‘Help! My supervisor has completely checked out’

If they’re not interested in your work let alone their own, could just mean they don’t enjoy law anymore or are planning to quit. Unless you are getting negative feedback or they are acting rude or disrespectful, their disinterest in your work is not a negative thing. They could be disinterested and still have positive things to say about you. If they hate their work/the job does not mean they will give you a bad review. I would try seek out work from other people – diversify. At the end of the day if they give you a bad review and it affects your chances on qualifying there, there are several firms that will take you at NQ. Don’t stress over what you cannot control and do your best to take control of who you’re working with knowing what you have seen with this associate. They could also just be depressed or going through something. Most likely has nothing to do with you.

Ignore the senior associate and their attitude – they’re not your friend, so best to mind your own business (and obviously don’t mention it elsewhere, also no need to spread gossip). But it’s definitely worth being mindful of your training and trying to get the most out of your TC.

If you’re at a big firm, obviously just be proactive and ask for work/live feedback from other lawyers in your team.

If you’re at a smaller/high street firm and the SA is the only non-partner in your team, go to the training principal in the first instance. Tell them that it’s been a while since you’ve received any structured training/feedback (don’t go into why) and ask if this is something they can assist with or if they are happy with you bringing this to the attention of the head of your team. Or, if there isn’t a dedicated training principal (or the disinterested SA is the training principal) just go straight to the head of the team.

If you’re not kept on as an NQ, it won’t be because you were proactive with your training.