ITT: Reflecting on Our Errors from As Junior and Mid-Level Associates Forum

[kykiske]

Man, this profession can be difficult sometimes. One minute, you think you've got everything under control. The next, some non-ideal mistake happens and if you feel terrible.

I'll go first.

My former assistant retired back in December 2018. She had about 33 years of litigation experience. We hire a new assistant, who has about 3 years of experience.

My new assistant is a joy to work with. But, this past week, we learned that she incorrectly entered something into our calendaring system. The Scheduling Order said, "Motions to amend the pleadings must be HEARD by February 18, 2019." She had entered into our system that we needed to FILE motions to amend by February 18, 2019.

We filed the motion to amend on February 18, 2019. The next day, the court's clerk calls me and says, "hey, you guys realize that your filing is technically late, right"? I was confused and surprised. I pull the Scheduling Order and realize, "oh, fuck." I apologize to the clerk. Clerk says that she will hold off on putting the hearing on the court's calendar until the parties figure out a solution.

I tell the partner about this issue. Initially, he was LIVID: "HOW DID WE MISS THIS?"; "YOU HAVE TO CHECK THE MAKE SURE THE DEADLINES ARE ENTERED CORRECTLY!"

To be honest, with my prior assistant, I never checked whether she entered things into our calendaring system properly. She always did it perfectly, and for my 3 years of practice so far, we never had any issue.

After the partner calmed down, he and I called the opposing lawyer, who we have a good relationship with. Opposing lawyer says though he would not consent to the amendment to the pleading, he will consent to allow a short extension of the hearing deadline in the Scheduling Order.

Partner tells me to personally call the clerk and tell her about our agreement. I do so. Clerk says, "okay cool, please file a proposed order." I prepare the proposed order. Opposing counsel consents. Hearing is properly set and all is well.

But, despite this error being relatively harmless, it was still embarrassing. The partner eventually told me that it was not the end of the world and how it is very important to double-check that the deadlines are entered properly. He then massaged it with the client without throwing me under the bus.

[abiglawyer]

Man, this profession can be difficult sometimes. One minute, you think you've got everything under control. The next, some non-ideal mistake happens and if you feel terrible.

I'll go first.

My former assistant retired back in December 2018. She had about 33 years of litigation experience. We hire a new assistant, who has about 3 years of experience.

My new assistant is a joy to work with. But, this past week, we learned that she incorrectly entered something into our calendaring system. The Scheduling Order said, "Motions to amend the pleadings must be HEARD by February 18, 2019." She had entered into our system that we needed to FILE motions to amend by February 18, 2019.

We filed the motion to amend on February 18, 2019. The next day, the court's clerk calls me and says, "hey, you guys realize that your filing is technically late, right"? I was confused and surprised. I pull the Scheduling Order and realize, "oh, fuck." I apologize to the clerk. Clerk says that she will hold off on putting the hearing on the court's calendar until the parties figure out a solution.

I tell the partner about this issue. Initially, he was LIVID: "HOW DID WE MISS THIS?"; "YOU HAVE TO CHECK THE MAKE SURE THE DEADLINES ARE ENTERED CORRECTLY!"

To be honest, with my prior assistant, I never checked whether she entered things into our calendaring system properly. She always did it perfectly, and for my 3 years of practice so far, we never had any issue.

After the partner calmed down, he and I called the opposing lawyer, who we have a good relationship with. Opposing lawyer says though he would not consent to the amendment to the pleading, he will consent to allow a short extension of the hearing deadline in the Scheduling Order.

Partner tells me to personally call the clerk and tell her about our agreement. I do so. Clerk says, "okay cool, please file a proposed order." I prepare the proposed order. Opposing counsel consents. Hearing is properly set and all is well.

But, despite this error being relatively harmless, it was still embarrassing. The partner eventually told me that it was not the end of the world and how it is very important to double-check that the deadlines are entered properly. He then massaged it with the client without throwing me under the bus.

[Ad hominem attack against kykiske redacted] "Haha, we all make mistakes, right boys? And by 'we,' I mean support staff, of course (the poor things)."

Moderator note: It's okay to disagree with other posts, and even to disagree strongly. It's NOT okay and not acceptable on TLS to attack other posters (as opposed to their posts/opinions) on a personal level by alleging that they have a serious mental health issue. -QContinuum

[QContinuum]

[Ad hominem attack against kykiske redacted] "Haha, we all make mistakes, right boys? And by 'we,' I mean support staff, of course (the poor things)."

I didn't get that sense at all from kykiske's post. The assistant misentered the deadline, yes, but the partner didn't blame the assistant - the partner yelled at kykiske for not double-checking the assistant's work. kykiske feels terrible - as do most people when they're yelled at by their boss - hence this post.

Also for the record, TLS does not condone ad hominem attacks directed against other posters. It's fine to disagree - and to disagree strongly - but one can disagree without accusing another poster of having a mental health issue.

[kykiske]

[Ad hominem attack against kykiske redacted] "Haha, we all make mistakes, right boys? And by 'we,' I mean support staff, of course (the poor things)."

I didn't get that sense at all from kykiske's post. The assistant misentered the deadline, yes, but the partner didn't blame the assistant - the partner yelled at kykiske for not double-checking the assistant's work. kykiske feels terrible - as do most people when they're yelled at by their boss - hence this post.

Also for the record, TLS does not condone ad hominem attacks directed against other posters. It's fine to disagree - and to disagree strongly - but one can disagree without accusing another poster of having a mental health issue.

Exactly, thank you, QContinuum. I honestly wanted to create a post where people could reflect on mistakes they've made as young attorneys. I'm sure that even "abiglawyer" has made mistakes in his or her career.

The casual remark that I have a mental illness is completely unwarranted and downright disgusting. Mental health is a serious health issue--particularly in the legal profession.

There was nothing my post that suggested that I ever blamed the support staff. I even said that my new assistant was a joy to work with. She made an innocent mistake, but ultimately, the blame lies with me. The attorney is the one ultimately responsible. The error was ultimately harmless and all those involved have moved on.

[Hutz_and_Goodman]

Title of this thread says it all--the errors continue. . .

[Raiden]

[Ad hominem attack against kykiske redacted] "Haha, we all make mistakes, right boys? And by 'we,' I mean support staff, of course (the poor things)."

I didn't get that sense at all from kykiske's post. The assistant misentered the deadline, yes, but the partner didn't blame the assistant - the partner yelled at kykiske for not double-checking the assistant's work. kykiske feels terrible - as do most people when they're yelled at by their boss - hence this post.

Also for the record, TLS does not condone ad hominem attacks directed against other posters. It's fine to disagree - and to disagree strongly - but one can disagree without accusing another poster of having a mental health issue.

Exactly, thank you, QContinuum. I honestly wanted to create a post where people could reflect on mistakes they've made as young attorneys. I'm sure that even "abiglawyer" has made mistakes in his or her career.

The casual remark that I have a mental illness is completely unwarranted and downright disgusting. Mental health is a serious health issue--particularly in the legal profession.

There was nothing my post that suggested that I ever blamed the support staff. I even said that my new assistant was a joy to work with. She made an innocent mistake, but ultimately, the blame lies with me. The attorney is the one ultimately responsible. The error was ultimately harmless and all those involved have moved on.

One thing I was taught early on was to never blame the assistants. If it’s a fault, you have to take ownership of it. But man, I can imagine it being so tempting to say “the new assistant calendared it incorrectly, but yes I should’ve double checked.” Part of me feels like saying that to save face. The other part makes me want to take the higher ground and not mention the assistant’s fault.

[QContinuum]

Exactly, thank you, QContinuum. I honestly wanted to create a post where people could reflect on mistakes they've made as young attorneys. I'm sure that even "abiglawyer" has made mistakes in his or her career.

The casual remark that I have a mental illness is completely unwarranted and downright disgusting. Mental health is a serious health issue--particularly in the legal profession.

There was nothing my post that suggested that I ever blamed the support staff. I even said that my new assistant was a joy to work with. She made an innocent mistake, but ultimately, the blame lies with me. The attorney is the one ultimately responsible. The error was ultimately harmless and all those involved have moved on.

One thing I was taught early on was to never blame the assistants. If it’s a fault, you have to take ownership of it. But man, I can imagine it being so tempting to say “the new assistant calendared it incorrectly, but yes I should’ve double checked.” Part of me feels like saying that to save face. The other part makes me want to take the higher ground and not mention the assistant’s fault.

I think there's a fine - but critical - distinction to draw here between two important points. Point 1, folks are ultimately responsible for their assistants' missteps. This means that associates are ultimately responsible to the supervising partner if their assistant misdockets something. It also means that the supervising partner is ultimately responsible to the client if their associate messes up. The associate doesn't get to absolve himself of responsibility by blaming the assistant, just as the partner doesn't get to absolve herself of responsibility by blaming the associate. I think everyone ITT agrees with this point.

But point 2, which is equally important, is that the person who originally messed up - be it an associate or an assistant - also must be accountable for that error. This is true whether or not the error was caught in a timely fashion and whether or not the error had any lasting ramifications. Let's take a hypothetical where OP's new assistant, over the next few months, repeatedly misdockets deadlines. Sure, the associates working with the assistant are ultimately responsible, but that doesn't mean the assistant ought to get off scot-free. If an assistant - or associate - produces unreliable work product, that is a serious issue and something that should rightly be addressed. As an ethical issue, no one should "cover" for a poorly performing subordinate or colleague.

Taking points 1 and 2 together, I think that A) it's important for an associate in OP's position to fully accept responsibility, but B) it's also important for the supervising partner to be made aware of where the error originated. Otherwise the partner may wrongly assume that it was the associate who told the assistant an incorrect date to docket.