New York Lawyer
October 23, 2003

Q:
I have a semi-secure job as a second-year associate with a law firm near New York City. However, I am not pleased with the progress I am making at the firm and the track my practice is taking. I feel that my position/career is largely hampered by intra-office "disorganization,� ego and an archaic "old boys school" style atmosphere.

Basically, it�s sink or swim. I am "dumped on" quite a bit, and now I feel like I am almost drowning.

I have been looking around since June, but I can�t seem to find a comparable position elsewhere. Really, I am not happy right now and it is starting to show; my motivation is down and I am thinking about leaving the field. I don�t know what to do. I need the paycheck and dollars, but I also do know that things really must change soon or else I will quit.

Should I bite the bullet, accept the way it is, grin and bear it and stop whining? (At least I have a job!)? Or should I stand up for myself - as a matter of principle - and take the plunge and quit without a safety net?

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A:

I�m hearing a variety of things coming from you. You are obviously unhappy at your firm. You also seem unclear whether you want to remain in law at all. Additionally, you�re wrestling with hanging on to your job while you search for greener pastures or simply chucking this bad situation and getting out.

I don�t think it�s clear that you ought to leave the law. While some of your complaints are practically ubiquitous for new associates in law firms, especially being dumped on and not getting enough training (�sink or swim�), others are common but not always the case (the �old boys� atmosphere). The common complaints are typical of younger lawyers � welcome to the world of law firms! -- and that situation will improve as the years tick by. The cultural atmosphere � the big egos and macho towel snapping � are not rare, but there are other workplaces that feature people you might actually like. So be careful not to confuse the systemic problems about work assignments and haphazard training with the personalities of the lawyers. Determine which of these things bothers you the most. If it�s the cultural atmosphere, then you need to move to another workplace. If it�s the actual work, keep in mind that you haven�t progressed very far, and that the work should improve as time goes on.

Be careful about acting, and in particular quitting, �on principle.� The principle, I gather, is that you feel tainted working in a firm whose values clash with your own. Remember, of course, that it�s always easier to find a new job when you have a job than when you don�t. And using up your savings, having to do temp work, and doing the other hardscrabble things people do when they are unemployed, invoke few principles other than the basic one of survival. If you feel compromised working in a firm with attitudes and values that conflict with yours, you don�t have to grin and bear it indefinitely � simply start the job hunting and look specifically for people and a workplace with a more comfortable fit.

Sincerely,
Holly English
Principal Consultant, Values at Work