I've decided to continue with the next part of my blog, skipping out of order and continuing on with my life at TULF. I think I will have to break up each blog entry by specific complaints I have at TULF.
When I was interviewed I was told that I would have a supervisor but not really any mentoring or proper supervision. Interesting, considering I was a first-year attorney and without proper guidance I would most likely fail at everything I'd be doing. Not to toot my own horn, but the only reason I even succeeded at TULF was due to my inate ability to learn quickly. I also took it upon myself to engage in a lot of self-teaching. After two weeks it became quite clear that I wasn't going to be taught anything. I was told to draft letters, make phone calls to other attorneys, and eventually go to court, with little to no supervision. Look, I never would blame my supervisor, especially after some time passed and I stepped into his shoes (a completely separate story). He was in a very bad situation. He had to report to the partner, do his own work, make tons of phone calls and also deal with me. He was a really nice, down to earth guy, who by the end of his time at TULF began to be very much on edge...a kind of affect that was not surprising. I guess I was a bit surprised but not shocked when he told me that he was leaving TULF. I do honestly believe that his departure brought forth the "Reign of Horror." Prior to his departure, we would all leave early on Fridays, we all used to eat lunch together and just the general atmosphere in the office was much less toxic. Most of us didn't actually fear for our jobs on a daily basis. After my supervisor's departure the environment instantly tensed up. The last two weeks that my supervisor was working at TULF, he told me how much I've improved and how great I'd gotten at drafting letters, contracts, and dealing with clients. He also told me how happy clients were with me. It's good to know that all my extremely hard work was paying off somehow.
Oh, and it was announced to me that Ashley would become my new supervisor. She is a brilliant attorney and I always admired and looked to her for advice but I honestly have to say I was surprised. First, she didn't have any background in the specific area of practice I was working in and she would need some time to learn, which would leave her with very little time for me (yet again). Secondly, in the months leading up to the announcement of Ashley becoming my supervisor there were many issues between her and the senior heads (all of which was no big secret around the office). Thankfully for her, they changed their minds (which they do a lot) and gave her the promotion.
I discussed with Ashley many months later because I had always wondered after they offered her the position if they possibly were motivated by setting her up to fail. It could have been a stretch but for those of you that don't know these people, it could very well have been possible. On the other hand, devising a plan like that would only imply they are capable of cunning and intelligent thoughts, which is rather far-fetched.
The ongoing theme of lack of any mentoring or quality supervision continues throughout this blog and still continues to date at TULF. They hire brand new associates fresh out of law school so that they can pay them little to nothing. However, there is never the ability to teach the associates anything. They never build a true foundation of skills they can use for the rest of their careers. They just pick things up here and there. Oh, and if you screw up, which is bound to happen because of the underlying issue of improper supervision, they then treat you like the biggest moron on the planet. You are belittled, criticized, and even yelled at. Sometimes you are even treated as though you are a 2nd grader being scolded by a principal. Wow, I didn't know I had to go to law school and come out the other side just to be treated like a snail on the sidewalk.
And so, I assumed my role as subordinate to my friend...really weird feeling, not knowing how to deal with it. Would it ruin our friendship? Would I find out if she was really a true friend that I would have for life? Only time would tell.
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