I'm working on a list of "Red Flags:" things clients say during an initial consultation that let me know they're going to be a problem. Here's what I have so far:

If they have had three different attorneys and fired all of them
Complaining about prior counsel
"I need to ask a lawyer a question."
"I'm looking for a second opinion"
"This is an emergency."
"I want a lawyer who will fight for me."
"Do you offer a free consultation?"
"Are you a good fighter?"
"[The opposing party] doesn't even want the kids; they're just trying to get to me.
Previous Pro SE representation
references malpractice suit
References to the ARDC (or relevant disciplinary board)

What am I leaving out?

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Posted by20 hours ago

How do you address opposing counsel communicating directly with your client?

Best Practices

For more context, I am in-house for a large SaaS provider. One of my teams is trying to help a customer understand our technology. The customer’s counsel got involved, and has been directly questioning my team and seeking information for a week. No attorney from my company was on the thread, nor did he request that they add one to the thread. But he did request to speak with an attorney, so he knows the company is represented.

There’s the easier, internal issue of why our team didn’t immediately pull in counsel once this guy jumped in. I can coach them on that, document it, it’ll be fine.

Then there’s the bigger issue of the customer’s attorney engaging with a represented party. He’s relatively new to the profession (3 years), so I want to cut him some slack. At the same time, he knows my company has representation. I’m trying not to project, but this is one of those ethics rules that is really, really easy to comply with. There is no excuse not to say, “Hey, I have some questions and would love to engage on this. Please loop in your counsel so we can all discuss.”

My thinking is to send a side email essentially saying, “I don’t know what you were thinking, but please be more mindful of your ethical obligations when communicating with represented parties.”

But I’m curious - whether in-house or at a firm, how have you handled this scenario? What considerations have you made in addressing it?

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Posted by15 hours ago

How important is it to start in the area of law you want to practice?

Career & Job Hunting Support

There aren’t many environmental law opportunities in the state where I’ll soon take the bar, so how realistic is it for me to start in something like civil defense or administrative law for a couple years and switch later to environmental? I’m willing to take another bar exam later, but in law school I’ve heard many attorneys say “I wanted to do xyz but started getting abc assignments at my firm and I’ve done it ever since.” How do I avoid this? There are firms here that do environmental work, but it’s usually on the other side of the v. I’m hoping to end up in government or nonprofit.

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Posted by1 day ago

Has anyone ever regretted leaving a low paying in house position with lots of vacation for a better paying job at a firm?

Career & Job Hunting Support

Here are some of the differences: In house: 5 weeks vacation/year, little supervision, lots of work with lots of independence to get it done on your own without much oversight. Cons: low salary.

Firm job: 2 weeks vacation, micromanage at least early on until become senior attorney, much higher standards (can’t just copy/paste a motion, it’s expected to do research for original content. Was told clients read our work and have high expectations and option to use another firm if we don’t live up to their high expectations.). Less freedom. Pros: 55% higher salary which is a very big standard of living difference.

I have second interviews with both of the above next week after passing the first round. They both pretty much want to hire me.

Current situation: overworked with very low pay and ready to jump ship to one of the above. I don’t have student loans (thanks to scholarships) and I already have many months worth of reserves saved up but I do have mortgages and the cost of living is high where I live. I could use a new car and do remodeling projects for my home which I currently can’t afford.

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194

Posted by2 days ago

A reminder to partners - you have no idea what is going on in your associate’s lives

I Need To Vent

Both my husband and I are lawyers. I am 10 weeks pregnant. Our firms don’t know about the pregnancy yet. The first trimester has been the worst experience of my life. I am throwing up constantly. All I can manage right now is work, some sleep, and some intermittent eating. My husband is literally helping me do everything. He also has decided to join me in not drinking throughout the pregnancy.

Additionally, my husbands family have decided to go bat shit insane. Dealing with them has become a daily struggle. We have had to block their phone numbers and all social media. Despite this, they are emailing us at work, writing us letters, and have shown up at our house multiple times. Today, I am barfing my guts out at home and my husband is at work. His mother just showed up at our place. I obviously did not answer the door, partially because I am stuck hugging a toilet and also because she’s nuts.

My husband has billed his hours and is trying to come home to help me out. But his partner is INSISTING that he go out with him for drinks. My husband told his partner that he really needed to get home, and the partner just will not lay off. So my husband is currently sitting at a bar, drinking a beer that he doesn’t want, to keep his partner happy, while I contemplate calling the cops on his mother whilst puking. To the partners out there, please just keep in mind that you never know what is going on. Sometimes bring social might be working for your life and be a priority to you at the moment and not for your associate.

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