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If OC has a legitimate complaint, the partners at your firm should be stepping in to handle this, talk OC off the ledge, and generally protect you. If they’re not willing to do that, you need to start looking for a new job immediately. That said, in my jurisdiction at least the courts almost never award sanctions against counsel, even for some pretty bad behavior. Unless you’ve done something super egregious it’s likely nothing you need to be too concerned about.
AA1, it’s me and another associate who is trying to help me but they’re technically a midlevel. The rest are partners.
Rising Star
Is your firm’s GC not involved at this point? If not, you need to find a way to loop them in ASAP. And what do you mean the partners haven’t stepped in? Like they’ve done literally nothing and left you to handle a sanctions threat entirely alone? This is all very strange and a strong signal you probably need to lateral.
Oy. Is the partner who told you to do this still with the firm?
In this situation, it’s essentially the partner’s fault. If the partner doesn’t help you, I’d at least consider throwing the partner under the bus (which is what they’re possibly trying to do to you). You could tell the partner that if YOU have to respond to the sanctions motion then you will have to give YOUR explanation, which is that the partner told you to do it and as a new attorney trying to keep your job you did it and you’re sorry. Under those circumstances the judge shouldn’t sanction you but may order the partner to a hearing to explain themself. Of course, you have to balance this with career realities, but it’s a worst-case-scenario option. Otherwise the partner should call OC and/or take the blame in a response. And any response itself, in addition to making procedural defenses, should see if there are any other merits defenses or other ways to paint the other side badly, so the judge may just get exasperated and tell all the lawyers to get their act together. Otherwise, don’t be too apologetic but keep it balanced. “It was an inadvertent oversight since I was just assigned the file and there’s been a lot of turnover so I wasn’t fully aware of the many arguments previously made. It won’t happen again.” Just thinking out loud. If the judge likes you and feels sorry for you but still respects you, they may just verbally reprimand you but deny sanctions.
I do family law and attorneys move for sanctions all the time. First of all, check the rule under which they are asking for sanctions - in my state, a lot of times a safe harbor letter is required first. If they’re not in compliance with the rule, there you go.
If they are, try not to panic. Most judges were practicing attorneys once too and are usually hesitant to sanction attorneys. Even if you do get sanctioned, in my state it is not something that goes on a state bar record or anything like that - it happens, you (or preferably the firm) pay the sanction, and you move on. I would start looking for another job if you’re just being dumped on by the partners though.
Pro
Is yours the only name on the pleadings? If not, then sanctions are usually against the firm not whichever warm body shows up.
Not uncommon for OC to try to big time baby lawyers. Depends on your JX but excusable neglect is a thing. Did you do something egregious like commit some sort of fraud? Or did you make a minor error?
You haven’t been practicing long enough to have done anything truly bad…
Pro
Hard earned lesson: Always remember that your number 1 goal is to look out for #1. Don’t sign your name to anything you don’t stand behind. No one else is going to look out for your license.
Have the partners been looped in? If no, they need to be looped in immediately.
Yes, already have.