The worst career advice I got as a young lawyer? “Keep your head down and do great work.”
It might be good advice if your goal is to bill as many hours as you can. But you should be doing more (and do things a bit differently, too) if your goal is to develop yourself as a whole lawyer.
And that is true whether or not you want to become a partner, start your own law firm, go in-house, or leave law entirely.
[It's also true once you're promoted to partnership, if you want to make good money and meet the expectations of your firm].
Billing as much as possible doesn’t ensure you: Get the best possible opportunities. Learn everything you should as you progress. Develop your non-legal skills (necessary for progression anywhere).
The problem is that most lawyers have no idea what is expected of them. Maybe (maybe) they have annual meetings with some feedback. But that feedback is often not specific enough about what's expected for promotion.
And when it comes to promotion (also when it comes to how you get paid once you're a partner), a lot of law firms don't have much in writing.
Instead, you hear things like “act like a partner to make partner”.
A lot of lawyers trying to progress assume this means leadership is hiding something. Or that they just don't care.
Not true.
| 
