Need your opinions

[ufcrusher]

Hey all. I was wondering if I could get your opinion on a matter.

First off, in case by any fluke of luck, someone knows who I am talking about or works with that person. Please note that he has not complained whatsoever and as such dont take it as his complaining.

I have a friend of mine, who took a job up in Anaheim at a law firm. He was hired on a probationary period, which was to terminate on July 15th at which time he was supposed to renegotiate his salary. In my opinon his probationary salary was criminally low, however he wasnt going to complain about it because he was going to get to renegotiate and there arent very many jobs out there.

So I spoke with my friend shortly after his probationary period was to end and asked him how the negotiating went. I knew that they had been working him for 60 - 70hrs/wk and were running him ragged, but he had seemed sure that they were going to more than compensate him when the renegotiation took place. So I asked, and he told me that he had not renegotiated yet, because there had been a problem. Apparently his boss died 4 days before they were to renegotiate.

Since there were 7 other attorneys at the firm, and a whole nightmare of legal and logistical problems with the death of the head of the firm. (The other attorneys are just associates, not partners) SO he told me not to worry about him that he was at least still getting paid and he was better off than most people and what about the guys kids and wife.

So now, its been over a month since he was supposed to negotiate and the internal stuff at the firm should have easily been resolved. My friend's salary still has not been renegotiated. I asked him what was going on and whether he had benefits or anything and he got all defensive about it.

So here is where I need your opinions. To me, it screams that he is being taken advantage of and that he is going to get screwed. All he ever does is inquire about my fiances job and whether or not she has gotten raises because she started at her job 3-4 months before him. When you ask him what he is going to do, he gets really defensive and annoyed. The thing is he brings up the jobs, not me. So what does everyone here think?

[dbax791]

I don't know what the job market is like in the legal profession, but the economy is VERY VERY sucky right now. I remember a couple of years ago if you knew how to spell "computer" you could write your own salary...now, though I'm trying to dodge the "layoff" bullet like everyone else.

Its hard to make a judgement on the info you've given. Are his 60-70 hrs/week billable to clients? If so, it sounds like there is demand for his services. Does he have specific industry experience or legal expertise that is hard to find? Matter of supply/demand. If he is easily replaced by a wet-behind-the-ears law grad, then he might not have much leverage. If he has "niche" skills that are marketable and can find a new job easily, then he should play hardball for the big $$$. I just don't know the legal job market well enuf to make a call.

[Pinkgirl36]

That does suck, because as I see it, they are taking advantage of him. Obviously they had an idea that they wanted to keep him on there after the probationary period but with the untimely death of the head of the firm just complicated things for everyone. But it is not fair to him that they would keep stringing him along like this, it wouldn't be fair to anyone in that situation.
I agree with DF that they not knowing is what is bothering him, hell it would bother me too. Maybe he is afraid that if he says something he will end up losing the job at the firm though?
I think that when he does bring it up and he gets defensive, remind him that HE brought it up, and you are worried that he is going to end up getting screwed over ( because that IS what it sounds like ).....well and just tell him that you are worried because he IS your friend...but hopefully everything will work out for him. :)

[ufcrusher]

Well unfortunately the market for people with minimal experience is quite bad. I have other friends who havent gotten a job even though they have been licensed for over a year to practice. So in answer to the question, there are probably a lot of people who would take even more hours for less pay than he was making. (Just to ballpark you he is earning less than $47k for all that work) So he has little bargaining power other than the initial agreement that he made with the dead guy.

Part of the problem is that when the economy took a dive, a lot of attornys with 1 -2 year experience were fired. They are unfortunately looking for the same jobs as the people with no experience which are few and far in between. So who would you hire for the same amount of money?

I just dont know, he tells me I am a worry wart, but I still think that he is being used. I think he is so worried about keeping this job, that he would take whatever crap they dished on him.

[dbax791]

Originally posted by ufcrusher
Well unfortunately the market for people with minimal experience is quite bad. .

Well that sux. Unless your friend can build some skills that differentiate him from the pack, there's not much I can say. When 10 people are knocking on the door for your friend's job, there is not much incentive for an employer to feel overly generous.

At this point, my advice would be to tell your friend to tough it out, be thankful he's employed, and find an area where he can excel and make a difference so he can write his own ticket going forward.

[mojo]

if your friend is a lawyer or gonna be one, then i'm not sure his reflex of just getting mad at you or upset for asking is his strongpoint :hmm:

at any rate, there are probationary periods and such. if he can't find the paper that says when he's supposed to be evaluated, then he can always just say "hey, give me an evaluation." we used to do it all the time. legally there are a few ways they can dodge it, but he can always say "hey, evaluate me in x amount of time." then he can be assured they will do so at that time. if he kisses buttocks enough, then it should be fine, cuz why are they gonna hire another person to fill that spot and then have to train that new person? unless they're really cheap and stuff and can't make sense of basic economics, it's to their advantage to not have to train another person and go through that whole low-productivity part again.

anyhow, good luck to your friend.

[ufcrusher]

Ok, but as I see it, if you have someone who is working for next to nothing (comparatively) and you have an excuse (the death of the hiring attorney/only partner/guy whos firm it is) and yet the date has come and gone for the evaluation and renegotiation, wouldnt you be inclined to just try to leave it status quo for a while?

Especially in light of all of the other problems with the death of the attorney. Such as all of his clients need to be informed and then consent to the changed representation, the court needs to be informed, opposing counsel needs to be informed, the firms name must be changed (required by rules of professional responsibility) and all the fun with that. Plus the biggest earner in the firm is now gone, the one who knew the most about what was going on.

So there is a whole lot of other things that are going on and I feel like he is getting the shaft as a result of it.

[faither]

I wouldn't push it with your friend. If he's planning on a career in the legal field, he's going to have to learn to speak up for himself. I can understand allowing for a period of adjustment because of a death but it's been more than a month?!? Actually, if he's only making about $45k, maybe he should look into working for the local DA or Public Defender's Office (this may not jibe with his long-term career objectives but it will provide valuable experience). He could also look into working for for the "public interest" (e.g., environmental group, youth/aged advocacy). They are notoriously poor paying jobs but, again, they provide experience and networking opportunities.