what firm is this? never heard of it.

these pretzels are making me optimus prime

shia lebouf, give the transformers thing a rest. you are a ttt and you ruined the indiana jones franchise.

isn't there a walgreens you should be terrorizing?

My invisible shoulder-monkey is clapping his hands.

My invisible shoulder-monkey is clapping his hands.

It's Shia LABEOUF.

It's french. It means ask me about "Transformers 6: Dr. Jones vs. the Decepticons."

why's the east atlanta police department laying off the help?

sad. I like this firm.

This firm was cool like 10 years ago, just like Boston.

UVA2L

it sounds like a meat-packing factory somewhere out in nebraska

who cares abt staff? too many of them anyway and most don't do jack shiznit all day.

Another post about firms no one would ever want to work at... Bring Lat back.

- CLS 2L Stud

They have a really stupid looking webpage.

Peter Morrison made partner at SkaddenLA! Go SkaddenLA!

To Jackass number 1 and 12....

Support staff are people and we are the ones holding down these low level associates that are doing jackshit, taking long lunches and sneaking off to spend that big paycheck that they have no business earning. Most secretaries and paralegals have way more skill and experience than you do. We are also the ones that cover for your lazy asses when you go to get a starbucks fix with your buddies or go to the gym. So rather than piss on the staff or look down your noses at them you should be thanking them for saving your stupid lazy ass and your job another day.

#2 you are kidding right. Any person who is given some responsibility in a transactional deal would know E&A. I assume you have never heard of RTF either.

To Jackass number 1 and 12....

Support staff are people and we are the ones holding down these low level associates that are doing jackshit, taking long lunches and sneaking off to spend that big paycheck that they have no business earning. Most secretaries and paralegals have way more skill and experience than you do. We are also the ones that cover for your lazy asses when you go to get a starbucks fix with your buddies or go to the gym. So rather than piss on the staff or look down your noses at them you should be thanking them for saving your stupid lazy ass and your job another day.

#2 you are kidding right. Any person who is given some responsibility in a transactional deal would know E&A. I assume you have never heard of RTF either.

Why the aren't you off getting me my goddamn Venti mocha non-fat cappuccino, 16??

at least most attorneys pretend to work. all the staff at my firm just surf the internet all day, yap on the phone, and act like high schoolers.

Why aren't you off getting me my goddamn venti mocha non-fat cappuccino, 16??

GTO'S REVENGE, BITCHES!

yeah and why do staff people get to bypass the dress code? since when is it okay for secretaries to wear pants with stretch waistbands. and you aren't fooling anyone by wearing black sneakers that from afar look like dress shoes.

# 21: and pretending to work = posting on ATL, the Perez Hilton of legal news? Piss off support staff that's been around for a while. Watch what happens. Get over yourself.

Hey 16/18, glad you could take some time from playing Solitaire and shopping online to post this. Now could you PLEASE make those copies I asked for 2 hours ago? Oh you are going to take your time and do it poorly? I'm shocked. Good thing we pay you out the ass to sit there all day and not do the work our computers and technology took away from you.

20......

Please have you seen the size of your ass lately...you sure don't need anymore empty calories. God only knows you don't do a damn thing all day.

21...

That goes to show the caliber of firm you work at if your support staff behaves like that. I guess your also mad because their surfing is slowing up the bandwith so your ability to to sit in your office and download porn is limited.

25, enjoy the fact that you useless drones will be getting even less than the peanuts you're used to this holiday season. Associates will, to your utter disgust, get the same bonus they got last year.

xoxo!

20......

Please have you seen the size of your ass lately...you sure don't need anymore empty calories. God only knows you don't do a damn thing all day.

21...

That goes to show the caliber of firm you work at if your support staff behaves like that. I guess your also mad because their surfing is slowing up the bandwith so your ability to to sit in your office and download porn is limited.

"we should not ignore the silent beating support staffs "

Oh, but you so fucking are. Is that the only "staffs" that exist - secretaries and paralegals? And the only ones that matter are attorneys, right? What about the accounting staff? The marketing staff? When firms like Heller and Thelen dissolve, these are the people who struggle for MONTHS looking for jobs. The irony is that if management would listen to their marketing and finance people, they wouldn't have gotten into this mess in the first place.

Attorneys suck ass.

"we should not ignore the silent beating support staffs "

Oh, but you so fucking are. Is that the only "staffs" that exist - secretaries and paralegals? And the only ones that matter are attorneys, right? What about the accounting staff? The marketing staff? When firms like Heller and Thelen dissolve, these are the people who struggle for MONTHS looking for jobs. The irony is that if management would listen to their marketing and finance people, they wouldn't have gotten into this mess in the first place.

Attorneys suck ass.

#16:
I've worked private and government legal jobs as well as a private sector corporate job, and maybe you are the exception, but the most inefficient employees I have ever seen are legal "support" staff.

Let's see: talk on the phone 4 hours a day to your relatives or exes or boyfriends or whoever, surf the net, take two or three breaks, and then when I dare to ask to type a letter act as if I'm requesting a kidney with your oh-so-tired passive aggressive act.

Trust me, once you get out of the legal world, the number of "support" staff drops considerably, and the ones that remain are multiples more efficient and friendly than what you'll find in the legal realm from V50 to the solo's secretary.

"we should not ignore the silent beating support staffs "

Oh, but you so fucking are. Is that the only "staffs" that exist - secretaries and paralegals? And the only ones that matter are attorneys, right? What about the accounting staff? The marketing staff? When firms like Heller and Thelen dissolve, these are the people who struggle for MONTHS looking for jobs. The irony is that if management would listen to their marketing and finance people, they wouldn't have gotten into this mess in the first place.

Attorneys suck ass.

The NY Bar Exam results website has been down for the past 2 hours.

Oh yeah, 30, marketing and finance people are sure gonna save my law firm!

Go get me a bagle while I do the work that pays your pitiful but unmerited salary.

28.....

Sure you will be getting the same bonus as last year. Please keep fooling yourself. I see what your bonuses are compared to what is published. Loser your not making your billables this year just like you didn't last year. Your will be getting the same letter stating you didn't qualify..idiot.

Obviously none of the senior associates are giving you any work..if they did your ass wouldn' t be on here making stupid post and trying to degrade the rest of the work force out there. Your degree right now isn't worth the card stock it's printed on. When your on the unemployment line I will be right here at my desk..>LOSER

36, my firm is lockstep <3

http://www.eapd.com

since when did staffers start trolling this website?

Is it just me, or is the staffer that is commenting all over this post quite to quite bitter?

The GTO curse strikes again!

SkaddenDC is hiring all of the staffers from EAPD as a signal of its strength and permanency.

Hahahahahaha . . . GTO is laughing at you now!

Wow! Nasty comments. You all gotta quit pointing fingers and quit feeling sorry for yourselves. Staff sees attorneys being lazy, but they aren't around to see when attorneys do not leave the office for 3 days straight. Support staff are always going to feel underappreciated, but should acknowledge this as his or her choice of working in a supporting role, which by definition, always receives less recognition than a headline product. It just so happens that at a law firm, attorney work product is the money-maker, not support staff work product. So of course support staff is not going to receive accolades for making that photocopy. Its also true that most legal secretarial staff do not do much of anything these days. But then again, neither do the attorneys. Its not necessarily laziness here. Get with it. Its the economy, stupid. And by the way, don't even pretend you're "covering for me" and "saving my ass" when I leave to go to the gym. The partners know I don't have any work. You think they are making money off of me sitting at my desk? They don't care where the hell I am, so long as when I'm needed I'm available 24*7.

39: That third application to Cooley must not have went well

Miss. State - the support staff of the SEC

RTR

10 - Boston > NYC nowadays. HTH. Also, UVA? never cool to be on the outside looking in. xoxo!

Curse of GTO.

16 - I was all set to defend the hardworking support staff in my office. I'm the generally the first one to admit that as a low-level associate I do rely on my support staff and appreciate the pride they take in their job and the hard work many of them do put in. But then you just crapped all over low-level associates, so...

There are good and bad support staff, associates, and partners. Not every associate is off getting coffee with their buddies and not earning their salary and some support staff are definitely unhelpful, lazy and generally useless. If you're unhappy in your job, maybe you should switch firms or careers...

16 - I was all set to defend the hard working support staff in my office until you crapped all over low level associates.

There are good and bad support staff, associates, and partners in every firm. Not every associate is off getting coffee with his buddies and not earning his salary and some support staff actually are unhelpful, lazy, and generally useless. If you're unhappy at the way you're being treated and you know you're not of the useless variety you should consider changing firms or jobs.

These posts are painful to read. As a young law school student, who has been "staff" and will someday be an attorney, I find it very disheartening to see the lack of respect staff and attorneys have for each other. What both sides are neglecting to comment on is the fact that a once highly respected firm has upset the lives of 50+ PEOPLE (who are fathers, mothers and all human!!!). It's disgusting to sit here and read how staff and attorneys are pissing on each other. When a staff memeber or attorney gets shown the door they are no better than one another - they are both unemployed... keep that in mind.

Law firms are doing this because it will shift work to attorneys and the remaining paralegals. To the extent these fired staffers spent a good chunk of time working on client-matters and not just firm operations, that is a double dip for the firm -- not only does the firm save on salary and benefits expense (as well as all related overhead expenses) but they can actually bill clients for a portion of the staff work by shifting that work to billable employes like junior attorneys and paralegals. Save on the expense and convert that savings into billings. It's evil genius.

typical staffer...can't even work posting on a message board without doubling it up. This is why they are getting cut.

typical staffer...can't even work posting on a message board without doubling it up. This is why they are getting cut.

51 & 52 - karma.

the irony, 51/52

"When a staff memeber or attorney gets shown the door they are no better than one another - they are both unemployed... keep that in mind."

Are you fucking stupid? You think someone with a JD looking for a new position and some random staffer with copy room experience trying to get a new hourly job are in the same boat? Ha!

As a "staffer" who works at one of the white shoe firms, I do hope that the way some of you post on here anonymously isn't how the majority of you view the people paid to assist you with your work. It's pretty tasteless and generally a sign of a small-minded individual. We all know that the world doesn't need any more small-minded lawyers.

There are goldbrickers on either side. There is entitlement on either side. And right now, we're all feeling a little anxious about the security of our jobs.

Thanks, Elie, for acknowledging us. It means a lot, at least to me.

1:

Your analysis ignores the reality that both attorneys and staff are ultimately alienated from the fruits of their labor-power because the firms control the means of production. The higher salary paid to attorneys only serves to mask this fact and retard the growth of proletarian class consciousness among the bar.

55- careful there big feller. Given the current market it may in fact be easier for an hourly employee with transferable skills to find a job quickly. There is little to no market for 3d year structured finance assoicates.

As a "staffer" who works at one of the white shoe firms, I do hope that the way some of you post on here anonymously isn't how the majority of you view the people paid to assist you with your work. It's pretty tasteless and generally a sign of a small-minded individual. We all know that the world doesn't need any more small-minded lawyers.

There are goldbrickers on either side. There is entitlement on either side. And right now, we're all feeling a little anxious about the security of our jobs.

Thanks, Elie, for acknowledging us. It means a lot, at least to me.

Crapping on support staff is a lot like not tipping a waitress. It shows what type of a person you are.

I'm going to guess that the posters who crap on shitty support staff are young associates at biglaw firms where they themselves are basically the support staff, the people that type letters, scan documents and deal with excel spreadsheets.

At the non-biglaw firms, where we actually have to be productive in order to justify our hourly rate, we actually have support staff to do things like type, scan, do spreadsheets, even figure out basic document requests. We need these people because we do not pay people one year out of lawschool with no legal skills to do them.

Gee you mean you, a low level associate did not get the cream of the crop support staff? That is so unfair. Next thing they will be cutting out the morning bagels. Man, life sucks.

43, don't know how long you've been out of school, but where I am, if you don't have any work that is a very very bad thing. And you better troll around for some, rather then head off to the gym while some harder working person digs some up for you.

WHY should I have to tip a waiter any more than 10% unless he provides exceptional service? Where's his incentive to excel if I do?

Also, engagement rings are ridiculous.

WGWAG.

HTFH

60 - Maybe it is different in a personal injury shop. If I don't tip a waitress well it's because she gave shitty service. If I comment on shitty staff it is because they do shitty work that causes me to work harder at 8pm-11pm to fix their typing mistakes and inability to copy documents in order. That's 3 hours after they went home for the night without the slightest thought about the pile they left at work. And they won't have to worry about it in the morning either. THAT's why we get pissed at the entitled whining of 50 year old women (or men, I'm sure there are some 50 year old malke support staff) who barely do any real work for the firm anymore.

By the way, I am sure I give better tips when the service deserves it than your average ambulance chaser.

64- We pull all nighters too. We get things done when it needs to get done. The point is that a shitty worker is a shitty worker regardless of whether you are an associate, staff, partner or burger flipper at McDonalds. Just because you have had bad support in the past does not mean that we are all useless. When you need to put two thousand documents in chron order and then make 15 sets of binders with 400 tabs for that important meeting in the morning who are you turning to? I don't ask for the glory, I know my place, but don't tell me that my work does not matter. Good luck to the EAPD staff.

64, if you are at the office at 9:30 at night fixing typing mistakes or photocopying errors on a regular basis, then you are in fact the support staff.

And I'll give you a life hint. It might not be a coincidence that you are a jerk to support staff and waitresses and also receive crappy service from them.

I am a paralegal, and I can attest that most of us know our place on the food chain, and we are ok with that. But most of us work hard, just like you do. There have been plenty of times that I've cancelled vacations, pulled all nighters at the printer, worked 7 days a week for months at a time on a deal, etc. I remember plenty of years that I billed 2500 hours, while the junior/mid level associates were barely cracking the 2000 hour mark.

Keep in mind that we do most of our work with very little secretarial support and trying to balance our work with training young associates.

We will continue to get constant phone calls from 1st years asking what an LLC is, how to find precedent for a board consent or which partner is going to yell at them for screwing up, just so they can become a high & mighty mid/senior associate and shit on us on ATL.

Can't we all just get along??

Can't we all just get along??

65 - You HAVE pulled all nighters. You DON'T normally stay past 5.

And 66 I think you hit it on the head, time to start firing the idiots wasting time, money and benefits during the day.

Only an idiot would claim all support people are useless or wastes, no one critizing on this board has meant that. What we have meant is that staff in BIGLAW (go away guy with the shingle on his front lawn in anytown, usa) are often very difficult to work with and waste a lot of BILLABLE lawyer's time with incompetence, rudeness and self-importance. (See the paralegal who thinks she trains attorneys.) The market and the firm set the hierarchy for a reason folks, dollars and cents and efficiency made it, not arrogant lawyers. Young associates are still MAKING MONEY where support staff exist to SUPPORT that mission. Those that do it poorly give all lawyers whose careers rest on billable hours and perfect work reason to complain.

They didn't lay off GTO, did they?

70-

67 here

I do not think I exclusively "train attorneys". I know that I help teach them practical implementation and a lot of basics. Everyone knows that first years come in the door with no experience (as expected) and very limited knowledge about actually getting something done. Theory, they are rockstars, practical, not so much. And, again, I'm completely OK with that. My two purposes in this job are to (a) be profitable; and (b) make the lives of associates and partners easier.

Self important, I am not. Knowledgeable, and very happy to help out when I can, yes.

You are upset that support staff does not stay past 5? Is that who you are competing against?

I think that what you mean is that the staff at biglaw do not go out of their way to kiss the ass of young associates who do not peform meaningful reviews on them and are less useful to the senior associates and partners.

I find it hard to beleive that your firm is employing large amounts of rude staff on a regular basis. Perhaps you are not seeing the whole picture.

And there is a good chance that the market is about to reset the hierarchy and employ more support staff (60K+ a year) and less associates (160+ a year) so don't be so down no non-biglaw yet.

Wait, wait, wait. Maybe it's because I'm a noob to this blog, but is the Karl Marx guy a running gag?

55 - that "random staffer with copy room experience" will be great for running off daily batches of reject letters that firms will be sending to unemployed attorneys flooding the market with resumes.

58 - agreed.

"I remember plenty of years that I billed 2500 hours, while the junior/mid level associates were barely cracking the 2000 hour mark."

What you can charge for (mindless manual labor and waiting time) and what they can charge for (actual thought and the application thereof) are two wildly different things.

Strangely enough, the price for each sort of billable hour is not anywhere near the same. Also, you get paid by the hour, with overtime. They don't.

74:

Normally I hang on on blogs for steel workers or South American farmhands. But I believe the current crisis, brought about by inherent contradictions in the global economic system, makes attorneys today especially receptive to my message about capitalism.

Or, should I say, "capiTTTalism".

CapiTTTalism. Brilliant! Way to troll the blogs to preach your message to the petite bourgeoisie.

76, let us know when you get out of school and see some real professional work and some real manual work.

79 - your HS equivalency certificate didn't q

79 - your HS equivalency certificate didn't q

79 - your HS equivalency certificate didn't q

I sincerely doubt anyone is paying a paralegal for that kind of overtime, but even if they are did you take a second to do the math, 79? You DO get that every single lawyer around you bills out a hell of a lot higher per hour than they would ever be able to justify for you, right? Even though you've been there 50 years+, I'm sure.

Ellie - maybe take a look at Sullivan & Worcester and their stealth layoffs and bleak outlook. Just a thought.

My secretary was laid off and I miss her. She was a great worker and really poured herself into her job. All of us treated her well, and she responded by providing us with quality work. It sounds like some of you spoiled brats need to be humbled just a little bit.

My secretary was laid off and I miss her. She was a great worker and really poured herself into her job. All of us treated her well, and she responded by providing us with quality work. It sounds like some of you spoiled brats need to be humbled just a little bit.

My secretary was laid off and I miss her. She was a great worker and really poured herself into her job. All of us treated her well, and she responded by providing us with quality work. It sounds like some of you spoiled brats need to be humbled just a little bit.

My secretary was laid off and I miss her. She was a great worker and really poured herself into her job. All of us treated her well, and she responded by providing us with quality work. It sounds like some of you spoiled brats need to be humbled just a little bit.

My secretary was laid off and I miss her. She was a great worker and really poured herself into her job. All of us treated her well, and she responded by providing us with quality work. It sounds like some of you spoiled brats need to be humbled just a little bit.

My secretary was laid off and I miss her. She was a great worker and really poured herself into her job. All of us treated her well, and she responded by providing us with quality work. It sounds like some of you spoiled brats need to be humbled just a little bit.

My secretary was laid off and I miss her. She was a great worker and really poured herself into her job. All of us treated her well, and she responded by providing us with quality work. It sounds like some of you spoiled brats need to be humbled just a little bit.

Is there any group of non-professional people more self-important and overpaid than paralegals and secretaries at Biglaw?

There are secretaries at Biglaw that make 75K+. Now think about that. 75K+ for answering the phone, typing, collating and alphabetizing.

I know a teacher who's received an Excellence in Education award. She's been teaching for 11 years. She makes 51K in Virginia. I went to college with a guy who's a great project manager for a mid-sized construction firm. He makes in the 70s with over 10 years of experience. Both of these jobs require so many more complicated and useful skills than typing and collating. Yet, talk to Biglaw support staff and they are offended at the idea of earning "market" outside of the legal realm.

The pay scale for support staff at Biglaw is an absolute joke compared to anywhere else. I pulled my time at Biglaw, but now I'm working in a non-legal job in the corporate world. I can tell you, lawyers are absolutely horrid managers and awful businesspeople when you look at their decisions concerning support staff. If the finance guys from my corporation walked into any V100 firm, you'd see at least 1/2 of the support staff pink-slipped and payscales significantly reduced for the remaining support staff.

My secretary was laid off and I miss her. She was a great worker and really poured herself into her job. All of us treated her well, and she responded by providing us with quality work. It sounds like some of you spoiled brats need to be humbled just a little bit.

"If the finance guys from my corporation walked into any V100 firm, you'd see at least 1/2 of the support staff pink-slipped and payscales significantly reduced for the remaining support staff. "

You are right... salaries at BigLaw are ridiculously inflated and don't fit into the real world salary structure. But that applies to EVERY position at BigLaw. Not just support staff.

84,

yeah, they killed a bunch of people and are calling it merit based. too bad we're all smarter than that. you should see the new business (or lack thereof) lists that we get everyday. things don't look so good.

84 and 95,

Who cares about that piece of shiTTT firm anyway???

This firm is GREAT!!! Has singlehandedly fostered development of several leading biotech companies. 96 = TTT poster. Need more WGWAG.

I'm surprised that these support staff aren't able to be billed out at a rate sufficient to at least cover their salaries.

Honestly, many support staff think that they save attorney's asses and have a very self-important view of this supposed "ass saving."

That said, if a senior associate or a junior partner asks my secretary to stay past 5:30, she has been known to throw temper tantrums and actually yell at people. I have to spend more time during the business day making sure that she's happy than she saves me by "getting my back." It's like dealing with a crazy person! She once got upset with me because I said "thanks--you did a good job--I'm going to change a couple of items, but it's a great effort." She interpreted this (along with 3 red marks on the page) as "not appreciating her effort" and ran to the supervisor's office! It's a relief when she goes home at night.

I don't think I'm alone in this view of secretaries--some of them try to lord their "power" of having been at the firm awhile over their junior attorneys, forgetting that we just want to get the darned job done!!

For all of you hard-working, diligent secretaries who simply do what's asked without the bull--please mentor your friends! We could use more like you.

Paralegals are generally great and super helpful. I've welcomed any training ours provide me because, they (unlike the secretaries) have actually saved my butt at times.

No. 22 mainly, I'd glady fetch your punk *ss a cup of coffee, however, don't you don't that I'MMA SPIT IN IT...think it hasn't happened HAHA stupid sucker think again, you honestly think a punk *ss b*tch like yourself hasn't had your coffee or muffin spit in...think again, I'D LOVE TO fetch it for you!! See you are either one of the scorned summers that didn't get an offer or you are just a spoiled ignorant fool that doesn't deserve to be graced with a GREAT high-functioning secretary...see....you're ugly insides show from outside and you simply are not worthy...kinda like the scum on the bottom of ones shoe!!! You think with these posts that lawyers should be proud of their potty mouths...think again...I dare No. 22...you sound more like the anti-christ...666 salute to you evil man...and extremely small mind....

oh and spoiled b*tch 22...wait until your firm gets hit...and you and your significant other...with child in tote have no job...maybe, just maybe, you may need to settle....as a secretary!!! ah-ha B*tch ass brat

notice the time of the good majority of the "haters" posts were during the WORK DAY...and they are blogging about "staff" being online...get some work ... oh wait, your head is too far up your ass

notice the time of the good majority of the "haters" posts were during the WORK DAY...and they are blogging about "staff" being online...get some work ... oh wait, your head is too far up your ass

it's rather ironic how a good majority of those flapping off at the mouth, were doing so...during the business day, oh wait..maybe you had your secretary typing that huh, OH-NO what if your firm is monitoring your activity as most firms are now, serves you right....find some work, oh wait that's too hard as your head appears to be so far up your ass that your talking nothing but shit...non performer, nonbilling loser, give us our blackberry back...and get an LG losers!!!!

it's funny how the lawyer that complains about staying until 2:30 a.m. complains...that's your chosen field, not the "staffs" so suck it up and shut up...also I bet there is a secretary there right along side you and she goes into work the next day on time while you stroll in at 10:00 sissy.

99-104,

I haven't been one to participate in this inane argument of support staff v. attorneys mostly because my last two secretaries have been fantastic.

Regardless, you strike me as psychotic. On top of that, thanks for both ruining the ellipsis for me. I used to be a big fan of that device, but reading your crazy rantings containing multipe ellispses has caused me to think that maybe people my ellipsis-filled writing similar to how I am reading your work product here.

105 here wishing I had proofread my work like my current secretary does. She does a damn good job of it and I will tell her that Monday morning.

Please ignore the word "both" in the second sentence of the second paragraph.

Anyway, this is my second post sans ellipses. I can't stress enough how often I used them until reading 99-104's god awful crazy-talk.

EAPD is a two-bit chop shop, and everyone knows it. Why would anyone be surprised that this has happened? The real news - or not - will be when this dump lays off droves of attorneys after the new year, as it will undoubtedly have to do.

Wow this site is absolutely terrible, not just the posts here, but also reading the article about Greenberg's layoffs, people are talking about glass d*cks, and these are lawyers. This is rather scary and I hope most of these posts are not really by lawyers. Oh, I too heard of someone spitting in their lawyer's coffee (but he was really an *ss).

Dear Bitter Lawyer:
I am sure you think you are loved and adored by partners and staff alike. Truth is we all know who and what you are and hold you in the same high esteem you hold us.
We laugh at you behind your back as you rant, rave and blame everyone but yourself for your failures and shortcomings. Senior partners listen as you talk about being a partner one day and under their breaths
mumble "right when *ell freezes over"
See your disrespect for people is clear to all around you. Your daddy, mommy or uncle got you in the door, not your pleasing personality.
I really do believe you are an intelligent person, you graduated near the top of your class after all. Problem is so are most of the people around here. Smart people are easy to come by. There are 10 waiting to take your place.
How do I know this? Well I've been here almost 20 years. I've seen your type come and go over that time.
If there were more like you, I would have left long ago. I am so glad that is not the case. I like it here. I like the way I have been treated for these many years and enjoyed working with and having some small part in the success of the attorneys I have worked with.
Do I wish you ill, or spit in your coffee as some suggested here. No, that would make me an aweful lot like you and that would make me sad.
So rant, rave spew your contempt, and know I am looking forward to working with your replacement in the near future.
Best wishes
Your Secretary
P.S. -- To those that recognize we work hard for you, appreciate you and love working for you
Thanks

I know a number of very nice and good staff. Yes, there are plenty of the opposite as well. However, way too much of the staff is inefficient. Many just play computer games and look at pictures all day. It's not their fault necessarily, they just are not needed. Most young lawyers do their own changes in docs and are more comfortable than them when working on a computer. We could cut the staff by 50% and not miss a step.

Who's going to pick up your dry cleaning then?

110, the same is true at my firm. I don't want to have them lose their job. On the other hand, I am surprised by the number I see doing nothing when there is work to be done. For example, a woman in my office is on the phone and reads catalogs all day while the area she staffs is a mess, always short of supplies, etc. If I were her, I would be looking busy all day and seeking out opportunities to help but it does not seem to occur to her that she is making herself appear expendible. She doesn't even hang up the phone when you ask for paper or something. In this market, it is crazy that she does not seem to be embarrassed by it.

NOTE TO ALL STAFF: You need to step up your game.

Skadden?? Who cares?

I heard a rumor (very reliable however) that EAPD canceled its entire summer associate program in Boston. Don't know about other cities. There are some very upset (and rightfully so) 2Ls who are SOL for this summer. How would you feel if you turned down an offer from another firm? Ouch!!!