Anonymous Lawyer

I have a senior associate who's after me for dirt about her chances of making partner. It's gotten pretty irritating. She's always been very upfront about her desire to make partner. Once word got out over the grapevine that a particular associate was in line to make partner, she'd be first in line at his or her office, trying to ingratiate herself, sometimes in ways that went beyond simply helping out on a case. It became a running joke among some of the partnership: "John's next in line; how long until [she]'s sleeping with him?" But now she's started asking directly about her chances, and it's very uncomfortable. She does decent work. But we've made a lot of women partners recently, and aren't specifically looking for any new ones. And even if her work is decent, it doesn't stand out, and most people don't particularly like her as a person. She won't get my support. But I have no desire to tell her that: the longer we can keep her here, billing hours at the rate a senior associate bills out at, and training people below her, the better for us. Plus, she's not bad to look at, especially when she dolls herself up for the associates-turning-partners she has her eyes on.