Page 1 of 1
Give up at lawyering
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:36 pm
by Anonymous User
I read an article within the past year but I cannot seem to locate it. The article was written by a managing attorney who discussed the inadequacy of young attorneys/law clerks. One of the stories was about how he initially viewed a young attorney as "curious" and "inquisitive" but that after a few months he realized that the questions did not stop, the attorney did not improve, and he had to fire him. The managing attorney offered the article to others who might be in this particular young attorney's position to choose another path and give up at lawyering.
The thread "I F'ing Suck at Attention to Detail" thread reminded me of the article (
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 3&t=271900).
I wasn't able to find it, but please post here if you have the url.
Re: Give up at lawyering
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:40 pm
by zot1
So after how many months should the young attorney quit?
Re: Give up at lawyering
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:58 pm
by Minnietron
Good thing you posted anonymously.
Re: Give up at lawyering
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 8:33 pm
by RaceJudicata
Thanks for this valuable contribution.
Re: Give up at lawyering
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 8:55 pm
by pancakes3
i can't believe that one guy one time had to fire someone. allegedly.
Re: Give up at lawyering
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:26 pm
by FullRamboLSGrad
Argh millennials
Re: Give up at lawyering
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 4:12 am
by lavarman84
Anonymous User wrote:I read an article within the past year but I cannot seem to locate it. The article was written by a managing attorney who discussed the inadequacy of young attorneys/law clerks. One of the stories was about how he initially viewed a young attorney as "curious" and "inquisitive" but that after a few months he realized that the questions did not stop, the attorney did not improve, and he had to fire him. The managing attorney offered the article to others who might be in this particular young attorney's position to choose another path and give up at lawyering.
The thread "I F'ing Suck at Attention to Detail" thread reminded me of the article (
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 3&t=271900).
I wasn't able to find it, but please post here if you have the url.
It's always struck me as a musing that older lawyers talk about the inadequacy of younger attorneys while doing absolutely nothing to mentor them and treating them like shit when they seek out help.
This isn't true of every older attorney. Don't get me wrong. But there's enough assholes out there like this that it's just amusing to me that they expect perfection from people still learning how to do the job without making any attempt to show them the ropes.
It's like tossing a child into a swimming pool and getting angry when the child doesn't just instinctively know how to swim.

Re: Give up at lawyering
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 10:49 am
by Lettow
What a dick thread. It could have been decent had it not indirectly-but-not-really told the OP of that other thread he should give up being an attorney.
Re: Give up at lawyering
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:08 pm
by BigZuck
Could it have been decent though?
Seems suspect.
Re: Give up at lawyering
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 1:36 pm
by Anonymous User
Agree with lawman84. Our generation believes in variety, much like the partner's
Seriously, we all have our dumb moments, but a good mentor partner/senior associate will get us on the right track. On the flip side, getting stuck with a crappy partner is enough to make you reconsider your life choices. One of the partners I got stuck with before I fled hated my previous mentor partner (he left, and their shared clients preferred him to the angry partner), so the angry partner took it out on me. That was a couple months ago. I heard that partner now has trouble finding a replacement associate and new clients.
Re: Give up at lawyering
Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 5:54 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:Agree with lawman84. Our generation believes in variety, much like the partner's
Seriously, we all have our dumb moments, but a good mentor partner/senior associate will get us on the right track. On the flip side, getting stuck with a crappy partner is enough to make you reconsider your life choices. One of the partners I got stuck with before I fled hated my previous mentor partner (he left, and their shared clients preferred him to the angry partner), so the angry partner took it out on me. That was a couple months ago. I heard that partner now has trouble finding a replacement associate and new clients.
Same thing happened to me (new partner hated my old supervisor partner who left, took it out on me), except the new one also decided that the 3+ years I had spent doing my job meant nothing because he hated old partner, so he then proceeded to treat me as though I knew nothing about the law or how the job works. And then assumed I was hopeless and untrainable when I asked him why he did things the (weird, inefficient) way he did them, instead of grovelling at his feet in thanks that he was teaching me the ways of the law. He had similar falling-outs with other people in the office, and everyone who is hired/brought in to replace us mysteriously quits or moves to a satellite within 6-8 months.