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I'm looking for work as a Credit Controller. Preferably remote or hybrid with a lot of flexibility. I've been working remotely for the last 1.5 years and would like to continue that. I have 8.5 years of experience as a Credit Controller in B2B set up. I'm based in England but happy to work in any country :) JPMorgan Chase Citi Wells Fargo Deloitte Accenture Amazon Tata Consultancy Infosys Morgan Stanley
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Good Morning, 0ur firm in Ellicott CIty, Maryland is seeking a dynamic Family Paralegal. Those of you attorneys working in this area of law, know how beneficial a paralegal is to the work environment and for your own productivity. We want someone who has some experience but at the very least who can analyze financial statements and discovery, draft. We are seeking an intelligent, friendly, good person who is looking for a work home. My email is gsiegel@siegellaw.net to send your resume.
I hate being an attorney. How do I get out.
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Literally didn’t sleep a wink last night. Just tossing and turning over all the toxicity I dealt with yesterday and will deal with this week. I definitely think my work if detrimental to my health/quality of life. The worst part is that I can see it, but I’m just too exhausted to make a change.
I have a policy where I do not speak to clients for 24 hours (unless an OTSC is filed) after I provide them with a letter/motion if it is going to cause a visceral reaction in them. I want to talk to them when their head is clear and their emotions have settled. I still have the nagging pit in my stomach but it’s a firm way to manage my clients.
I’ll send it in an email and include a proposed phone conference time in the email so they are aware. I also ask them to take notes as they review it so we can discuss it during our call (and this inevitably makes them realize they are overreacting when they look at it with fresh eyes). Not everyone likes it but I’ve been practicing family law for 10 years and find it to have minimized the toxic clients- if they don’t like my approach they are probably difficult clients who won’t pay their bill anyway.
I practice family law in California. It is certainly a nasty business, one thing that helps is enforcing boundaries with clients. We don’t take calls outside of business hours with rare exception. If it is truly an emergency then the client needs to call the police first, not us. There’s nothing I can do between 9pm-12am to address the PO, and we make sure our clients know that. Very few clients have access to my personal line, and our office phone is only answered 9am-5pm.
I’m also very lucky to work on a team with enough clients and legitimate work to do that we don’t need to churn out pointless work and incendiary motions just to meet our minimums. I think that makes a huge difference for me. We’ve had clients leave because we won’t be needlessly nasty on their behalf, or because we won’t pick up late night calls, but we can afford to let them go.
^ This.
Continued….Does anyone handle strictly uncontested or amicable divorces? How do you advertise for that? “If your spouse is a d*ck, then I’m not the lawyer for you.” I love family law and the money is good but this is the dark side that I hate. Do you feel like toxic divorces have sucked your soul? Do you wish you got out sooner? Any type of feedback is welcome.
(I am a solo practitioner.)
A6 what are the 3 questions you ask that immediately reveal it is contested?
Clients don’t get my personal/home number. Made that mistake one time and that was enough. I’ve never said this to a client, but I will often tell colleagues: if someone is dying, I’m the wrong kind of doctor to address that. If no one is dying, is it an emergency?
(And no, I don’t go around requiring people to call me doctor cause it’s a JD. This is just one situation where the doctor/doctorate comes into play to emphasize the point)
You need a team to deal with contested divorces. One attorney is not enough.
Imagine writing, going to court and talking to client on your own/ you can handle like maybe 15 cases like that at once top - I mean contested divorces
Over the past 30 years of family law litigation practice, my observation is that it is our brothers and sisters at the bar who are responsible for the toxicity and destruction. Some of them stir up trouble in order to create (lucrative) litigation. Some do it because they think they can please their clients by making a show in court. What they do in the majority of cases is destroy what remains of parental relationships between the parties, and they irrevocably damage their children in many ways. And they engender hatred and mistrust amongst lawyers. We’re professionals and should be held to a high standard, but nobody cares about that- just the payment of the fees. It’s gotten worse over the past 10 years; I will not be heartbroken to retire (at some point in the next 5 - 6 years)! For those with a couple of decades left of practice, learn to compartmentalize- don’t let the clients or opposing lawyers live in your head: leave them at the office. If certain lawyers are shitheads, that’s who they are and they are welcome to their own miserable lives. They are not going to make me get an ulcer. Enjoy your private life and never talk about cases with your family and friends.
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Out of curiosity - which state are you located in?
Maybe get into child welfare? More drama and heartbreak but somehow less stressful because you are fighting against the state and not your average lunatics.
I hate family law. I do criminal and started doing it to make more money. It was very stressful and not conducive to a happy life.
I’m transitioning from family to estate planning…and I think it’s going to be a much less toxic area…
We do EP as well and although no where near as toxic, malpractice is far more prevalent in EP and clients are cheap since they have LegalZoom etc so they’re is even more price shopping
Have you considered collaborative family law practice? Is it available in your state?
Yes. I’m a solo (as of a year ago) in my third trimester with my second child. I have begun more closely screening potential clients and have gotten more comfortable telling consults that I don’t have the capacity etc for their case. If they start telling me that there’s a potential DV aspect or abuse allegation to the case I refer them to someone who thrives on those types of cases. I’ve found amazing referral sources who send lots of prenups my way which I enjoy a lot more, especially at this phase of my life. I still take litigated cases but have found that the pickier I’ve gotten about the types of cases I accept, the better the cases I take on and I feel less stress. Honestly, if this is causing you undue stress, tell the client you think she would be better served by an attorney who has more time or whatever and refer it out.
I think this was the general consensus among everyone i worked with in family court
Yes, unfortunately its my only frame of reference and I honestly don't know if id be good any any other type of law. Plus its scary to think of having to deal with an entire jury panel after dealing exclusively with bench trials. s...That's always the challenge i guess, though - our own insecurities.
I'm looking at a change right now, but its especially hard because id be leaving my parent's family law firm at a really tough time, and the perks of being related to the boss