Miserable Law Firm Employee Writes Advice Columnist

Careers

Miserable Law Firm Employee Writes Advice Columnist

Posted Jan 30, 2008, 11:04 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

An unhappy law firm employee has written to the Washington Post’s employment law columnist to complain about her work environment. The writer says she has been offered a government job, but first must pass a background check that could take a couple months. In the meantime she is stuck in her present job.

“I am in an untenable situation at work,” she writes, citing “colleagues who hoard work and then question why my billable hours are not higher, one secretary in particular who does not talk to me, etc. The typical law firm freeze-out. …

“My partners (at work) are known in the industry as vindictive people who will stop at nothing to make one's life miserable, especially if they sense a loss of loyalty/commitment, and especially toward women. I haven't slept for months and am looking over my shoulder constantly in fear.”

The writer asks for coping strategies, and receives this advice from columnist Lily Garcia: “Enjoy the fact that you have found another job that (I assume) promises far greater fulfillment. Continue to do your work as well as you can under the circumstances and try not to internalize the poor treatment that you are receiving.”

Comments

Report Abuse

Posted by Barry - 3 months, 2 weeks, 17 hours, 8 minutes ago

Thats quite a lengthy background check. I would have thought they would set you up with a temp job at thier location that didn’t require a background check.
Posted by Mike Hunt - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 20 hours, 27 minutes ago

Another plug for government service, but do we really want a whiner like this coming over and maybe giving us a bad name People always go for the money first, then think maybe they could go work in government. This dame is typical. She really is looking for an easier life; less work or maybe just no work at all. Don’t send her here. We need women who aren’t interested in “fulfillment”, just do the job, honey. With any luck, she’ll find a guy to marry and support her and she won’t be whining about her lousy government salary in 5 years.
Posted by Elizabeth Fox-Solomon - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 18 hours, 25 minutes ago

Did you come of age in the 1950s? I thought most of you people had died off by now—“honey” and “dame,” “find a guy to marry and support her.” It is sad that you chose a person who is merely trying to find another job as a scapegoat for all your gender stereotypes and, frankly, hatred.

The writer wasn’t asking for fulfillment—those were the columinist’s words. She is simplly asking for an environment that is not openly hostile.

Shame on you.
Posted by cl - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 18 hours, 11 minutes ago

Apparently, #2 (Who does number 2 work for? LOL) has never had a crappy job. I had the opposite problem. I worked for one sucky govt agency, then quit and worked for another that ended up being one of the best jobs I had ever had...change is good...sometimes.
Posted by Kasey - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 17 hours, 42 minutes ago

This woman is not “whining” - it sounds like she is not in a healthy firm and was finding it unbearable. Practicing law is hard enough (what with difficult clients and opposing counsel) and you should not have to do it in unsupportive, hostile environment. And there is much truth to her point that law firms view individuals who leave their ranks as disloyal, etc. Anyone who has practiced law in the private arena knows that.
Posted by Jon Abood - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 17 hours, 31 minutes ago

#2 makes a good point and #3 (Elizabeth Fox-Soloman) must wear the pants in her family, and is clearly sore because #2 tells it lstraight on, even if in a 1950’s manner of speaking. There’s plenty of complainers out there in every job /every sex, every place, but people who complain in one place will find something to complain about later in another place. Did the woman here ever stop to think WHY it is that she is not in a good place? I think it could be because her head is not in a good place, and that’s probably going to continue until she figures out what she wants out of life. In this case it’s a woman. In other cases, men are in the same boat. It’s the same with relationships. Many people always want what they don’t have and when they get it, they don’t want it. Kind of like the Grooucho Marks movie where he says he wouldn’t join any club that would have him as a member. It will be interesting to see if this woman is happy after she’s been in the new job for a while. I’ve seen too many people complain over and over each and every time they’re in a new job, about something else. The problem is not with the job but with the person Mrs Fox Solomon. You’re a lawyer, presumably, not a psychoanalyst.
Posted by Erin4Iraq - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 17 hours, 21 minutes ago

Amazing the shaming that goes on in this profession - why can’t lawyers accept that it’s all right to express displeasure with a work situation? It doesn’t necessarily reflect a character flaw.
Posted by Paul - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 17 hours, 19 minutes ago

Isn’t it telling that #2’s name is “Mike Hunt?” Let him discredit himself and leave it at that. (If you don’t get the joke, then break up the name into “my” and then the rest of the name...)
Posted by Carol - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 16 hours, 35 minutes ago

The sexist comments from some of the males on this board speaks volumes about the treatment of women in the legal profession. It’s been my experience that a good number of men would prefer we weren’t in the profession and profess that desire by making nasty, sexist remarks. Hence the “she must wear the pants” comment. You guys are a disgrace to the profession.
Posted by JS - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 16 hours, 19 minutes ago

Some advice for the attorney stuck in a horrible work environment from someone who made it through (and out of) a bad situation, too? Deal with while you must and run as soon as you can!!

And Mr. “Hunt” does not need us to tell him that he is ridiculous. He knows it. In fact, I suspect that his post contains inflammatory comments intentionally, hoping to get a reaction from other readers. Let’s all agree not to indulge him.
Posted by Hugh G. Wreckshun - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 16 hours, 4 minutes ago

The immaturity of some of the posts on this board speaks volumes about the decline of the legal profession, and how the ABA’s policy of gleefully accrediting community colleges facilitates Bluto Blutarski becoming a lawyer.
Posted by Ronnie - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 15 hours, 55 minutes ago

Regarding comment #1, here in DC background checks really can take forever. My first temp job had a young lady who had to wait 9 months for her background check to clear. (She then quit the job after 2 days, but that’s a whole different story.) Hunt loves to inflame; read any of his posts and that’s evident.
Posted by Bob - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 15 hours, 5 minutes ago

Looking at the article, if you just change the pronoun from female to male there is no change in content whatsoever. There is no indication that there is any gender reason for the issues, but both male and female commenters are jumping on the gender wars bandwagon. What a hoot if the editors had changed the gender of the subject.
Posted by Bill Jonas - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 14 hours, 41 minutes ago

Answer to #13—Right on, but when men have a problem, they don’t go pissing and moaning and writing into some Dear Abby columnist; women are much more touchy-feeley; i.e., “I feel I am not getting a fair shake...the partners aren’t fawning over me....they don’t like me...” Wah!” Men face the same issues, but they suck it up and bear it. THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT WORK, DEAR! If it were all fun and games, they wouldn’t pay us money. We need money to live, and no one is going to pay for me to sit on my butt eating bon-bons. I think this woman needs a reality check, and so too the multiple posts above sympathizing with her, like its so unique to her. Give me a @#@#$ break!
Posted by Barry - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 14 hours, 27 minutes ago

@ #12 - My buddy I went to college with was in the Military, and once he graduated college he got a government job in DC, but couldn’t start it for something like a year… so during that time they had him do some front desk type work
Posted by astonished - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 14 hours, 11 minutes ago

Unbelievable how the flaming sexists have all logged on to comment. Get to work, little boys.
Posted by BigLaw Firm Associate - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 13 hours, 58 minutes ago

I am a female who has worked at a large (AMLAW top 20) law firm for over 5 years. The work is complex, the hours can be hard and sometimes both partners and clients can be impossible to deal with. All associates enter big law firms knowing this and in turn receive extremely high levels of compensation (the starting associate out of law school makes at least $160K and after a few years most lawyers in these situations make in excess of 250K). If this individual is able to take such a pay cut to accept a govt job (paying between 40K-100K per year) then surely she can save up and just quit pending the background check.
Abuse should not be tolerated in the work place, but law firms are still in the service industry and meeting the clients needs (who are paying $400 plus for every hour of your time) requires hard work, late nights and stress. I am sure that a mother with children that is working a night job to make ends meet can understand this concept.

Good luck with the new position.
Posted by The Dame in Question - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 13 hours, 12 minutes ago

To “Mike Hunt” - ha ha, by the way. I’m “the dame” who posted to the WP advice columnist. Her advice was bollocks, incidentally, and nothing I couldn’t have gotten by just sitting in my office like I’m doing right now.

For the record, I’m a partner in the private practice I’m fleeing. I came to private practice from over 10 years in the federal government. I traveled constantly as a federal litigator and often put in long hours. I work far less now than I did when I worked for the government. My main problem now is that I have insufficient work to keep me busy and am worried about my low billables. Read the article again. Oh, and I already have a husband. But thanks for worrying about me.

So you boys can sit and spin.
Posted by astonished - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 13 hours, 5 minutes ago

Right on, The Dame!
Posted by The Dame in Question - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 12 hours, 57 minutes ago

By the way, I didn’t mean all you boys. I dig real men. My comments are directed at #2 and #6. I hope to meet you two in court eventually, where the shame of your intellectual flaccidity will be on full display.
Posted by Hugh G. Wreckshun - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 11 hours, 18 minutes ago

For the record, I once met someone who really was named Mike Hunt. Why he didn’t go by Michael is beyond me.
Posted by JG - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 10 hours, 16 minutes ago

As a first- time blog reader, my inital thought was: Intentionally inflammatory or not, what an asshole Mike Hunt must be. (Can you say “asshole” on these things?). My second thought was: Don’t these people have work to do?
Posted by Mortified - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 10 hours, 1 minute ago

Kudos to all of you who managed to post without bashing the Dame. This site is used way too often to judge others instead of being used as a means of positive communication, how sad. Good luck at your new job Dame.
Posted by Ben Dover - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 9 hours, 28 minutes ago

Hugh, your name could use a tune-up, too.
Posted by DNP - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 9 hours, 24 minutes ago

Way to go Dame! BTW, it took nearly 14 months for my background check when I started working with the DOJ. After the month, they completed an “interim” check and let me start working, pending the completion of the full check. Good luck in the new job.
Posted by Patience is Key to a Clearance - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 4 hours, 35 minutes ago

Some government agencies take up to 24 mos to clear people. And there was no lower level work. Either you got the TS/SCI clearance or you got another job.
Posted by Andrea Dorianne - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 3 hours, 33 minutes ago

We can read this and weep. This guy Michael Hunt is for real, has big bucks, and was written up in today’s NY Times. That will teach us not to judge a book by it’s cover.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/travel/escapes/01condos.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin

A Home for Your Gear, and a Place to Play With It
By KRISTINA SHEVORY

MICHAEL HUNT was tired of keeping his fishing boat and Mercedes convertible under tarps next to his house in Post Falls, Idaho. His prized recreational vehicle was slowly falling apart after spending a few winters outside. With no room left in his garage, he wasn’t sure what to do.

Instead of selling his house, moving to a warmer state or getting rid of his toys, he bought a storage condominium a few miles away in Coeur d’Alene, where he could keep everything under one roof. Then he bought another one for his home office and business files. Three years and $119,000 later, his storage units have become a second home, a place where he plays games with his children, works and shelters his vehicles.

“I have fun when I’m here and so do my kids,” Mr. Hunt said of his makeshift getaway. “Our house is a toy box, and this is much quieter.”

People like Mr. Hunt, with more toys than space, are spending tens of thousands of dollars to keep their weekend wheels and gear in high style. In response, a growing number of self-storage units are ditching the bright lights, long hallways and sterile atmosphere to become destinations unto themselves.

Some, like the units Mr. Hunt owns at GarageTown USA in Coeur d’Alene, are bought and sold like homes and come with cable television, high-speed Internet, individual thermostats and even clubhouses.
Posted by K Krasnow Waterman - 3 months, 1 week, 4 days, 5 hours, 37 minutes ago

I suspect Andrea’s picked the wrong Mike Hunt, but her attempt highlights a critical issue. These comments will live on indefinitely on the web (or through web archiving systems) and can always be called back to haunt their authors. At least some of the comments to ABA Journal articles are indexed by Google and will be retrieved by searching the author’s name.

Everyone should be aware that with a little effort, it’s possible to match comments to a person. There are seven Mike Hunt listings in Martindale and only one appears to work in government service (but not in Idaho). We know that Martindale doesn’t list all lawyers so maybe that’s not him. In fact, there’s no Martindale listing for Jon Abood, but there is a Google reference to a lawyer by that name. If I were working with or opposite counsel by either name, I’d probably take the time to figure out whether he was the author for my own tactical advantage.
Posted by Just a thought - 3 months, 1 week, 3 days, 14 hours, 23 minutes ago

I’m not saying this to be overly critical, Dame, but why do you allow your work environment and co-workers to place you in such fear and anxiety to begin with? It’s just a job after all. Yes, you may get fired for having low billables. So what? Are you going to go hungry? People get so hung up on their jobs. Just relax.

Commenting has expired on this post.

ABA Journal - Law News Now

Careers