The law school model doesn’t really prepare law students to practice law once they hit the ground. It teaches the fundamentals of legal reasoning, but teaching students how to perform day-to-day legal tasks is farmed out to law firms either through in-school clinical work or the experience of real, private sector jobs. This is all to say that the author of this “farewell wishes” email may genuinely have experienced frustration in dealing with a law student who had never practiced law before.
But everything about the email ends up saying way more about its author and the obvious insecurities and professional shortcomings they bring to the table.
This comes from the good folks at Law School Memes For Edgy T14s and presents an anonymous lawyer’s response to news that a law student working with the firm would be leaving.
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Subject: your resignation
Is unacceptable, just like your excuse heavy letter. I will make sure to keep it, and use it in my response to the Florida Bar. I will be sending them a letter now as to whether I think you are fit to practice law, and again when you apply next year. Honestly, I don’t think you should even be in law school, based on the lack of skill and work ethic you displayed.
Threatening students is always a great way to start!
Instructions were clear, you simply lacked a strong enough understanding of the law to get tasks done. You did not even display skills as a legal assistant to the point you could not carry out basic tasks. Several people witnessed me having to talk things over with you on a high school level, and they were in disbelief that you were a 2L.
Going with the “lots of people are saying” defense. Hey, it worked for Donald Trump for years. And what is a high school level legal concept? Unless it’s “there are three branches of government” this lawyer may have an overinflated sense of how much legal education is going on in America’s schools.
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You’re simply are not competent.
The unintentional comedy of this sentence will fuel me for the next week.
It is not my job to “reinforce you” when you did not provide positive work. Don’t look for someone to build you up, do it yourself.
When did people get the impression that “reinforce” means “coddling approval”? You call in reinforcements to make sure the job gets done right, unless you’re the bad boy cop who doesn’t play by the rules. And in that case, you deserve to get blown up for raiding the warehouse by the docks by yourself. Reinforcing a young lawyer involves as much criticism as praise. Failing to grasp that reveals a much deeper problem at this place.
Lastly, when leaving a “legal job”, 3-4 weeks is the norm as it relates to notice.
Really? Firms would want to pay dead weight for a whole month?
You must also update your employer on the status of your assignments. Because this was not done, I pray the BAR looks negatively on your time here at our firm.
Not for nothing, but if this lawyer was holding the student’s hand as much as he seems to think he was, wouldn’t he know the status of all these assignments? The real issue is this guy never bothered to supervise this student, berates and shames people who ask for assistance, and then gets annoyed when he turns out to have no idea what’s been going on in these cases.
I “thought” you were not a bad person, just a bad law student, but now that perception has changed. You are “too emotional” or “too immature” to be successful in this profession. It is not for the weak, but for the strong.
Now comes the bravado garbage. This is a profession of pencilnecks. Anyone trying to transform “I really scorched them in that 10(b)(6)” into “strength” has issues.
And, there seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding here of how air quotes work.
Hopefully your skills and intestinal fortitude will match the cosmetic muscles of your frame—one day.
Wha?
And I mean that regarding the em-dash placement. I don’t even have words for when this turned into the opening of some bodybuilding fetish piece.
If you really have the talent for this, then develop the other skills necessary to be a credit to your law school, the profession, but most importantly yourself. GOOD LUCK.
At least it ends on a positive note!
The email in original format is provided on the next page.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.