Office of the US Attorney

Four weeks from today, assuming all goes as planned, I will be starting a new job as a Legal Assistant with the Civil Division at the Office of the US Attorney and I am really excited about it.  The position is located downtown Milwaukee at the Federal Courthouse which is a beautiful building right near the lakefront.  The people I have met so far seem very nice, team oriented, and dedicated and passionate about their work.

I will miss my 12 minute walk to and from work each day but it will be good to be back downtown.  And I intend to take the bus.  There is a city bus stop 1.8 miles from our house and the Park and Ride where the coach busses pick up is 2.4 miles from our house.  I am trying to find a way to avoid driving to the bus stop.  I could walk.  It really isn't that far except that being downtown and taking the bus is already going to make my day a longer day than I am used to, walking would make it that much longer.  My latest thought is a foldable kick scooter.  I should be able to cut the walk in half (or maybe a third).  I will keep you posted.

A Good Assistant Follows Each Case

Two attorneys at my office sat down to meet and discuss how we would respond to some recent correspondence.  It wasn't long before they buzzed me asking me to join them.  They didn't have the context to the correspondence they were reviewing and weren't up to speed on recent court filings in the case.  It took me only a couple of minutes to catch them up.  A good assistant can be worth their weight in gold.

The Successful Legal Assistant/Paralegal

The more I grow into my job and the more I work with legal assistants we hire, the more I have realized that the important qualities to be successful in such a position are not measurable and can't be determined in a brief interview.

A successful Legal Assistant/Paralegal must:

1. Think beyond the task given to him/her and question what appears to be inconsistent
2. Anticipate what is to come (I love the days my boss asks for things I have already prepared and are sitting on my desk waiting for him.)
3. Not ask a question that could be answered by looking it up - I hate when I watch a legal assistant bother an attorney about where a file might be before they even look in the file cabinet.
4. Have the ability to switch tasks as ever constantly changing priorities shift - a linear approach to tasks rarely works in a law office.

Finding good people to hire

With this current job I'm seeing things from a different perspective as a supervisor of employees and as one who will be part of the hiring process as we look to find new talent.  It definitely has its challenges and I often face situations that are well out of my comfort zone but I know it is good for me.  I am a firm believer that growth only happens when you step out of your comfort zone and the sense of accomplishment at the end makes it all worth it.

Our firm is currently hiring a part-time Legal Assistant.  Here is a link to the ad on monster.com.  I haven't had a chance to carefully look at the stack of resumes on my desk but at first glance, I can't believe what people send out.

If you can't format a resume so that it is readable, how can I believe you will be able to format pleadings and Estate Planning documents correctly?

If there are glaring spelling and grammar mistakes on your resume and cover letter, what are the chances you will do well proofreading and composing letters?

If your cover letter is three sentences long, what does that say about your communication skills?

I remember the hours I have spent in the past drafting resumes and cover letters and completing online applications because I recognized that they had to be excellent, especially in this job market.

This reminds me of a time five or six years ago when in an online community a college graduate was having trouble finding a permanent full time job a couple of years after graduation.  She posted her cover letter and resume on the forum asking for feedback.  Her cover letter was two or three sentences long and her resume hard to read which to me really explained why she couldn't find a job.  The part that really got me though was when people tried to give her any feedback she completely dismissed it all.  It was only in the last year or so I heard she finally found something in the middle of no where out of state.

I'm rambling, I know.  My point in all of this is that if you don't put the time and energy necessary into your job search, employers are not going to believe you will put the time and energy needed to get the job done well.

Change is good

Change can be very difficult as we find comfort in the routine.  And in those moments of change it can be very difficult to remember that change is an important part of our lives and can bring great things.  I write this blog post in anticipation of the things to come.  On Monday, I start a new job.  I will be working as a legal assistant for a small law firm that focuses primarily on family law but handles a variety of other types of cases as well.  I'm excited about working for this firm especially because the attorneys seem to be very focused on clients and doing what is just and right for the children.  Plus you can't beat the commute.  I will be saving 6.5 hours a week alone in commuting.  The commuting never bothered me before but now I wonder what I could have been doing in those 6.5 hours each week.

I imagine the topics of my posts may change some as I am not in the trenches of the domestic violence world (although I recognize domestic violence and family law overlap significantly) but we shall see.

In these last few days, I'm looking forward to enjoying my time now that I have found a job.  I have been immersing myself in poetry much of today and look forward to writing some more of my own poetry over the next few days.