160,000
K&L Gates£50,000£55,000£115,000
Kennedys£43,000£46,000£85,000
King & Spalding£55,000£60,000£165,000
Kirkland & Ellis£60,000£65,000£174,418
Latham & Watkins£60,000£65,000£174,418
Linklaters£56,000£61,000£150,000
Macfarlanes£56,000£61,000£140,000
Mayer Brown£55,000£60,000£135,000
McDermott Will & Emery£65,000£70,000£174,418
Milbank£65,000£70,000£174,418
Mills & Reeve£45,000£47,000£82,000
Mischon de Reya£47,500£52,500£95,000
Norton Rose Fulbright£50,000£55,000£135,000
Orrick£55,000£60,000£160,000
Osborne Clarke£54,500£56,000£94,000
Paul Hastings£60,000£68,000£173,000
Paul Weiss£55,000£60,000£180,000
Penningtons Manches Cooper£48,000£50,000£83,000
Pinsent Masons£49,500£54,000£97,000
Quinn Emanueln/an/a£180,000
Reed Smith£50,000£55,000£125,000
Ropes & Gray£60,000£65,000£165,000
RPC£46,000£50,000£90,000
Shoosmiths£43,000£45,000£97,000
Sidley Austin£60,000£65,000£175,000
Simmons & Simmons£52,000£57,000£120,000
Skadden£58,000£63,000£173,000
Slaughter and May£56,000£61,000£150,000
Squire Patton Boggs£47,000£50,000£110,000
Stephenson Harwood£50,000£55,000£100,000
Sullivan & Cromwell£65,000£70,000£174,418
Taylor Wessing£50,000£55,000£115,000
TLT£44,000£47,500£85,000
Travers Smith£54,000£59,000£120,000
Trowers & Hamlins£45,000£49,000£80,000
Vinson & Elkins£60,000£65,000£173,077
Watson Farley & Williams£50,000£55,000£102,000
Weightmans£34,000£36,000£70,000
Weil Gotshal & Manges£60,000£65,000£170,000
White & Case£62,000£67,000£175,000
Willkie Farr & Gallagher£60,000£65,000£170,000
Withers£47,000£52,000£95,000
Womble Bond Dickinson£43,000£45,000£80,000
Rank
Law Firm
Revenue
Profit per Equity
Partner (PEP)
1DLA Piper*£3,010,000,000£2,400,000
2Clifford Chance£2,300,000,000£2,040,000
3A&O Shearman£2,200,000,000£2,200,000
4Hogan Lovells£2,150,000,000£2,200,000
5Freshfields£2,140,000,000Not disclosed
6Linklaters£2,100,000,000£1,900,000
7Norton Rose Fulbright*£1,800,000,000£1,100,000
8CMS**£1,620,000,000Not disclosed
9Herbert Smith Freehills£1,300,000,000£1,300,000
10Ashurst£961,000,000£1,300,000
11Clyde & Co£844,000,000£739,000
12Eversheds Sutherland£749,000,000£1,300,000
13BCLP*£661,000,000£748,000
14Pinsent Masons£649,000,000£793,000
15Slaughter and May***£625,000,000Not disclosed
16Simmons & Simmons£574,000,000£1,076,000
17Bird & Bird**£545,000,000£696,000
18Addleshaw Goddard£495,000,000Not disclosed
19Taylor Wessing£480,000,000£915,000***
20Osborne Clarke**£456,000,000£771,000
21Womble Bond Dickinson£448,000,000£556,000
22DWF£435,000,000Not disclosed
23Fieldfisher£407,000,000£966,000
24Kennedys£384,000,000Not disclosed
25DAC Beachcroft£325,000,000£700,000

What do City lawyers actually do each day?

For a closer look at the day-to-day of some of the most common types of lawyers working in corporate law firms, explore our lawyer job profiles:

Putting delegation into practice

So that’s why delegation is important and how to do it well.

Now, let’s keep things in perspective. This guide is meant to give you a foundational understanding of what good delegation looks like - not to turn you into an expert overnight.

The relevance of delegation will vary depending on where you are in your legal career. For trainees, it may feel less applicable since you’re at the early stages, without direct reports or managerial responsibilities.

But here’s why it matters: delegation is a skill you’ll need sooner than you think.

Before long, you’ll be a few years qualified, overseeing trainees, and managing workloads that require you to rely on others. Building these skills early will give you a major advantage when that time comes.

We speak from experience.

When we moved into supervisory roles, we wished we had started honing these skills earlier. Learning how to delegate effectively - what works, what doesn’t, and why - would have made that shift much smoother.

FirmLondon office sinceKnown for in London
Baker McKenzie1961Finance, capital markets, TMT
Davis Polk1972Leveraged finance, corporate/M&A
Gibson Dunn1979Private equity, arbitration, energy, resources and infrastructure
Goodwin2008Private equity, funds, life sciences
Kirkland & Ellis1994Private equity, funds, restructuring
Latham & Watkins1990Finance, private equity, capital markets
Milbank1979Finance, capital markets, energy, resources and infrastructure
Paul Weiss2001Private equity, leveraged finance
Quinn Emanuel2008Litigation
Sidley Austin1974Leveraged finance, capital markets, corporate/M&A
Simpson Thacher1978Leveraged finance, private equity, funds
Skadden1988Finance, corporate/M&A, arbitration
Weil1996Restructuring, private equity, leverage finance
White & Case1971Capital markets, arbitration, energy, resources and infrastructure
Law Firm
Trainee First Year
Trainee Second Year
Newly Qualified (NQ)
A&O Shearman£56,000£61,000£150,000
Clifford Chance£56,000£61,000£150,000
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer£56,000£61,000£150,000
Linklaters£56,000£61,000£150,000
Slaughter and May£56,000£61,000£150,000
Law Firm
Trainee First Year
Trainee Second Year
Newly Qualified (NQ)
A&O Shearman£56,000£61,000£150,000
Clifford Chance£56,000£61,000£150,000
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer£56,000£61,000£150,000
Linklaters£56,000£61,000£150,000
Slaughter and May£56,000£61,000£150,000
Law Firm
Trainee First Year
Trainee Second Year
Newly Qualified (NQ)
Ashurst£52,000£57,000£125,000
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner£50,000£55,000£105,000
Herbert Smith Freehills£56,000£61,000£135,000
Macfarlanes£56,000£61,000£140,000
Travers Smith£54,000£59,000£120,000
FirmMerger yearKnown for in London
BCLP2018Real estate, corporate/M&A, litigation
DLA Piper2005Corporate/M&A, real estate, energy, resources and infrastructure
Eversheds Sutherland2017Corporate/M&A, finance
Hogan Lovells2011Litigation, regulation, finance
Mayer Brown2002Finance, capital markets, real estate
Norton Rose Fulbright2013Energy, resources and infrastructure, insurance, finance
Reed Smith2007Shipping, finance, TMT
Squire Patton Boggs2011Corporate/M&A, pensions, TMT
Law Firm
Trainee First Year
Trainee Second Year
Newly Qualified (NQ)
Ashurst£52,000£57,000£125,000
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner£50,000£55,000£105,000
Herbert Smith Freehills£56,000£61,000£135,000
Macfarlanes£56,000£61,000£140,000
Travers Smith£54,000£59,000£120,000
Author of blog post.
Olivia Rhye
11 Jan 2022
5 min read