Posts Tagged With: A. Big Shot Attorney

Entering the Bowels of Law Firm Hell:

I walked into the prestigious law firm of Grant & Garrison, my heart pounding with a mix of excitement and nervousness. Armed with my paralegal degree and a desire to make a mark in the legal world (apparently worth a cool $45,000), I was ready to tackle any challenge that came my way. However, within just a few days at my new paralegal job, I began to sense an undercurrent of mistreatment from some of the lawyers.

The Cold Shoulder:

Assigned to work with the litigation team, I quickly realized that not all lawyers (or their more senior associates and senior paralegals) were as welcoming as I had hoped. My assigned resident A. Big Shot Attorney (commonly known to the world as a Senior Partner), was particularly dismissive, as was his right-hand underling First Paralegal. A. Big Shot Attorney often gave vague instructions, expecting me to read his mind and complete tasks perfectly on the first try. When I sought clarification, A. Big Shot Attorney responded with exasperation, making me feel small and incompetent, and like I was bothering him by trying to get the assignment right the first time.

The Impossible Demands:

As weeks turned into months, my workload became increasingly overwhelming. I found myself juggling multiple cases, all with tight deadlines. A. Big Shot Attorney, finally noticing my dedication, began piling more work onto my plate without offering additional support or recognition. In doing this, he also made me the #1 target of a very jealous First Paralegal. I often found myself working late into the night, sacrificing my personal time and health, just to keep up with A. Big Shot Attorney’s endless demands.

A Spark of Rebellion:

My breaking point came when I was assigned a particularly complex research task that required digging through thousands of documents that been old-school dropped off via courier at the reception desk by defense counsel, purportedly because “their server went down, and they could not make electronic production.” The files had not been scanned in, OCR keyword searched, etc. Nothing. There were boxes of documents waiting for me to party like it was 1999 in a Manhattan conference room with all of the trappings. I knew that there was no way in hell that I alone, without an army of document clerks, was going to be able to find what A. Big Shot Attorney was looking for, so I mustered the courage to approach him. I won his respect basically by asserting a billing argument, knowing that this particular client would be hawk-eyeing the bill, and would cut everything that involved me old-school reviewing documents. They would prefer that they delay the answer until an electronic search could be made, thus allowing us to find the answer in seconds or minutes instead of a paralegal and document clerk team wasting hours on something that wasn’t an emergency task. He actually was impressed that I demonstrated an understanding of how billables work. You have to spend time on exercises that truly advance the client’s position if you want to be the best of the best. Clients are watching. People are really attune to billings, and those Partners do not want to get the reputation of having their bills red-lined by their corporate clients!

Standing Up for Respect

After I stood up to what I perceived as A. Big Shot Attorney’s initial “bullying” or “hazing,” my experience at work did get better. While he didn’t become a nice boss overnight, he began providing clearer instructions and occasionally acknowledging my efforts in front of others, which did help me get some street cred with some of my other co-workers. I realized that just like the school yard, my willingness to stand up for myself got a bully off my back.

Allies Amidst Adversity

As time went on, I found solace in unexpected places. Some of the baby lawyers, who had themselves experienced mistreatment in the past, offered words of encouragement and guidance. Together, we formed a supportive network within the firm, sharing strategies for dealing with challenging lawyers and maintaining their well-being.

A Stronger Path Forward

With the passage of time, I continued to prove myself as a capable and resilient paralegal. I learned to advocate for myself, set boundaries, and seek help when needed. The mistreatment I endured shaped me into a stronger, more assertive professional. One day, I decided to seize an opportunity when First Paralegal had to leave earlier to take care of her sick child. I finished a project she had, and I did it perfectly. Only she and I knew that I did it instead of her. Manipulation? Well, well, such is the way of the world. I just looked her dead in the eyes and said in my best lawyer voice: “Someday, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me.”

Lessons in Resilience

My journey through mistreatment as a paralegal had been arduous, but it also taught me invaluable lessons that I parlayed into eventually becoming a real estate broker. Quite frankly, A. Big Shot Attorney made me rich. If you can pay attention and watch these lawyers in action, you can learn some political and negotiation tactics that are second to none. Really, that asshole lawyer made me rich. And when I made it to the sales team at a national broker and closed my first commercial apartment deal, you are damn right that I sent that man a handwritten thank you note.

Some people get stuck and they get on this hamster wheel of survival, and they get so beaten down that they can’t get out. Life is hard. It will tear you to shreds. You have to fight. You have to stand up for yourself, and you have to try and show some integrity when it comes to advocating for your clients as well. If you can do these things, go get into a field where you can actually succeed! Make something of yourself! I’m glad I had the experience, but oh, do I get chills down my spine when I think of what I would have turned into if I stayed working that dead-end Paralegal job for too long! Truly what nightmares are made out of!