You may think this segment wouldn't belong in a article on paralegal studies, or you may think office politics is just common sense. In some ways it is common sense. But a new paralegal should never believe that office politics do not count in a law firm. I have seen many well-intentioned legal assistants never make it to the rank of paralegal because they made some serious political blunders in their office environment.
In many small ways, law office prestige is eked out by collecting little endearments and favors over time. These are achieved best through steady and productive quality work and smart office politics. It does matter with whom you run in a law office. It matters what you say, and to whom. It matters when you say things. It matters whether you gossip or snitch. And, yes, it matters whether you are generally liked by many in the office, or if you are the one who silences the room when you enter because everyone was gossiping about you.
Here are some tips on office politics that will serve you well in a law firm:
1. Keep your conversations at work short and light. Never get into a long discussion about a "deep" subject during your office hours – even if the boss doesn't appear to be around. You would be surprised how many law firms have phone and room monitors, and how many regularly read or purge your email files. Oh, yes they do, and don't let anyone in your firm suggest to you that they don't. In the rare event that you go to work for such an old-timer, it is still a good practice to keep conversations light; it helps people to better like you.
2. Beware of the office troublemaker. He or she will always have negative things to say about someone. The sophisticated troublemakers will wrap bombastic words in something that sounds like a sincere concern. They are poison; politely flee, but flee immediately, and don't be seen around the firm [or at lunch] with them or you will get passed over for perks, special assignments, and recognition.
3. Another troublemaker tactic is to bait you into saying something that can be easily exported out of context and used as an example of your "bad attitude." They may complain to you that they are is so very tired and have been working a lot of overtime on a boss's project, and then wait in hopes you will make some personal complaint that can be extracted and reported back to your attorney or human resources.
4. When you are given a special privilege that others do not get, keep your mouth shut about it. If it is something that excites you, then tell your family. But never talk around the office about such things. Your talk will create jealousy and make you seem prideful to your office mates; you can do without either of these factors in your career.
5. Never allow yourself the luxury of being even slightly rude or curt to an attorney's spouse or significant other. Regardless of what you think of this person, keep it to yourself and treat him or her with the greatest gentleness and kindness.
6. Give respect to everyone alike around your office, even if they do not give you any respect; even if they disrespect you. Don't let your pride rule you in your emotions and simply give it, even when you don't get it. People will notice, and attorneys, especially, begin to think of you as "the bigger person," and you will gain their favor.
7. Never underestimate the power of excellent manners. If your career move to paralegal work is a move upward for you, or if you are the first in your family to become educated, then take the time to check out some books from the library on business manners. Remember, what you learned from home does not have to dictate your success or failure if you have the spunk and internal motivation to take steps to identify and correct your areas of ignorance [we all have some]. In a legal career as in other professional level careers, the degree of your success is greatly determined by your ability to learn the applicable manners and faithfully practice them.
8. Two cardinal rules are practiced by successful people, and they are closely related to consistent manners.
- Never take anything anyone says to you personally, regardless of how hard it is for you to hear it. If you always assume that others who speak to you do not intend to hurt your feelings or insult you, then you will not take their remarks personally.
- Never allow yourself the luxury of becoming offended by someone else's remarks. When working in a professional environment, forget any compulsion you may have to force anyone to speak to you in a politically correct manner. In fact, just forget political correctness in terms of what others say or do to you. In other words, don't get suckered into the victim mentality of offense; it will stop your career dead in its tracks. Remember, no matter what anyone says to you – even things that rattle your emotions – forgiveness helps you to keep going the next day without carrying yesterday's little bag of garbage with you.
9. Listen closely to your attorney's little personal mottos. All of them have some, and they repeat them often to remind themselves how they should focus in certain situations. Write down their mottos and memorize them. If a situation occurs in which you can use their motto, then do. It will help you to "team" with them, and it confers respect upon them. Your attorneys will recognize that you are listening to them and that you value their personal values. Some of the mottos I have heard from attorneys over the years include:
- "You can say anything to me. I'm not easily offended."
- "To whom much is given, much is required."
- "The early bird gets the worm."
- "Never mistreat your family; they will be the ones to pick you up when life kicks you, so why hurt them?" This is often spoken in family law.
- "Dead men don't tell lies." (Spoken in probate law.)
10. If your managing partner is politically active and does something like host the DNC [Democratic National Committee] inside the firm, treat these folks with the same respect you treat the managing partner. Anything less and you will be viewed as politically opposed to the partner. Never allow any of these folks to engage you in a political conversation. It's a dangerous career trap for you in most cases.
DOWNSIZING
In many respects, law firms are no different than other companies when it comes to downsizing. Before starting with a firm, you will want to find out [preferably by research] whether the firm uses legal assistant contractors. Now, in medium-to-large-sized firms [those with 20 or more attorneys], it should be expected that the firm will use a small number of temps to offset season fluctuations in their case load. The number of temps a firm uses should be no more than 5 percent of its legal assistant/paralegal total staff in order for it to be a good match for you, and one in which you will have considerable job security.
When a law firm downsizes it usually has to do with changing laws that affect their particular practice of law, or a reduction in cases as a result of some broader social event. Pay attention to your world, your politicians, and your society in order to get a feel for what may affect your firm's business. For example, when the Republican Party regained the White House in 2000, my firm began doing the paralegal shuffle. They were a personal injury firm, and with George W. Bush came an onslaught of tort reforms in the legislative branch. Those reforms directly impacted the ceilings on settlement amounts and thus their profits. So, they were left to do what must be done when a company's profits are chopped – they steadily chopped a good number of their highest paid paralegals over the next five years.
FIRM MERGERS
Firm mergers are not extremely common in the legal field, but neither are they completely foreign to their company events. Sometimes one firm will merge with another because a managing partner wants to change up his practice or leave his current field. Most times, a merger will go hand in hand with a downsizing party. Anytime you hear of a firm merger, you should immediately begin posting your resume and conducting a very quiet job search.
Until the dust has settled, you do not know if you get to stay or go. So, if you are happy in your firm and position, then ride it out. But do so wisely, with a quiet job search running in the background of your life.
Another factor that will affect you in a merger is whether your attorney is staying or exiting. If he is staying, then you are fairly secure until he indicates otherwise. If he begins a job search for himself, or if he offers you a position with him because he plans to exit into his own practice, then your position is very insecure for the long haul. Plan accordingly.
Your concern will also rise or fall depending upon whether your firm is being bought or if it is the one buying the other firm. If your firm is the one buying another, then you are more secure than if your firm is bought. However, never think of a merger as having any sort of security for you until after the dust settles. The reason is that one of the many corporate benefits of merging with another firm is that human resources and the attorneys get to pick and choose the best and the brightest from among the ranks of both firms.
Year End Bonuses, Fringe Perks, Parties & Dinners
An "attitude of gratitude" will go a long way when bonus time rolls around. From my personal experience, I can tell you that paralegal bonuses range from $200 to $5,000. Now, that can seem exciting. And, it is -- especially when it is a year-end bonus given in the first weekend of December. It makes for a very Happy Holiday.
But a few words of caution belong here. First and foremost, conduct yourself with as much class as you can muster when bonus time arrives. What I mean by this is, do not go around the firm among your lunch buddies and discuss what you plan to do with your bonus or, after you receive it, the dollar amount. Aside from it being absolutely no one's business other than your attorney, you must be careful not to stir up discord among your peers. And if you are the one among your peers who receives the lesser amount, do you really want to ruin the joy of the bonus with feelings of jealousy and being cheated? There is no real positive point to parading your bonus amount around the firm.
In my last firm, my year-end bonus for each of the four years I was with them was $3,500. As far as I know this was one of the highest bonuses paid to a paralegal. From the lunchroom gossips I had learned that the average bonus was $600 to $800. I felt especially blessed and appreciated. And I never opened my mouth about the amount, or what I planned to do with it. I would have been hated immediately and it would have created uproar in the firm. In the end, they would have never again given me a bonus that large and I could have perhaps jeopardized the entire bonus system. What would be the point?
On the other side of the bonus and in the beginning of the New Year, try to retain your classiness and your show of appreciation by waiting at least until spring to exit the firm if you are planning to change firms. Waiting at least 60 to 90 days after a bonus shows respect and appreciation, both of which will benefit you when it comes reference time. It is childish and classless to blast out of the firm days before the holidays or the first couple of weeks in January. When you exit in a classy manner, then you confirm for your attorney that he made the right choice in choosing to reward you.
Fringe perks are similar in that you can't really talk about them too much among your peers unless the entire team of paralegals receives a perk together, such as an appreciation luncheon. But other perks I am talking about here are things like ball game tickets, box seats at any sporting event, a ski trip, a spa visit, a massage for your birthday, and things of this nature.
The further up you are in the pecking order of firm paralegals, the more likely you are to be rewarded with these and similar perks. You will also notice in your career that the larger the firm, the more of these get passed around because they have a lot of highly skilled and highly educated professionals to keep happy and motivated.
Most successful attorneys absolutely love to take people to two-hour dinners [that's Midwestern for lunch]. You will come to notice that many of the attorneys you encounter or work for will set aside particular days for taking clients to dinner, other days for taking colleagues to dinner, and still other days for taking their paralegals to dinner. The lunch is a treat and should never be expected, regardless of how hard you have worked or how many years you work for them. Never be presumptuous with your attorney; it is most unflattering.
- Never try to change the day of the lunch. If you try, you will quickly get uninvited and likely spend many, many a day before being invited again, if ever.
- Remember that mother knew what she was talking about when she taught you "elbows off the table" and "chew with your mouth shut". Your attorney does not want to have to crawl under the table in embarrassment of your table manners.
- Even if your attorney takes you to a five-star restaurant, neverorder the most expensive dish on the menu – even if the attorney does.
- Generally speaking, it is just good practice to let your attorney start the conversation and change the subjects of the conversation throughout the meal. After all, you are there in part to listen, and in part for your attorney to get to know you.
- Eat moderately and fairly well-paced. Try to keep your time to an hour from the moment you sit down until you are ready to leave. This is generally true unless you are told ahead of time that it's a "quick lunch."
- Unless you order the same thing the attorney does, do not complain about anything you order, even if it is terrible. If you don't like it or if it is not prepared well, then simply don't eat it and go on to the next portion of your dish.
- Always thank your attorney for taking you to lunch.
- As with so many other perks, it is generally good practice to not go around the office talking about it. If someone asks you about your luncheon with the boss, give them a short answer that reflects appreciation.
Firm parties, or parties given by partners at the firm, generally operate with the same principles as those outlined above. There are a few extra things to observe in company parties. Here is a short list:
- Limit your alcohol intake to two drinks per four hours, and stop drinking 30 minutes before leaving. A slight indiscretion in an office party environment will quietly haunt your career progress.
