Today was a new day. I walked into my boss's office and said "I'm quitting." His response was "you should quit." This started out as a blog about being a lawyer and the trials and tribulations one faces. It is now about me leaving a corrupt and obviously sketchy (redundant, somewhat) firm. As soon as I sit down he calls his brother and puts him on speaker phone for the next hour we argued and fought. He calls me a disgrace, that I ruined his name in the persian community. I didn't listen to his brother (the client!!!) I explained the judge said to keep the trial and my comments to Whether the brother did the work and whether he is owed money. My boss said I should apologize for my performance. That he asked me numerous times if my heart was in it, and I'm clearly lying to him when I say that. I responded that I did the best I could with the evidence I had. I stayed late, I worked weekends. In the end you can't beat a mountain of evidence showing faulty billing practices, wrong dates, double billing. I told him I didn't appreciate being double teamed instead of a quiet conversation.
This just went on for an hour, he expected an apology that wouldn't come. I would have liked an apology for sacrficing me to the judicial gods, but that sure as shit wasn't coming. Finally, his brother says who were those two people sitting watching the trial. I responded "my friends" they said they want names. I said no. I would not give their names to you. That set them off. That the brother was my client and I owed him an ethical duty to reveal who those people in the seats were. I said I won't do it. My loyalty lies with them not you.
What I wish I said: "oh really, ethical considerations, let's talk ethics. Let's talk bringing a fraudulent case with no evidence, let's talk shady billing practices or threatening to sue with no evidence, let's talk about this firm. Let's talk about making people work for free for 5-12 weeks at both offices, then 2k a month for the first three months, and your brother only offering 1k a month for the first three months"
If I was gutsy I would have said that, but I'm trying to get out of here alive. In one last guilt trip he says he treated me like his brother (if you want to make your brother work ten hours a day for about ten dollars an hour while you reap $1600 a day off his work then yes) and that how hopefully in five years I'll appreciate what he did for me (I enjoy being sacrificed to judges for fraudulent cases). I offer to stay til the end of the month or as soon as he can find someone to replace me.
As an attorney references are important. You want other firms to know that you did a good job and they should take a chance on you. When you go out as poorly as I am, the best thing to do is to stay for a few days and make him feel bad for how obviously he got it wrong.
For the record, to those two people who may read this. I just got another email demanding your names, and I just sent another response saying that's not going to happen.
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