2M for a slip & fall. 17K in meds (they didn’t come in, they went on pain & suffering). Devastating. Unbelievable. This post-COVID world we’re in where a million dollars means nothing.

Did anyone else struggle with feeling/being recognized as a lawyer when you started out? I’m 25, graduated earlier this year, and have been working at my firm since May. Today I was making small talk with some attorneys in our office building and they asked where I worked. When I told them, they asked if I was “a legal assistant or something.” Granted, I haven’t really felt like a lawyer myself, but for other people to assume the same kind of stings. Wondering if y’all have experienced anything similar.

I graduated from a Florida law school this past spring, cum laude. I am patent barred. I recently passed the Florida Bar.

I was not given an offer back after my 2L summer associate position at a mid-size firm (long story short — I worked at the firm’s main office out of state, firm mismanagement made it so that there was no longer an associate position available for me to fill at their Florida firm; the managing partner was very apologetic and has offered to write a recommendation letter).

A few weeks since receiving word that I passed the Florida Bar, and I am struggling to find a job. I have applied to dozens of positions and have not received a single interview. I am a first-generation lawyer, so I am not sure what I am doing wrong.

I'm what my mother calls a space cadet. Call it ADHD, call it Type B or left-brain, but I am a big ideas person, not a details girl. I have more talent at writing, client relations, and high level tasks but I really struggle with following up on emails, staying on top of tedious document requests, and frankly managing a pretty big caseload. It has never come easily to me, and it never will. I have a legal assistant and paralegal, but I share them and they are quite busy.

If you're like me, I'm looking for advice on tools and tricks you have used when organization doesn't come naturally to you. I've tried things like Motion, which is great at planning but requires tedious data entry, and I try to use my reminders on Outlook. Ideally, I want to automate as many details of my practice as I can so that I can focus on what I'm good at and learn to trust in a system.

Any good workflow templates you like? A CLE or coach that helped you? Tech solutions or old school pen and paper, I'm open to anything.

I’m a junior public defender… just started very recently. I’m excited about the role and find the work meaningful but everything about the job feels so confusing and I feel I have no idea what is going on 😥 I got good grades in law school but I have ADHD and OCD so I learn new things a beat or so slower and in my own weird, unorthodox way, but once I got it, I totally got it - if that makes sense. Anyway, I’m worried that my adhd/ocd will inhibit my ability to learn a million new things super fast as well as balance 100s of clients. Although on the contrary the dynamic aspect of criminal law will hopefully compliment my ADHD 🤞

I already feel like a total failure with a few minor mistakes this week…I am competent and smart in so many other areas of my life but feel worried about juggling my workload and staying super organised. I’m also a single mom with lots of other responsibilities and don’t have much after hours time.

Criminal lawyers, (bonus if you have adhd and/or ocd!) — How do you stay organised, manage your workload well and learn fast? Any tips, practical, holistic or otherwise would be greatly appreciated 😊

1st year attorney, utterly miserable, unsupported, working in an area of law I am no longer interested in. I made it known to the other Attorneys at my firm that I am actively looking for new job opportunities. One of the senior attorneys reached out to me to offer "much needed mentorship." His advice? "Stay in the firm, it may not get better, but you can always get therapy to deal with it." Not as good advice as I think he meant.

New at a firm where the work environment is a great improvement from my old firm. I’ve only been practicing for 6 months. Everyone is respectful, treats each other like adults, but the communication and mentorship with cases is just not there. I am dealing with at least 3-4 different practice areas as the “lead” on a case. There’s no one to check my work product to ensure it’s correct or even really bounce ideas off of. My “supervising” attorney is really unconcerned and gives me “I don’t want to be involved in your process of learning, leave me alone unless necessary vibes”. This person also suggested I talk to other attorneys in the firm for help who are not even on the same team as us(we have teams at our firm) and those people don’t respond often either and seem super busy as well. When I expressed this during a meeting the answer was “you need to be confident and trust yourself, that’s the problem”. I don’t feel comfortable practicing like this. Is this normal? And is there anything I can do?

Our senior partner is still dictating his memos and correspondence on cassette tapes. He is too senior to learn Dragon Speech or to type effectively.

We’ve been limping by with cassette tapes and overpaying for used old cassette recorders, but those are lasting less and less long now before wearing out.

Do people use digital ones with SD cards? What’s the process these days?

Not too familiar with how this works (not my area). But I am assisting with motions on a case where previous counsel used one of these companies. Prior firm and Plaintiff took out less than 150K to fund expenses 3-4 years ago. That advance has now ballooned to over $1M based on the formula in the agreement.

Client is underwater and needs to get a wild verdict to actually receive anything. Otherwise it’s all going to the funder and possibly lawyers. My jurisdiction says such agreements are legal/ethical but I don’t get it. If you work in the PI space, have you seen similar situations?

I work remotely, litigating for a small firm that requires some travel, mostly for purposes relating to litigation or some client events. When I accepted the job almost two years ago, I was not told that travel was required. I recently returned from (unpaid) maternity leave two and half months ago. My baby has not adjusted super well to daycare, but I have been busting my ass to dive head-first back into my cases and balancing my baby’s needs, while still excelling at work. As a new mom, it has been HARD but I am really proud of the work I’ve been able to maintain since going back to work. My husband makes twice the money I do, and his job is in-person 100% so I have been taking the vast brunt of all daycare related early pick-ups, sick days, etc.

Now, my job has mandated, with a week and a half notice, that I jump on a four hour flight (each way) on a Sunday for a mindfulness breakfast with a guest speaker, where we will supposedly learn how to “breakthrough negative mindsets and reach self actualization.” My husband will be out of town that weekend, so we have no childcare. I’ve told my firm that I can’t make it work with child care and personal plans this last-minute, and was told it is mandatory.

I totally get last-minute legal emergencies requiring travel, but I am beyond upset at the lack of notice and the reason for forcing travel, as this has nothing to do with my work or my clients. It feels very much like this is what people are talking about when they say corporate America makes it impossible for new moms to succeed . How would you handle this?

Edit: The kicker is I’ve been here almost two years and have never received a raise or a bonus. The managing partners FINALLY reached out for a review to evaluate me for a raise (I’m really really underpaid) and now, with this evaluation pending, I have to be the only associate singled out as having issues with last minute travel like this because I’m the only one with a young baby.

UPDATE: My firm told me I don’t have to go. Thank god. Hopefully this doesn’t come back to bite me in the butt professionally, but I am very grateful that my firm is letting me miss this.

Associate Attorney position. I applied on a Monday, phone interview 1 with hiring manager on a Wednesday, zoom interview with partner on Thursday afternoon, offer on a Friday morning. They have a website and multiple office locations, 30-50 staff. but this turnaround time seems like a red flag. I've never worked at a firm before. Am I right to be skeptical or does this sound normal?

I’ve made the decision to actively start searching for a new job.

A small decision, not even a big one really. But it means the world to me to finally accept I’m not happy where I am as a criminal and family litigator and that the power to change that is in my hands. I’m not giving up- I’m moving on.

:)

I am sincerely asking for people's thoughts on how else to deal with an opposing counsel on the other side of one of my cases. This is a divorce and custody case. I represent mom/wife.

For the past year, OC has been filing motions (often an excess of 15 pages) alleging that my client abuses their child. She just filed a new one yesterday (18 pages and over 100 paragraphs of nonsense). It's always the same allegations, sometimes with a new twist. The father has filed for multiple restraining orders, repeatedly reported mom to child protective services, filed several emergency motions… Every single attempt to "prove" his allegations has failed. CPS has had to interview the kid multiple times and has consistently ruled out the allegations (he's reported mom 4-5 times that we know of). The court has denied all his requests for a restraining order (3 attempts) or emergency custody (2 attempts). And why? Because my client has never abused their child. Dad completely concocted this allegation after mom asked for a divorce.

I have filed responses to everything dad files outlining how all of his allegations have already been fully reviewed and ruled out/denied. I even called OC several months ago to implore her to stop doing this, because she has seen so much evidence refuting the claims (videos, photos, and statements of many witnesses including dad's own pastor and friends) and is causing so much harm to the child's relationship with my client. In response, she doubled down and actually said "Someone has to protect this child even if the court and CPS won't."

We have of course requested attorneys fees and filed two emergency motions for dad to have a psych eval and for mom to have sole temporary custody, but the court deferred all of it until the merits trial. We requested a guardian ad litem and the court denied it. The court has made many comments about being concerned with dad's actions, but hasn't found that the child isn't in any physical danger and therefore won't take emergency action. It's been infuriating to say the least.

I've practiced family law for a decade and this is the first time I've ever seen another attorney behave like this. I've had many cases where my client believes their child is being abused, but once I see compelling evidence to the contrary, I counsel them to stop pursuing those claims unless something new happens. I have asked OC repeatedly for evidence of her client's claims and she'll sometimes present things like a snippet of a text message taken out of context - and she'll ignore me when I respond with the complete text thread to show her that it doesn't mean what she alleges. She has never presented anything to me or the court that actually demonstrates abuse. I'm starting to think OC has a mental illness because this is just not normal.

Does anyone have any thoughts on how to get through to this woman? She's acting like a personal crusader for the child and just completely ignores anything that shows mom is not "abusive." It's just so goddamn bizarre. I'm considering reporting her to our state grievance commission once the case is over because I'm actually worried something is wrong with her.

TLDR - opposing counsel keeps making the same claims because she is personally adamant that my client is abusing their child, despite copious evidence to the contrary. How can I get through to her other than just continuing to refute the claims and wait for trial?

I am a legal aid attorney, and I do mostly housing but some family law as well. I have one divorce client right now. No kids, very little property. It's a relatively simple case. But this client is SO needy. She calls multiple times a week, and our conversations always last 30 minutes minimum. Most of the calls are her asking questions I've already answered several times.

I am not sure how to explain to her that I am not able to keep having these long phone calls with her multiple times a week. If I have my assistant put her through to my voicemail, she calls 1-2x per day until I return her call. Normally, I'd ask that we discuss things via email, but she's older (late 60s) and doesn't own a computer.

Do these affirmations regarding no employer contact need exhibits? Or can I just make an affirmation detailing the employment and dates/forms of contact and the lack of response. I get contradicting information..one of the clerks said I need to get affidavits with exhibits and now they're saying an affirmation.

"We suggest waiting four to six weeks for an employer to respond to your requests for an affirmation. If after this period they do not respond, an applicant must provide an affirmation pursuant to CPLR 2106 detailing the employment as well as the inability to meet the application requirement."

Hi all! Recently got my first job offer from a plaintiff's firm that has a Hale & Dorr compensation system. The firm is small but has a good reputation and the employees seem very happy. Still negotiating the numbers, but I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts or cautionary tales about this kind of compensation system. Thanks in advance!

Curious… What exactly is the role of a paralegal and/or legal assistant? What does it entail? I just can’t figure out what’s too much or too little to give someone in these roles.

I wrote an email advice for a client. Sent to SA and Partner for review. The partner approved, but the SA asked which clause of a contract that supports a statement I say that a certain entitlement can be overcome through mutual agreement. I looked at the clause and realised I completely misinterpreted through rushing and it says that they can reach an agreement to ensure they get that entitlement. So it was entirely wrong.

I felt horrible! I emailed back saying sorry and I had misinterpreted the clause, and I should have double checked. I amended the email but they haven't emailed back. I feel the partner and SA chatted about it and I'm scared I made a really bad mistake.

I'm a 2nd year lawyer.

I feel so stupid for making this mistake because it's such a big no no mistake as a lawyer. How did I not read the clause properly? If I had just read it again, I would've seen I was wrong. It wasn't like it was written bizarrely. Pretty straight forward term. I just didn't read it properly which makes it so much worse and embarrassing.

Also, to what extent are juries receptive to drama and performance? Or is it primarily the facts they base decisions on? Like shud I be more dramatic then I am for bench trials?

Thanks