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I think the focus of so many people on here is consumed with getting lucky enough to land a full-time associate job post-graduation, but has anyone hated working for a superior in your office so badly, that you felt like (or have) quit just because it's not worth it no matter how much you are earning? I am only asking this from a 3L perspective, but I have had a very bad internship experience and legal assistant experience (before law school) working for total d-bag attorneys who would just scream and stress out over any miniscule mistake made, demand ridiculously short deadlines to extensive projects, act unprofessionally with clients and then make me sooth tensions over the phone, etc. At the end of the day, I would say I was a good worker, but just the personalities of these attorneys made me so stressed out that there would not be a dollar figure to keep me working for them. I hope I just drew the short end of the stick with these guys and will have better luck in the future, but who knows. Any similar experiences? Thanks

I've worked with bad bosses before, but in the retail/service sector. It sucked a lot, but there was a silver lining. From my experience, the bad boss is either fired or he/she gets transferred to some other location. There is also the possibility that you can be transferred or promoted. In other words, seldom will you have to be around a bad boss for a long time. I never had the same bad boss for more than 8 months.

Just tough it out.

gdane wrote:I've worked with bad bosses before, but in the retail/service sector. It sucked a lot, but there was a silver lining. From my experience, the bad boss is either fired or he/she gets transferred to some other location. There is also the possibility that you can be transferred or promoted. In other words, seldom will you have to be around a bad boss for a long time. I never had the same bad boss for more than 8 months.

Just tough it out.

I'm not sure you can translate this to the typical partner-associate relationship. Frequently an associate becomes "Partner X's Associate" if you are any good. Partners have a long shelf life, and my understanding is that it can be difficult to move to different partners in the same firm due to office politics (e.g., one partner doesn't steal good labor from another partner).

Worked in shitlaw as a paralegal once. Boss was a terrible person who treated his clients like shit. Would drag all of the paralegals around each day 'networking' (read: visiting restaurants and such in the ghetto). Not going was not an option and going meant you had to stay really late to finish any assignments you had been given. No overtime because it 'wasn't his fault you couldn't finish the work assigned'. Working well over 60 hours a week for 8 dollars an hour ensured that this little endeavor lasted less than two months.

I wouldn't mind if the boss is just emotional/hyper/high-strung but otherwise a good-natured person (e.g. bought gifts to us on business trips) I have accepted the fact that some people are just born that way.

The worst ones are those who say mean things to you deliberately - they meant to taunt and humiliate for their quiet and and not so private enjoyment.

Bad bosses will be there wherever you go. They're not unique to one sector, like law. I have heard of my fair share of bad PhD, MBA, etc. bosses.

Anonymous User wrote:Bad bosses will be there wherever you go. They're not unique to one sector, like law. I have heard of my fair share of bad PhD, MBA, etc. bosses.

This. At least if you get a biglaw job you can kind-of sort-of expect that your bosses will be reasonably intelligent, which is better than most jobs. There's nothing worse than working for an asshole who is also dumber than you and bad at their job.

My dad.

dixiecupdrinking wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Bad bosses will be there wherever you go. They're not unique to one sector, like law. I have heard of my fair share of bad PhD, MBA, etc. bosses.

This. At least if you get a biglaw job you can kind-of sort-of expect that your bosses will be reasonably intelligent, which is better than most jobs. There's nothing worse than working for an asshole who is also dumber than you and bad at their job.

Had this problem, but this was before law school.

Before law school I had a sales job where my boss micromanaged everything. The worst part was she often wasn't in the office and if we didn't get her permission before making even a small decision, she'd be pissed. So I spent a lot of time doing nothing waiting to get her approval to move forward.

My current legal experience is the opposite. I'm given no guidelines, no deadlines, and no feedback. I see my boss for a couple minutes every other week. It's also terrible, just in a different way.

My current boss seems to have a penchant for sexual harassment. As a male in the office, it doesn't really affect me, other to make for some awkward situations. Last year he was interviewing students from a Christian ls for summer research positions and he had the audacity to ask one young female applicant if the shoes she was wearing were her, "fuck me shoes." Needless to say, our firm was later banned from OCI at the aforementioned ls.

At one of my previous jobs, my boss and her boss got into an argument over what size paperclips should be used in the office. I knew things were going to be rough after that one.

Anonymous User wrote:My current boss seems to have a penchant for sexual harassment. As a male in the office, it doesn't really affect me, other to make for some awkward situations. Last year he was interviewing students from a Christian ls for summer research positions and he had the audacity to ask one young female applicant if the shoes she was wearing were her, "fuck me shoes." Needless to say, our firm was later banned from OCI at the aforementioned ls.

Subtle...like a freight train.

Anonymous User wrote:At one of my previous jobs, my boss and her boss got into an argument over what size paperclips should be used in the office. I knew things were going to be rough after that one.

Haha, I noticed that lawyers love arguing and obsessing about the most meaningless crap...like paperclips and incessantly calling clients about sending back a signature page that is not even time sensitive. Honestly, I think if solo/small firm attorneys invested 3-5 hours of real work each day, they could get away with half-days most of the time.