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Taken off project at work, replaced with someone else. Fired?
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:25 PM Author: Spectacular dog poop weed whacker I'm a first year associate at NYC biglaw. Litigation.
I was on a mid-size team on a pretty major case that was taking up a lot of time. Then, I suddenly found myself taken off, too. No one ever said anything to me about it, I just stopped getting calls and emails. I thought maybe they just didn't need as many people any more, but I just found out Friday that they added a new guy (also a first year) to the team at the same time as I stopped getting emails. Everyone else who was on the team before is still there except me, so the team is basically now all the original people minus me plus one new first year.
Incidentally, no one ever told me there was anything wrong with my work or gave me any indication I was doing anything wrong.
Am I fucked? Just being paranoid? About to be fired? Should I ask why I'm no longer on the case? I'm really freaking out here. Is this prelude to being layoff pwnd? |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:31 PM Author: Floppy Laser Beams Legal Warrant this is terrifying. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321493) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:34 PM Author: Dun exciting chapel You should probably ask. Even if your work product sucked shit they should have done you the decency of telling you such. The only first years that I know who have been flat-out fired from a project were told such.
You might have been tapped for another project and the firm might have wanted another associate to get the experience that you were getting. |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:36 PM Author: Spectacular dog poop weed whacker Okay, this makes me feel better. I'm just nervous because no one said anything. You'd think if it was NOT work-product related, they'd want me to know.
Also, the team was pretty big, so I didn't have much contact with the partners on the case, but I'm pretty sure the senior associate didn't like me that much. Just personality clash, though. Not work-related that I could tell. |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:38 PM Author: lilac property goal in life ITE hasn't been very conducive to decency (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321567) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:40 PM Author: Dun exciting chapel Yeah, that's the counterargument. OP could be fucked, but ITE's getting slightly better. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321590) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:34 PM Author: awkward yarmulke office Hmmm, this is cause for concern.
Is your replacement the exact same year? Or is there maybe a billing rate difference between you and the new guy? That could be an explanation and it happens.
Sometimes these things just happen, too, especially after a doc review/diligence expansion and then contraction back to the "core team". But you getting axed is odd.
The radio silence thing is weird. Ask a mid level on the team (or whoever is managing it, probably a 5-7th year) if he or she knows something that you don't. Maybe he or she got instructions from the managing partner.
Are you active on other projects, or was this your only thing? It wouldn't necessarily be a prelude to layoff if you are intertwined on another matter. But if that was your only thing its a red flag. But a first year layoff...I don't know your firm...but I personally think those are mostly done with now.
And ya, you might be getting moved to a new team, too, and the other guy needed experience. Asking is the only way of knowing. |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:36 PM Author: lilac property goal in life what makes you think first year layoffs are done with now? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321548) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 6:32 PM Author: awkward yarmulke office My experience has been first years are in demand, due to lower billing rates and small class size. At the same time, the firms can't bring new ones on due to hiring freezes. So, there is a shortage.
Like I think I said, this is a firm-by-firm thing though, but I have multiple LS friends who say the same. I observe the same at my shop. |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 6:40 PM Author: Wine bespoke menage dingle berry wasn't the class of 2009 the most bloated of all? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14324697) |
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Date: March 8th, 2010 8:49 AM Author: awkward yarmulke office I don't know. Hard to tell with all the deferrals. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14330629) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:38 PM Author: Spectacular dog poop weed whacker (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321572) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:40 PM Author: Provocative Faggot Firefighter Chad arent you worried youll outself with all this info? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321597) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:42 PM Author: Spectacular dog poop weed whacker I've changed a few of the details to cover up, but just to be safe I'll be editing after I get the info I want. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321612) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:45 PM Author: lilac property goal in life are things generally busy at your firm or are only certain people busy while others don't have enough to do? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321644) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:46 PM Author: Spectacular dog poop weed whacker There are def some people who don't have enough to do. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321658) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:52 PM Author: lilac property goal in life what year/practice area are the non-busy people in? are all the first year lit people busy?
yah, def stay busy and def find out what happened with this. |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:41 PM Author: lilac property goal in life if you're busy with other stuff that's much better. you should still try to find out what happened with this one. if shit does go down a negative review will be significant.
were you doing anything significant on the other one? if they had him do something a while after had left the project it could just be a staffing thing. do you have an assignment coordinator? |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:42 PM Author: chocolate digit ratio ratface If your busy on another case you may have nothing to worry about. Perhaps the partner/associate on that case let them know they needed most of your time.
That said, if you are on decent terms with a junior associate on the team, it wouldn't hurt to ask. |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:44 PM Author: lilac property goal in life agreed that it could be nothing but he should find out. if he has a negative review out there he should know about it asap. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321629) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:35 PM Author: lilac property goal in life are you busy with other things now?
tell me about this other first year? possible that he has language skills or some other specialization they need?
i don't think it's paranoid to worry but need more facts. how are things at your firm? slow/busy, have there been layoffs already, and when did they go down? |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:36 PM Author: Crystalline forum ask friend, this is terrifying (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321542) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:44 PM Author: yellow nursing home shitlib it's entirely possible that your team wasn't thrilled with your work and thinks this other guy is better. but I think this sort of swapping out for someone the more senior folks trust more or favor happens pretty frequently and I don't think it means you're about to get fired. many attorneys might try to avoid first-years who do what they perceive as mediocre work, but most attorneys won't write a bad review about it. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321639) |
Date: March 7th, 2010 1:35 PM Author: Marvelous opaque friendly grandma do you have enough work? if not, you need to ask the partner in charge of that case if there is anything you can do to help. ask every day until he tells you to stop asking. if you do have work, ask someone who likes you about the situation. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321533) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:38 PM Author: startling legend locus anyone else noticed a huge spike in the number of 'am i going to get layoffpned?' threads? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321573) |
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Date: March 8th, 2010 10:56 AM Author: arrogant trip theater stage Yeah I feel like I've been reading at least one per day now, and I kind of get the feeling that at least some of them are illegitimate (i.e. posted by the same person). Otherwise, you'd think we would have seen this more when layoffs were at their worst. Also, we probably should have seen this before hiring freezes were implemented rather than after, since a hiring freeze makes any given attorney less expendable (because they can no longer be replaced upon firing). (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14331095) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:38 PM Author: tripping frozen theater mediation start looking (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321575) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:41 PM Author: yellow nursing home shitlib (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321609) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:43 PM Author: Spectacular dog poop weed whacker fuuuuuuuck (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321620) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:44 PM Author: Ruby cheese-eating hall mental disorder Passive aggressive aspies are the best part of BIGLAW. Call a headhunter. Having a job is the main prereq to getting another job in BIGLAW these days, (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321634) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:44 PM Author: bearded fortuitous meteor mad cow disease It could just be a simple mistake -- someone forgot about you after the deal team contracted back to the core members.
In the eyes of senior associates (and certainly partners), first years are fungible anonymous drones. My hunch is that this was not intentional.
I'd definitely ask someone though -- which you have every right to do -- just to allay your paranoia.
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:53 PM Author: twinkling internal respiration it will be ok (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321741) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:54 PM Author: lilac property goal in life shut up he doesn't need your platitudes (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321751) |
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:57 PM Author: twinkling internal respiration no, but he needs to calm the fuck down.
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Date: March 7th, 2010 1:58 PM Author: lilac property goal in life false (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14321790) |
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Date: March 8th, 2010 11:09 AM Author: Comical Tan Nowag People Who Are Hurt one of 2 things:
1) they're firing you, and want you to request the partner conf about this project and future work. not sure why'd they would do that but to personally fuck with you.
2) they're not sure if they're firing you and want to seek your reaction. it's you or the new guy they staffed, he's in the lead. today's monday, email the partner running the project and say, not ask, say "i'd like to come by at 2pm today and talk about my being pulled off the ladyboy project. if NOT doable, respond, otherwise see you at 2." |
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Date: March 8th, 2010 12:52 PM Author: saffron pistol pozpig #2 doesn't make any sense at all. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1243654&forum_id=2#14331752) |