In need of advice. In February, I was reassigned teams within my firm. My new team is very busy. My former counterpart is due in October and I’ve been notified I’m expected to continue working for my team & cover my former counterpart’s desk during maternity leave. Per HR a temp isn’t an option. I doubt I’ll be able to keep up with the workload of both. On top of it all, my family plan to move cross country this fall. How would you handle this? Don’t want to leave on a bad note/give notice yet.

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I think the best thing go do is sit down with your manager and explain that the workload isn't feasible for one person. Ask if the counterparts duties can be split between other team members. Also siggest setting clear expectations with attorneys on how long projects might take, now that you're down one team member. If they say no to that, then I think you're justified in asking for a temporary raise to compensate you for the extra work, and a clear agreement showing you won't be dinged on your performance evaluation for work taking longer than usual.

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I would just calmly explain your current workload and that you have concerns about adding to it and would like to explore potential solutions (i.e., if it is the case that there is no one else to cover your counterparts role, could your current workload be lessened / distributed out across your team to allow you time to dedicate to the cover?).

I think if you approach it in a way that is not confrontational and are open to discussing all options then there is nothing else you can do.

If the firm turns round and refuses to engage in any discussion, then you can feel more certain / justified about going down the notice route if it is truly something that you do not think you can handle.

Wishing you luck!

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I would also ask your counterpart to sit down with you and your team leader. Have the counterpart explain their duties and you do the same.

This may only work if your counterpart agrees with you about the workload. But having them on your side could be beneficial. When I went on maternity leave earlier this year I knew my counterpart would be very overwhelmed and I let the attorneys know that my caseload and her caseload together would be hard for her to do all on her own. She luckily had a couple of associates and other paras/legal assistants say they could pick up some extra slack while I was gone.

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