It's a freak show, baby
Here's the thing about small law firms: You never really know what you're getting into when you accept a job with one until you actually start the job. You might be walking into a great situation that you'll really enjoy, or you might be walking into a total freak show.
Sadly, with my new job, I have walked into the freakiest freak show in the history of freakishness. I mean, I've really never seen anything like this before in my life. I've never even imagined anything like this. There is no way I could possibly even begin to describe to you how weird this office is, but I shall try.
There are three attorneys: the owner of the firm, one attorney who's been working there for seven years, and one who's been there for two years. There are five legal assistants, all of whom are young college kids or recent grads. Two of them gave their two-weeks notice this past week. The other three have been there for eight months, one and a half months, and one month.
The high turnover rate is due to the fact that the owner is perhaps the weirdest person I have ever met, and he is also incredibly difficult to work for. On the one hand, he is a total control freak the likes of which I have never seen. He has all of these ridiculous, convoluted office "procedures," which must be followed to the letter and which usually involve filling out a checklist which must be handed in to him. Woe betide the legal assistant who fails to follow a procedure exactly as he should, for he will be on the receiving end of a condescending, demoralizing lecture and will then be targeted for scorn for the remainder of the day.
My job is to manage the office and supervise the legal assistants, which means much of my time is spent trying to shield these kids from the wrath of the megalomaniac. None of them has ever worked in a law office before and they have no idea that this place just ain't right. They think this is just the way it is. Poor kids.
The guy also makes his IT people (who contract with him to do his computer and server maintenance) provide him with a comprehensive list of everybody's computer and email passwords on a weekly basis. The guy who came in to set up my computer on my first day told me that he has a lot of attorneys as clients, and that this guy is the most demanding, controlling, and all around weird client he's ever had.
He also has all kinds of ridiculous rules -- for example, he does not like to hear or see the names of any former employees, so they must be wiped from the computer system as soon as they quit, and must not be mentioned again.
On the other hand, despite all the control-freak tendencies this guy has, the office looks like a garbage dump, and I am not exaggerating. There are literally piles of trash -- broken office equipment, broken or used up office supplies, empty 12-pack soda boxes, etc. -- piled up from floor to ceiling. The owner's office is just one gigantic pile of papers and garbage. There is no organization to anything. The client "files" are just stacks of disorganized papers rubber banded together. Furthermore, the equipment and furniture is all old and rickety. The printers sound like the apocalypse when in use. The whole place looks like it's going to collapse any day now.
Of course, you don't see any of this mess in the reception area or the conference room, which are the only areas I saw when interviewing. They are neat as a pin.
The funny thing is that I think he truly believes that he provides a state-of-the-art, comfortable work environment for his employees, and he doesn't understand why he can't seem to keep anyone for any length of time. It's just the most bizarre thing I've ever seen.
Even with the way this new job turned out, I'm still not sorry I left the other one. I was really miserable there. Needless to say, however, I won't be staying at the new place, either. I'm hoping that another offer will come through next week, but even if it doesn't, I'm going to quit this freak show. I wouldn't mind just taking some time off. I could use a break. Fortunately, I'm in a position where I can afford to take my time looking for the right spot. I'm really thankful for that.
Sadly, with my new job, I have walked into the freakiest freak show in the history of freakishness. I mean, I've really never seen anything like this before in my life. I've never even imagined anything like this. There is no way I could possibly even begin to describe to you how weird this office is, but I shall try.
There are three attorneys: the owner of the firm, one attorney who's been working there for seven years, and one who's been there for two years. There are five legal assistants, all of whom are young college kids or recent grads. Two of them gave their two-weeks notice this past week. The other three have been there for eight months, one and a half months, and one month.
The high turnover rate is due to the fact that the owner is perhaps the weirdest person I have ever met, and he is also incredibly difficult to work for. On the one hand, he is a total control freak the likes of which I have never seen. He has all of these ridiculous, convoluted office "procedures," which must be followed to the letter and which usually involve filling out a checklist which must be handed in to him. Woe betide the legal assistant who fails to follow a procedure exactly as he should, for he will be on the receiving end of a condescending, demoralizing lecture and will then be targeted for scorn for the remainder of the day.
My job is to manage the office and supervise the legal assistants, which means much of my time is spent trying to shield these kids from the wrath of the megalomaniac. None of them has ever worked in a law office before and they have no idea that this place just ain't right. They think this is just the way it is. Poor kids.
The guy also makes his IT people (who contract with him to do his computer and server maintenance) provide him with a comprehensive list of everybody's computer and email passwords on a weekly basis. The guy who came in to set up my computer on my first day told me that he has a lot of attorneys as clients, and that this guy is the most demanding, controlling, and all around weird client he's ever had.
He also has all kinds of ridiculous rules -- for example, he does not like to hear or see the names of any former employees, so they must be wiped from the computer system as soon as they quit, and must not be mentioned again.
On the other hand, despite all the control-freak tendencies this guy has, the office looks like a garbage dump, and I am not exaggerating. There are literally piles of trash -- broken office equipment, broken or used up office supplies, empty 12-pack soda boxes, etc. -- piled up from floor to ceiling. The owner's office is just one gigantic pile of papers and garbage. There is no organization to anything. The client "files" are just stacks of disorganized papers rubber banded together. Furthermore, the equipment and furniture is all old and rickety. The printers sound like the apocalypse when in use. The whole place looks like it's going to collapse any day now.
Of course, you don't see any of this mess in the reception area or the conference room, which are the only areas I saw when interviewing. They are neat as a pin.
The funny thing is that I think he truly believes that he provides a state-of-the-art, comfortable work environment for his employees, and he doesn't understand why he can't seem to keep anyone for any length of time. It's just the most bizarre thing I've ever seen.
Even with the way this new job turned out, I'm still not sorry I left the other one. I was really miserable there. Needless to say, however, I won't be staying at the new place, either. I'm hoping that another offer will come through next week, but even if it doesn't, I'm going to quit this freak show. I wouldn't mind just taking some time off. I could use a break. Fortunately, I'm in a position where I can afford to take my time looking for the right spot. I'm really thankful for that.
posted by Catherine at 10:05 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home