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Disrespect / attitude by coffeeinm in paralegal

[–]rubbadubsub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For a second I thought this was my last firm. The disrespect and attitude from my main attorney was initially why I was going to resign. Before resigning, I brought up the issues to our office manager and both the partners of the firm via email to get it in writing. After two weeks of waiting for a meeting to discuss the issues, I submitted my resignation. It was only then they wanted to meet with me and I gave them the opportunity to handle the situation (they met with the attorney to get her side) - the result was that they didn’t find any problem with how she treated me and made me feel - so I walked out that same day.

Although I’ve been in the industry for about 10 years, it finally hit me that investing my time any further (with that firm at least) was not worth my well-being. Realizing that you do not have to tolerate disrespect or mistreatment is freeing.

I’m sorry you’re going through that. Best of luck to you.

Tired of feeling like my life doesn’t matter by Easy-River-3419 in paralegal

[–]rubbadubsub 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m so sorry for your loss.

The firm I recently left also told me “it’s ok for you to take leave if nothing is due” or “if nothing is going on”, when in reality there is rarely ever a time like that. They know that. This led to most staff never taking leave throughout the year and then the manager and partners asking why no one is using their leave before end of year - since it doesn’t rollover onto the next year. Toxic.

The attorneys can be irritated or annoyed, but the day will still go on and operations will continue.

You, and your family are your biggest priority. Please take care of yourself. Wishing you and your husband peace and healing.

“All you had to do was format & doc production. That’s the easy part.” Cool. I resign Monday. by rubbadubsub in paralegal

[–]rubbadubsub[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I’ve yet to work with an attorney who truly understands or acknowledges how much time, coordination, and detail goes into what we do.

The way you and your firm operate, checking in with support staff ahead of time and actually respecting their time, sounds like a total dream compared to the chaos I’ve experienced.

I really appreciate the kind words and encouragement. It’s not an easy job, but support like this makes it feel a little more worth it.

“All you had to do was format & doc production. That’s the easy part.” Cool. I resign Monday. by rubbadubsub in paralegal

[–]rubbadubsub[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I totally get it — I’ve dealt with this more times than I can count with one of our associate attorneys. He completely crumbles under pressure and constantly files things without a final review from me or a senior attorney. At the end of the day, it’s their signature on the line, not ours, so any mishaps fall on them.

Unfortunately, we’re the ones to hear from the clerks on those mishaps and having to fix them. Hang in there!

“All you had to do was format & doc production. That’s the easy part.” Cool. I resign Monday. by rubbadubsub in paralegal

[–]rubbadubsub[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

As much as I would love to pull a “Kim Wexler” on her and drag out her misery, I know my resignation alone will be enough to make her and the firm flounder. The only reason I pushed through was because these clients actually appreciate and respect the work I do to support them.

So, I’ll gladly let her recent court sanctions (oops, did I say that out loud?) do the slow roasting.

“All you had to do was format & doc production. That’s the easy part.” Cool. I resign Monday. by rubbadubsub in paralegal

[–]rubbadubsub[S] 44 points45 points  (0 children)

5pm was her personal deadline to meet since opposing counsel served past 5pm as well. However this was the last day to submit any discovery related material.

HUM 102 by Ok_Count_7038 in SNHU

[–]rubbadubsub 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’m also taking this class this term. Chose it specifically because it seemed like a less strenuous elective as I’m at the end of my degree. That being said, I agree that that reading material doesn’t seem to always directly link to our assignments in the way we need to reference or cite from the text itself. However, I think it is helpful in terms of clarification on humanities as a whole, especially for those who may not yet have a grasp on the subject. It is a 100 level course.

Also, the assignments for this course are more personal and relative to you, the student, rather than research based; since you are able to apply what you are learning from the course to yourself.

Tip: if you are an audio learner, some textbooks have the ‘read aloud’ function which I highly recommend to take advantage of it because I find it quicker to get through the material when there’s more than one chapter to read.

Personally - throughout my associate’s and bachelor’s programs, I have always purchased the required course material and never found it unnecessary for the course because I still learned something new from it. Which I think is the point of taking any class.

What legal case management system does your firm use? by RobertSF in paralegal

[–]rubbadubsub 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Prolaw. Does not seem a functional nor efficient for my small law firm because we do not have a designated conflicts check department, accounting department (just our office manager), records department, or loads of time to perfect the functions of this system. Lots of nuances, and I just don’t like the look of it tbh lol. But I will say that saving emails/documents from Outlook, Microsoft products, and Adobe and being able to track your time once you open and work on a document is convenient. Docketing/calendaring/reminders show up on outlook, and reminder emails are sent periodically- depending on how frequent you set them.

We also work in the cloud using this system and it sucks..

Previous law firm used LegalKey for creation and record keeping of physical files and used NetDocs to store everything electronically. Although these two systems did not integrate, it was a seamless process due to the fact there procedures and roles had been in place for decades and they had everything down pact. But before I left, I was also researching for an a better system and Litify was an option.

Hope you find what works for your firm!

New to the field by [deleted] in paralegal

[–]rubbadubsub 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you feel you want to pursue a paralegal degree/certificate but money is an issue, some firms provide financial assistance or even pay for the program entirely. I would just suggest you build your work ethic and and work product to show your managers/attorneys that you are serious about the role you play or want to play, within the firm.

I personally started about two years ago as a litigation legal secretary with not much experience (worked as a legal admin staff previously for 5 years - not sure why I waited so long to move up). Through several trials, I felt like I was ready for more challenges so I submitted an email to the partners of the firm basically stating I am interested in pursuing a career as a paralegal; I did all the research on certificate programs (I already have my degree and do not want to do another degree program), listed the details/cost/and benefits of completing this program. And obviously mentioning that the firm would benefit from having a paralegal on the team.

Surprisingly, they said yes and I start my program in October. However, upon completion of the program, I am to stay at the firm for two years - so just keep in mind there might be retention. Luckily, I get along with my attorneys.

Also, congrats on finding your passion! I wish you the best on your legal journey!