I should have worn french cuffs; aka, why I hate the lawyers in my firm
Last week, I was the victim of corporate decadence. This past summer, I was involved with a trial (remember?), and we lost, which was sad. I guess. However, in post-trial motions, our lawyers reduced the jury's award by a factor of ten, which is good. I guess. To show his appreciation, the corporate counsel for the client invited the trial team out to dinner. In DC (this restaurant, actually). Tres posh. I guess. No, the food was great, and the gesture was nice enough. But, like, between the last minute airfare, another night in a hotel (the Ritz, natch), and the general hassle of flying, was this kind of trip really worthwhile or necessary?
While at dinner, the topic of my new job came up. I was hoping it wouldn't. It would be tough to play off, "So, Dan, still liking the job?" "Actually, no, I'm leaving, escaping to another department some 20 floors down and we'll all be burning in hell before you see me ever again. But thanks for asking!". At any rate, the lawyers were just shocked - shocked! - that I was leaving. Apparently, they think that just because I do the job well I must enjoy it.
There's something to be said for that, though. After all, if you're not liking what you're doing, why do it? Ahh, but were it only so easy for everyone. I did not launch into an extended rant about how sometimes people take jobs they may not like because they have bills to pay.
But more than that, the sense I got from the lawyers was that label-making is hardly a job I would want to leave. This goes back to enjoying what I do vis a vis being good at what I do. But in what world, given other oppotunities, would someone choose this as a lifelong career? Yes, I'm making a judgment about lawyers and legal assistants and with hardly any caveats. oh well.
They should all be happy for me that I'm moving on to a quantitatively better department. I don't think the work will be that much more engaging, but there's no overtime. Can't we all agree that spending less time in the office is a good thing? Sure, my boss and the lawyers are losing a valuable assistant, but did anyone expect that I would stay here forever? I don't have a clue about what I want to do when I grow up, but I sure as hell know it's not going to include watching my life pass by 40 stories below while I make some set of labeled folders for a corner-office partner who doesn't really give a shit about anything less than how many billables she has compared to the other corner-office partners.
Though I haven't made the transition yet, I'm already feeling so much better. So much, much, much better. When I wake up in the morning, the black shroud of dread is no longer there so much. When I get home from work, the first thing I do is not open a bottle of wine or beer. Maybe it's the new job in conjunction with the warmer temperatures and longer days, I don't know, but I really feel, overall, that this giant, heavy weight has been lifted from my life, and I am glad.
Another realization I had coming out of this dinner in DC was that I could do this job, and do it better than most lawyers in my firm. I think everyone here is very smart, but in a limited way. No one seems able to get shit done, it's as simple as that. I can get shit done. That's what i do now, and what I've been doing for three years. And I'm just as smart as any of these fucks who walk around here.
(as a sidenote, I heard that one partner's son just got admitted into Harvard Law, and if ever there's an instance of a parent's contribution check getting her son admitted, this is it)
But is this enough reason to head off to law school? Because it's a job I know I can do? Needless to say, I have no interest in this sort of white-collar law. Not even as part of the "work in hell for two years, pay off the debts, then do something meaningful" path that some people do. No, I would throw my lot into something like legal aid clinics or the public defenders office, people that need smart lawyers who know how to get shit done. But then there's paying for it, which is kind of a downer. Though, with my new never-any-overtime job, night classes could work. Right? It's something to consider.
I doubt anyone would expect me to wear any french cuffs, too, working in the public defender's office.
Kyle recently turned me on to Anonymous Lawyer. Going back to what partner's think about the support staff, this post is worth reading. Fiction or not, it's spot on.
email me
Last week, I was the victim of corporate decadence. This past summer, I was involved with a trial (remember?), and we lost, which was sad. I guess. However, in post-trial motions, our lawyers reduced the jury's award by a factor of ten, which is good. I guess. To show his appreciation, the corporate counsel for the client invited the trial team out to dinner. In DC (this restaurant, actually). Tres posh. I guess. No, the food was great, and the gesture was nice enough. But, like, between the last minute airfare, another night in a hotel (the Ritz, natch), and the general hassle of flying, was this kind of trip really worthwhile or necessary?
While at dinner, the topic of my new job came up. I was hoping it wouldn't. It would be tough to play off, "So, Dan, still liking the job?" "Actually, no, I'm leaving, escaping to another department some 20 floors down and we'll all be burning in hell before you see me ever again. But thanks for asking!". At any rate, the lawyers were just shocked - shocked! - that I was leaving. Apparently, they think that just because I do the job well I must enjoy it.
There's something to be said for that, though. After all, if you're not liking what you're doing, why do it? Ahh, but were it only so easy for everyone. I did not launch into an extended rant about how sometimes people take jobs they may not like because they have bills to pay.
But more than that, the sense I got from the lawyers was that label-making is hardly a job I would want to leave. This goes back to enjoying what I do vis a vis being good at what I do. But in what world, given other oppotunities, would someone choose this as a lifelong career? Yes, I'm making a judgment about lawyers and legal assistants and with hardly any caveats. oh well.
They should all be happy for me that I'm moving on to a quantitatively better department. I don't think the work will be that much more engaging, but there's no overtime. Can't we all agree that spending less time in the office is a good thing? Sure, my boss and the lawyers are losing a valuable assistant, but did anyone expect that I would stay here forever? I don't have a clue about what I want to do when I grow up, but I sure as hell know it's not going to include watching my life pass by 40 stories below while I make some set of labeled folders for a corner-office partner who doesn't really give a shit about anything less than how many billables she has compared to the other corner-office partners.
Though I haven't made the transition yet, I'm already feeling so much better. So much, much, much better. When I wake up in the morning, the black shroud of dread is no longer there so much. When I get home from work, the first thing I do is not open a bottle of wine or beer. Maybe it's the new job in conjunction with the warmer temperatures and longer days, I don't know, but I really feel, overall, that this giant, heavy weight has been lifted from my life, and I am glad.
Another realization I had coming out of this dinner in DC was that I could do this job, and do it better than most lawyers in my firm. I think everyone here is very smart, but in a limited way. No one seems able to get shit done, it's as simple as that. I can get shit done. That's what i do now, and what I've been doing for three years. And I'm just as smart as any of these fucks who walk around here.
(as a sidenote, I heard that one partner's son just got admitted into Harvard Law, and if ever there's an instance of a parent's contribution check getting her son admitted, this is it)
But is this enough reason to head off to law school? Because it's a job I know I can do? Needless to say, I have no interest in this sort of white-collar law. Not even as part of the "work in hell for two years, pay off the debts, then do something meaningful" path that some people do. No, I would throw my lot into something like legal aid clinics or the public defenders office, people that need smart lawyers who know how to get shit done. But then there's paying for it, which is kind of a downer. Though, with my new never-any-overtime job, night classes could work. Right? It's something to consider.
I doubt anyone would expect me to wear any french cuffs, too, working in the public defender's office.
Kyle recently turned me on to Anonymous Lawyer. Going back to what partner's think about the support staff, this post is worth reading. Fiction or not, it's spot on.
email me
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