Thank-less fucking Job

I love my job, I love what I do, I love the freedom and experience and trust i have earned. HOWEVER, in 8 short weeks i will be taking a leave of absence to (a) take finals and (b) begin Barbri. This means that I am ready to begin making the transition and slowly relinquish some of the million responsibilities I have taken on.

Instead of working my normal schedule today, I went to school. Due to the multiple holidays in the Spring semester some of our Monday classes get moved to Tuesday. Therefore, I was at the (empty) office on Monday and had to take Tuesday off instead. I made my boss aware of this and thought all was fine.

Five minutes before I will be deposed as a witness in another groups case I get a frantic text. Our office opens at 8am but at 10 am I get a text, "Have an emergency at Home not going to make it in, when will you be at the office?" From the so called office manager. I say, "I'm at school, I told my boss on Friday." He says, YOU NEED TO TELL ME THESE THINGS!!! Fair enough-------but this lead to a domino effect of major irritation on my part.

Technically, I am part-time and I work 4 - 6 hour days a week. What actually happens is that I work 4- 10-12 hour days in order to keep up. I DO EVERYTHING! So here is my beef--I do not want to be relied on so much. I do not want to throw up my breakfast because the office is empty due to an "emergency." Things HAVE TO BE DONE, DEADLINES HAVE TO BE MET, THE CALENDER HAS TO BE MANAGED---E V E R Y S I N G l E D A Y!

A lawyers calendar is the very most important tool in the entire practice. Meetings are scheduled and most importantly hearings are scheduled. At the very least at any given time FIVE people other than the attorney are relying on you to make the appearance or continue it, respond to motions, or review responses to motions.

I meet with the clients, I write all of the motions, and pleadings, I take all the neurotic phone calls, I clean the files, and since I work part time---it is in no way logical to rely on me to manage the calendar. I JUST CANT DO IT. In my humble opinion, the attorney (new solo attorney) whom's license is on the line, and whom will be subject to sanctions for missing a hearing should make one single person check the calendar multiple times throughout the day making sure everything is filed, all parties are notified and the file is prepared.

The Office Manager has a whole plethera of duties himself that at times, at least daily, cause him to explode--literally. Angry outbursts are normal. I ignore that. I ignore that I never get a single thank you in a day, I ignore that my diligence and hard work which results in her success is utterly unimportant to anyone there. BUT THERE ARE ONLY SO MANY TIMES YOU CAN KICK A DOG BEFORE IT BITES. Today I bit and tomorrow--well who knows what will happen.

My undergrad studies were in management. Accountability is key. People need to know exactly what is expected of them and if there are serious issues that all members of a "team" need to be cognizant of that should be outlined as well. So instead of texting me at 8pm the night before trial asking me a very very very important questions, check it out before you go home. You see--everyone else is always "Sooooooo tired" and "soooooo stressed out" so they leave at 4 or at the latest 530. But me, I'm there till 11pm. So yeah shit is gonna slip through the cracks because I am human and I have way too much work to do. To top it off I am graduating in a few weeks and my nerves are shot worrying about the bar exam. SO I TOLD THEM TO CHILL OUT AND CUT ME SOME SLACK. I was basically told: "I have to rely on you and if you can't handle it we need to talk." And talk we will. She needs an "office manager" or paralegal in charge of the calendar and she needs to take some responsibility herself.

I have no alternative excuse for my irritation, can't say I am pms'ing or anything like that. I just hate people who do not take initiative. I also do not like the texts: "You should have...You need to..." Anytime something goes wrong I get an accusatory and rude text message. To which there is always a logical and reasonable explanation. How about saying, hey what happened? Instead of assuming Im an idiot and don't know how to do my job. The way they talk to me is completely indicative of the status quo there.

I hope tomorrow I will maintain my composure because in the grand scheme of things this is stupid and unimportant. Unfortunately when it comes to sticking up for myself I can be pretty cut throat. They don't deserve for me to disrespect them, so I will try to remain calm and explain that they need to start preparing for my departure now. And if that is not ok, then they will have to fire me because I won't quit.