Don't stay for them. They'll be fine without you.

mrsconn23 · May 2018

Dear Prudence,

I have been working at my current job as a part-time legal assistant for four months with the expectation that I would be hired on as a full-time associate attorney and given a promotion after I graduated law school. (In my state, you do not need to take the bar.) I recently graduated and spoke to my boss, who indicated that I was “not ready yet” and offered to let me stay on as an assistant full time for the summer with the promise to “re-evaluate” the situation in the fall. The job I am doing is essentially the work of an attorney: I do everything my counterpart (who got the associate position) does except make court appearances, and I do it for much less money. I feel betrayed and hurt—this has been a blow to my confidence and my bank account. Everyone has encouraged me to pursue other options, but they are limited at this point, and the firm would be taking a huge hit if I left because a full-time associate is leaving soon, too. I would feel guilty for leaving my counterpart with the extra workload, but I am also concerned I wouldn’t find another job anyway. I’m afraid that continuing to work as a legal assistant when I can legally practice law as an attorney will look bad on my résumé to future employers.

—Qualified and Underpaid

STARMOON44 · May 2018

How did you get through law school with this little gumption? Put all your efforts into finding a new job. Tell other employers the truth- this was a great part time job in law school but now you’re obviously looking for an attorney role. They won’t look down on the within months of graduation. Talk to career services at school.

banana468 · May 2018

1) Take the bar exam for your state if other respected attorneys in your field have passed it.

2) Document your performance. Add it to your resume and start looking.

3) Is your expectation reasonable? Were you mislead or is this aggressive for your field?

4) Finally, assuming that your expectations are valid, don't NOT make a career choice out of feelings you have for an employer that isn't respecting you. Treat all as you're doing the job you're hired to do but also understand that you should leave if other opportunities to further your career present themselves.

charlotte989875 · May 2018

Stay on in the full time position while you study for the bar. Pass it and start looking for other opportunities. I'm assuming none of the promises they made you were put in writing?

Maybe they will re-evaluate in the fall. Maybe you will be considered, but maybe they'll do an external search. You need to look out for your own career, not the firm. They'll find someone to take your place.

short+sassy · May 2018

I actually have a lot of questions from this letter.

If I'd had that conversation with my boss, my reply would have been something like, "I'm disappointed to hear that, but appreciate your candor. What are the concerns you have with my stepping into an associate role?" And then lead that into a discussion about the game plan I can take over the summer to prove I'm ready.

From the letter, I'm wondering if the LW had any discussion like that. They seem to be coming from a stance "of course I'm ready". And annoyed that their boss doesn't see that. Instead of doing any self reflection that maybe they aren't ready and the boss gave them wise words, even if they were painful to hear.

They also seem a little "whatever" and blasé about taking the bar exam. The state might not require attorneys to take the bar exam in order to practice law, but I'd bet the law firms want to see that with their associates. Maybe his colleague who recently became an associate...I'm assuming also a new grad...is already going gung-ho on bar preparation and the boss isn't getting that vibe from LW.

Or, on a more shady side, maybe the law firm only had one associate position available and chose the other colleague. With an excuse to the LW. However, I think something above is more likely.

It wouldn't hurt for the LW to start looking for something else. But, I suspect if they get over their hurt and give thought to what the boss said. And improve. This will be merely a brief delay on the way to associate.

In one of my first jobs, my friend's H was just finishing law school and had been working as an intern for a couple years at a local firm. They offered him an associate position when he graduated. But he still needed to take the bar, which they help their new grad attorneys with.

When the bar exam was shortly coming up, he started getting a little nervous and asked his boss what would happen if he failed. The boss started to allay his fears with a big smile and a promise that they never fire anyone if they fail it the first time. But then, thought for a second and added, "Although, there isn't a lot we can use you for, until you pass it. It does become a problem if you fail it a second time." Fortunately, he passed. The first time, lol.

Ro041 · May 2018

@banana468 and PPs who mentioned the bar - LW probably lives in Wisconsin or somewhere with rules like those in WI. If you go to a WI law school and graduate, you do not have to take the WI bar to become licensed in that state. People who don't go to WI law schools have to take the bar if they want to be licensed there, but those are the only attorneys who have to do so to get licensed there. Law firms in WI don't require anything special from graduates because they are licensed once they graduate. Taking the bar when you are already licensed in that state would be a fool's errand and a waste of money.

With that in mind, LW needs to start looking for a job where s/he can use their license. If you don't, you risk missing the train and being up sh*t's creek when the next graduating class goes out into the workforce.

Edit - clarity

short+sassy · May 2018

@Ro041, thanks for the example of how it is in WI! Interesting.

Are there other states like that? It seems like you always hear the path is graduate from law school --> take the bar to become licensed. But I guess I only know that for sure, for Louisiana. And we are oddballs with our Napoleonic Code, lol.

Ro041 · May 2018

@short+sassy I looked it up because WI was the only state that I knew of and apparently New Hampshire is the only other state that currently allows graduates from their state to become licensed without a bar exam.

I live in the Midwest and had to take a bar exam to become licensed in my state but I sure as heck wouldn't have gone through all that hell and anxiety if I didn't have to!

short+sassy · June 2018

Ro041 said:

@short+sassy I looked it up because WI was the only state that I knew of and apparently New Hampshire is the only other state that currently allows graduates from their state to become licensed without a bar exam.

I live in the Midwest and had to take a bar exam to become licensed in my state but I sure as heck wouldn't have gone through all that hell and anxiety if I didn't have to!

I can definitely understand that, lol!

I had just been originally wondering if it was like a situation I'm more familiar with. I work in the engineering industry (I'm not an engineer). A typical license an engineer can get is a PE (Professional Engineer). But they don't have to. They never have to. They can work as an engineer just fine without one, though may not be able to advance their career as far.

The only difference is an engineer needs their PE license to stamp drawings. However, even for jobs where an engineer would never need to stamp drawings anyway, someone with their PE will typically be paid more and they're more desirable as a candidate. At the three companies I've worked at, only the Project Managers/Leads stamp drawings, so a PE is technically not necessary for the majority of the engineering jobs.

In fact, the last place I worked, when a current employee got their PE license, it was pretty much a guaranteed jump in salary.

Thanks for clarifying it doesn't work that way in the couple states where a law school graduate (from that state) doesn't need to pass the bar.

MesmrEwe · June 2018

"If you're smart enough to graduate from Law School..."

The reality is that the LW may not "be ready" and is still in that phase of life where they've only experienced life in academia and not prepared for what is to come with real world vs. what they taught in school (the old saying "Never let school get in the way of your education), however now that she's got the credentials that may change what they've had her doing thus far. OTOH, LW also needs to take responsibility to get the skills if the lawyer in question made this more of a mentoring type position. If the mentoring type situation with the position is not the case, this is what resume's are for as well as making the risk to start in private practice possibly on the side. Nothing says "you're ready" quite like diving in!

VarunaTT · June 2018

People graduating from law school are still in their early 20s, so I can see where LW's experiencing some anxiety over confronting an employer.

Having said that, leave. Don't feel sorry for an employer taking a hit, when you feel disrespected and unappreciated. Not only that, I'm assuming student loans don't give a crap about your employer's feelings either. I've worked in law offices a long time and if you make mistakes, the attorney you're under sure as hell tells you about it and teaches you to correct it. This sounds like someone is being taken advantage of, more than anything.

Don't stay for them. They'll be fine without you.

Re: Don't stay for them. They'll be fine without you.

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