Shanetta Y. Cutlar Knows How To Wield a Ruler
Does she use a ruler to whale on the summer interns, when they pass her in the hallway and fail to greet her?
Maybe; we wouldn’t be surprised. But we actually had something else in mind.
From yet another former member of the Special Litigation Section of the Justice Department, who had the pleasure of working under section chief Shanetta Cutlar:
I can remember how Shanetta used to offer the ombudsman’s services at EVERY staff meeting (don’t tell me no one was aware of the low morale)…Your taxpayer dollars at work: Paying the six-figure salary of a schoolmarm with a J.D.How Shanetta ordered the entire staff — attorneys, paralegals, investigators, staff — to take 2 hours of mandatory training in beginning word processing (mostly how to use the spell checker)…
How Shanetta announced in a staff meeting that whenever she reviews a document, she reads it with a ruler, to ensure there are no extra spaces…
What a great use of her time. No wonder she never had the time to with us.
P.S. We’re thinking of changing the name of this site to the “Aaron Charney and Shanetta Cutlar Blog.” We could blog full-time about nothing else. And we have enough material in our inbox about these two matters to keep us going for days (with more tips constantly arriving).
Earlier: Prior coverage of the Special Litigation Section under Shanetta Cutlar (scroll down)
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Comments
What a psycho. Please tell me you're going to keep publishing these till they're gone? I can't get enough.
I agree it's awesome the way Lat is exposing bullying in the legal workplace. Ultimately Lat's blog will do a lot more to change things than will the court system.
Wow. She needed a ruler to make sure there were no extra spaces?! That's pretty JV. She should have sent herself to "spotting extra spaces and other irrelevant typos on sight" training, i.e. working as an I-banking analyst. Two years of being yelled at by individuals like herself anytime there is an extra space in an Excel spreadsheet should whip her into shape in no time.
Actually, I don't have a problem with her trying to make sure that the spacing and lines are correct on a page. Sure, she should not spend all day on that, but I don't have a problem with her making sure that her legal documents are perfectly aligned. Good for her.
Actually this is all starting to sound like these lawyers ARE whining crybabies. Can't the SL lawyers ask to be transferred to other sections within Civil Rights? Aren't there other Sections in Civil Rights that are better- if so which ones? In any case, SC was smart enough to become Chief - how did she get the job? Is there any indication that she or any of her cheerleaders are aware of this site? The comments are primarily anti-Shanetta and could be posted by a few disgruntled employees.
Hell, now that I think about it more, my boss is not black and she is kick ass too. I am starting to feel like the SLers are frigging crybabies. Many lawyers, including myself, would kill to have their spots. Suck it up, be glad you are there, transfer elsewhere or leave.
Yes, "Getting sick...", Shanetta and her lackeys are well aware of this site. In fact, some of the comments last week bear a remarkable similarity to the writing style of Shanetta and her chief deputy, Tammie Gregg.
How did she get to be Section Chief? Good question. She was promoted over a deputy chief (Shanetta had never served as a deputy) with considerably more management experience. The other candidate was a serious left-winger, but generally liked and respected by her colleagues.
Shanetta's reputation was... less than stellar. But apparently the Bush appointees decided she would make a fine throat cutter (most of the people she ran out were liberal career lawyers), which aligned well with the plans of Deputy Assistant AG Brad Schlozman (now U.S. Attorney in Kansas City) to cleanse the Division. And she was enough of a political prostitute to take orders.
Another factor: a consultant's report had just slammed the Division over working conditions and job satisfaction for minority attorneys. AND there were no minority section chiefs in the Civil Rights Division, of all places. So Shanetta was the perfect solution for Schlozman. She's African American, she would drive out the old libs, and she would create so much chaos that very little productive work would get done.