By Jonathan Brophy 
When you first start work as a young lawyer, you may never have worked with an assistant before. Do not make the mistake of being one of two extremes: the "intimated-by-their-assistant" attorney and the "power-tripping-hot-shot" attorney.
A good working relationship with your assistant will increase your efficiency and will make your work life less stressful. To that end, here are a few pointers:
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Meet with your assistant early on and set expectations. As a younger attorney, you might not have a big case load or a lot of demands on your time right away such that you have a big list of expectations. Nevertheless, insist upon one expectation that will overcome almost any issues that you might encounter -- open communication. From here, you can also set the format of your communication - do you want your assistant to call you, come by your office, or email you with updates and questions?
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Communicate clearly. If you ask for a letter to be prepared "later today", don't expect it in the next 10 minutes. If you need it in the next ten minutes - say so. Ask your assistant to communicate their other obligations to the other attorneys they assist. You will avoid frustration if you're both on the same page as to when something is due.
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Be realistic with your deadlines. If you're mailing a letter to a client or opposing counsel, it only needs to be ready by the last mail pick-up, usually around 4:00 p.m. Don't cry wolf or your assistant won't know when to distinguish between true urgent matters and normal tasks, i.e. the letter that needs to be faxed to give ex parte notice by 10:00 a.m. vs. the letter that just needs to be mailed at 4:00 p.m.
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Value your assistant. A veteran assistant can save you from mistakes you might not even know you could be making. Ask them if they've worked on a similar project as the one you're working on - if you're preparing a filing or a document in a way that they've never seen before, you might be going down the wrong path. When you've hit your assistant with a massive filing or document production, buy them a lunch or coffee and thank them for their work -- it will go a long way.
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Take responsibility for your work. If you have asked for assistance in calendaring deadlines or responding to outstanding matters, you should be ready to review the dates your assistant has calendared. While you will work with your assistant as a team, you need to accept responsibility for any errors or mistakes that are made.