Biglaw

Doc Review Attorney Demands To Be Seen In Biglaw Departure Email

After 10 years, does anyone know who this even is?

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Here’s a riddle for you: If an attorney works at a Biglaw office for 10 years, but no one knows who they are, are they really an attorney at all?

To be fair, this is a bit of a trick question since the attorney in question is actually a Discovery Attorney. Listen, I spent my time in the salt mine of document review, so I know what I’m talking about. How a certain segment of attorneys refuse to see you as a peer and look down at the admittedly essential work you do to keep their litigation afloat.

After working at WilmerHale as a Discovery Attorney in the Dayton office for almost 10 years, one lawyer we’ll call Discovery Dan decided to move on to greener pastures. But after almost a decade at the Biglaw firm, Dan wasn’t just going to fade to black or hope some supervisor brought a sheet cake from Costco to celebrate his last day. No, Dan wants to participate in the age old tradition of associates lateraling with a jaunty little farewell email sent to all U.S. attorneys.

And if they don’t know Dan or were unaware WilmerHale hires Discovery Attorneys or even has a Dayton office, well, that’s not going to stop the cute email you have to read for yourself:

Dear Fellow WilmerHale Colleagues:

It is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to leave WilmerHale in my role as a Discovery Attorney. For those of you that do not know me, or don’t care, please mark Non-Responsive and move on to the next e-mail. If you do know me, know what a discovery attorney is, please mark responsive. Please reserve the “Needs Further Review” tag if you have additional questions on why you even got this email in the first place from a discovery attorney.

I know, some of you who have made it past the first paragraph of this document may now be asking yourselves “who are these discovery attorneys you reference?”

It is hard to believe that nearly 10 years ago, I started out as one of the first discovery attorneys in what was called “The Original Eight” at WilmerHale – Dayton. We operated covertly on behalf of our clients in our cubicles on the 1st Floor of the building. At the time, we were referred to as the “Doc-Ninjas” for our ability to review, analyze and issue code documents in a precise and efficient manner. From that time, until 9 years later when I became/[remained] a Discovery Attorney. . . I have grown so much. Thank you all for teaching and inspiring me, and allowing me to do the same for you in this wonderful atmosphere.

I’m headed off to begin the next chapter of my legal career in an AGC role at a large financial institution. While I am enthusiastic about my future there, I continue to be hopeful and excited about all the things you will continue to accomplish here at WilmerHale and specifically, Dayton.

If I could leave you all with just one thought:

“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” – G.K. Chesterton

Best of luck Dan. Hope everyone at your next job takes the time to figure out who you are.

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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