You: That's Who Has Your Back (and maybe the only one)

  " ... after 8 months of this [overwork] I completely snapped. To be determined whether I recover from it, but all I have learned in the meantime is that nobody at that firm had my back and I needed to have my own back, but I didn’t. The firm will take as much of you as you give them." - Fishbowl Big Law Fishbowl Big Law, May 27, 2024. 

This is a response to a plea, just posted an hour ago, about how to deal with a system which piles on assignments and ignores requests for a brief break. Essentially the professional putting the issue out there assumes the firm is the source to turn to for help.

Wrong, hammers the comment. 

In my Tarot readings my role increasingly has to give "permission" to hard-chargers to take care of themselves. The burden of self-care is on them, not their employer. If they "snap" or drop the ball in any way in performance, the system is bound to be unforgiving. If they "crack up," memories are usually long.



How to take care of yourself? 

That circles back to The Eight of Cups card in the Tarot or what is called The Walking Away card. At least, in mindset. In all work situations, even if there is a contract for serving out a certain amount of years, there has to be the attitude that you can walk away - financially, legally and with the personal brand in-tact. Otherwise those in the loop pick up that you don't know how to navigate a career and will put on the squeeze.

The two-year anniversary of my Walking Away from a retainer relationship with law firm Paul, Weiss is coming up June 1. 

Because it was not the right fit I had encountered health problems. How was I able to Walk Away? I had been training for another career path when I was still in one that was experiencing glut and depreciation of fees. To this day, though, I am grateful to Paul, Weiss chair Brad Karp for giving me the opportunity to take a peek inside that unique law firm. 

Takeaway: There is always a "safe" way out. Finding it depends on your ability to float above the rigid tenets of capitalism. US Senator from Connecticut Chris Murphy has kicked off a global movement for human beings to look at what the hell we are all thinking and doing. Incidentally, the Senator posits that policymakers should be in the Happiness Business. 

Tarot Card Reader. Intuitive Career Coach. Medium.

Solutions-Based. Discover Your Options

Empathy and compassion.

No-pressure complimentary consultation about your options. Then, fees custom-made for your budget.

For an appointment, please contact janegenova374@gmail.com or text/phone 203-468-8579.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kirkland & Ellis Reported to Be Building Moat Around Firm to Deter Poaching of Stars

  "Kirkland gives partners more than half their pay after the end of the year in which they earn it. For partners who depart to other firms, the new policy gives the firm discretion to withhold that pay, according to a person familiar with the change."   Bloomberg Law , July 18, 2024 Scrapper Kirkland & Ellis is no slouch when it comes to protecting its business - known as the most successful law firm in the world.  Paul Weiss  certainly got in the way by launching not one but two high-profile raids on its London office stars. Gone were brandnames ranging from Neel Sachdev to Roger Johnson. In addition, Latham poached Matthew Cohn. If there is such a policy, as reported, then Kirkland & Ellis has created what could be an effective deterrent for both partners' leaving and potential poachers' approaching the star lawyers. And it all comes downs to money - big money: That is, both what partners would leave behind which they have already earned and how much ...
Read more

Akin Gump Julia Ghahramani's March 2021 Cocaine+ Death - So?

   It had been way back more than a year ago that first-year associate at law firm Akin Gump Julia Ghahramani died from cocaine laced with fentanyl. Yet that story keeps resurfacing.  This week  RollonFriday  revisits it. And  Reddit Big Law  considers the issue if the energy from cocaine is what's making possible those 2,500 hours billed in law firms.  Is what's keeping this on the radar the hunch that use of the illegal substance cocaine is common among those practicing law? After all, in addition to being an energy-booster, it provides a nice reward for such hard-working lawyers. Also, they have the earnings to afford it. Most of the rest of gunners have to stick with boozing. So, why not?  The reality might be setting in that the death could simply have been an aberration. Think about it this way: Ghahramani had bad luck in her alleged choice of dealers. Others might be able to exert more scrutiny in overseeing the content of the il...
Read more

Up-or-Out: McKinsey Raises the Pressure, In Contrast Some Law Firms Ease It through Nonequity Partner Tier

" McKinsey & Co.  warned some US consultants last week they are running out of time to win promotion, raising the 'up or out' pressure on staff as the global consulting industry struggles." - Abovethefold Article in Bloomberg , March 27, 2024 This is yet another sign that once-iconic McKinsey is a professional services firm in trouble. One challenge is overcapacity of manpower. It has also warned about 3,000 consultants about "concerns" regarding their performance.  In addition to the overall slowdown in management consulting, McKinsey faces scrutiny from myriad sources about its client list including assignments with China and Saudi Arabia. There also has been that hatchet-job book "When McKinsey Comes to Town." The most damning aspect of the expose is that former employees dump on it. Posts on the professional anonymous network Fishbowl Consulting aren't optimistic about a turnaround at McKinsey or at other players in that sector. In cont...
Read more