Good Job Busting Ass Kid, Now Go Out There and Kill Yourself
The Memo went over well. Really well. Too well?
Lucky for me, the subject matter happened to be employment law, my law school specialty. In addition to covering the question The Boss asked, I took a risk and tagged on an itty-bit about possible alternative theories of liabilty. At first I was afraid, I was petrified....
Sometimes to usually, lawyers don't like it when some youngin mentions something they didn't think of first. Newbie Law Clerk Faux Pas if you will. Happened to me during my 2L summer at a hot-shot San Francisco firm. Doing research, I found case law that looked bad for us. I noted this in a memo, written to the partner leading the case. I labeled it my opinion, but he freaked. Called me into his office and went litigator on me, attempting to convince me I was wrong. I told him I understood his points, but noted opposing counsel would undoubtedly make the argument. He grimaced and things were weird for the rest of the summer. He is currently being sued for malpractice.
Anyhow. Fortunately for me, I did not learn my lesson last summer. Inhibition disorder intact, I went ahead and tried the whole 'overstepping the bounds of my assignment' on New Boss. New Boss liked it. He said "This is really, really good" multiple times in a matter of minutes. I was very excited, thinking "Really? Tell me more." He liked the alternative theories bit and asked for more research soas he can decide whether to try ammending to add them.
So... this was all very, very satisfying for Lex. Then, around 6:00pm, as I'm getting ready to go home (whatever, I can leave at 6:00, I don't make 100k a year), I get called into The Boss' office.
Apparently, there is a document for another case needing to be written stat. The Boss wants me to take a shot at it, which is flattering, but I am worried as I sit here staring at stacks of case information. These medical words are really long, and I lose my train of thought when I have to stop to look them up. There are thousands of pages of deposition testimony I will never be able to read through, understand, and consolidate. I don't see how I can do another "Really, really good"piece of work this time. But I will be trying. And, apparently, living at my desk until late Thursday.
Hmmm. There is a really pretty vase in the office that I just noticed for the first time. If it had a genie in it, all my problems would be solved and I would be at the beach playing guitar.
Lucky for me, the subject matter happened to be employment law, my law school specialty. In addition to covering the question The Boss asked, I took a risk and tagged on an itty-bit about possible alternative theories of liabilty. At first I was afraid, I was petrified....
Sometimes to usually, lawyers don't like it when some youngin mentions something they didn't think of first. Newbie Law Clerk Faux Pas if you will. Happened to me during my 2L summer at a hot-shot San Francisco firm. Doing research, I found case law that looked bad for us. I noted this in a memo, written to the partner leading the case. I labeled it my opinion, but he freaked. Called me into his office and went litigator on me, attempting to convince me I was wrong. I told him I understood his points, but noted opposing counsel would undoubtedly make the argument. He grimaced and things were weird for the rest of the summer. He is currently being sued for malpractice.
Anyhow. Fortunately for me, I did not learn my lesson last summer. Inhibition disorder intact, I went ahead and tried the whole 'overstepping the bounds of my assignment' on New Boss. New Boss liked it. He said "This is really, really good" multiple times in a matter of minutes. I was very excited, thinking "Really? Tell me more." He liked the alternative theories bit and asked for more research soas he can decide whether to try ammending to add them.
So... this was all very, very satisfying for Lex. Then, around 6:00pm, as I'm getting ready to go home (whatever, I can leave at 6:00, I don't make 100k a year), I get called into The Boss' office.
Apparently, there is a document for another case needing to be written stat. The Boss wants me to take a shot at it, which is flattering, but I am worried as I sit here staring at stacks of case information. These medical words are really long, and I lose my train of thought when I have to stop to look them up. There are thousands of pages of deposition testimony I will never be able to read through, understand, and consolidate. I don't see how I can do another "Really, really good"piece of work this time. But I will be trying. And, apparently, living at my desk until late Thursday.
Hmmm. There is a really pretty vase in the office that I just noticed for the first time. If it had a genie in it, all my problems would be solved and I would be at the beach playing guitar.
posted by Lex Fori at
11:16 AM
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