This submission is so scandalous and dirty. Dirty LAWndry reader,”Sabina,” had her home burglarized on Friday, and she believes she knows exactly who did it.

“I’ve been working on a case with six other associates for a few years now. Last year, an investigation was launched regarding the handling of this particular case. We weren’t told the details of the investigation, but I already knew what it was about because I’m the whistleblower. As far as I could tell, none of the other associates knew that I was the whistleblower. I confided my suspicions of fraudulent activity among the associates to one of the partners. Since that time, I kept track of everything I did or noted concerning this case and made backup files to keep at home. I also sent copies of everything to the partner. I wanted it to be clear that I had nothing to do with fraud when s**t hit the fan. I need my license and my job security. The other associates have wealthy relatives to mooch off of. I do not, so I wasn’t taking any chances.

About two weeks ago, the partner noticed that he was missing a few files on his computer, specifically the files I sent him and some of his own files that he created in relation to the investigation. Someone had also placed a bug on his computer so that if he tried to open the remaining files, the computer would shut down. The IT department is still trying to solve this problem and track down the hacker. I didn’t think too much about it at the time. Last Friday, he sent me an email saying that he needed some information that was in those files. He believed that I had sent him something previously that could help him. So I emailed him back saying that I would bring in what I had at home on Saturday. He sent me another email asking if I could just email it to him. At this point, I went into his office to explain that I didn’t keep the files on my home computer. Everything was on discs and also hard copies.

When I got home Friday night, I noticed that my door was pulled in and unlocked. I couldn’t remember if I had just forgotten to lock it that morning, but I’m usually careful about such things because I’m a single woman living by myself. We don’t have a lot of crime or anything like that where I live. But, I was still on edge. When I walked in, everything was scattered all over the place. I ran out and called the police from outside. After the police confirmed that no one was in the condo, they took some information from me. They didn’t feel that this was a random burglary since the “burglar” didn’t take anything of value. I’m not rich, but I do have valuable family heirlooms and a few pieces of jewelry that I think the average burglar would have seized. All my electronics were there too. After the police left, I started to clean up and I came across my computer. It was on, even though I know for a fact that I had turned it off last night. For some reason, that made me think of the backup files that I had hidden in my bedroom. They’re gone now. I don’t have proof that it was one or all of the other associates, but I definitely don’t believe this is all coincidence.”

I found a comment by a Dirty LAWndry reader that I believe deserves its own post. Here it goes:

“I’ll be heading to a firm that has done similar multi-round layoffs as a summer associate. Clearly, I can’t claim to be an expert on anything. Any suggestions for ways to a) get an offer and b) seem useful enough - or potentially so - that it doesn’t get rescinded?”

Thoughts anyone?

Dirty LAWndry reader,”Sophia”, knows that she and a small group of attorneys will be laid off soon, but she has some advice.

“I work at Dechert and they have been laying people off in small numbers it seems like every other day. Since the layoffs started last year, many of the associates and staff attorneys were saying that we, the document reviewers, would be the first to go. They were so sure that their jobs were secure because they, unlike us, were supposed to be uber-important to the firm. Now, I don’t take pleasure in anyone being unemployed. But, I can’t help notice the reaction of those who just found out they were getting laid off today. They try to act as if everything is okay. But, they come back to their desks with either pale or beet-red faces trying to hold back the tears. Then, there are those who have to be escorted out of the office for throwing tantrums. Now, I’m a temp so I’m used to being laid off and just moving on to another project or working as a solo. But, these attorneys got way too comfortable living the “high and mighty” life at BigLaw and looking down their noses at everyone else. The attorneys that remain are now trying to think of ways to make themselves appear useful. The latest has been the lax use of the term “expert.” For example, if we have a question about a document, we’re told to see so-and-so because they’re an “expert” for that. Believe me when I say it’s for simple things. It’s nothing that would require an “expert” to answer. I guess that’s the new tactic being employed. I feel that instead of trying to avoid the inevitable with these useless strategies, they should be updating their resumes or trying to learn about becoming a solo. You can’t keep putting your eggs in one basket.”

Contact Dirty LAWndry at blog@dirtyLAWndry.com.

Dirty LAWndry reader,”Marissa”, wrote me recently about her backstabbing co-worker, “Chris”.

“I’ve only been working for a couple of months at a plaintiff’s personal injury firm. I’m a newly admitted attorney so I don’t have tons of experience yet. I jumped at this job opportunity that only pays a whopping salary of $28,000 because I needed to work. From day one, I’ve had problems with one of my co-workers named “Chris”. She’s been working there for about 20 years now. I learned that she’s married to my boss’ best friend. I’m still not sure what her job title is, but she handles interrogatories. Actually, she just types in the answers given by the associates in response to the questions. This is one of the reasons why I was hired. My boss wanted an attorney to handle all the production requests and interrogatories with limited supervision. My boss asked “Chris” to show me the ropes. She interpreted this to mean that she was in charge of my every move. She has tried to sabotage my work on numerous occasions, but today was the worst so far.

For some odd reason, whenever my boss or an associate wants to expand my job responsibilities, “Chris” has a problem with it. Chris has a high school diploma and knows very little about the practice of law. She only knows what she sees on tv or what she’s been trained to do. On Monday, my boss told me that he wanted me to start going to Discovery Court and arguing motions. Today was my first opportunity to go, and I was really excited. I have friends in large firms that still haven’t seen the inside of a courtroom and they’ve been working a lot longer than I have. So, this was a big deal to me. This morning, one of the associates stopped by my desk to accompany me to court and to make sure I knew what to do once I got there. “Chris” got upset and told me that I couldn’t go because we were going to get sanctioned if we didn’t reply to a set of interrogatories. I wasn’t aware of any impending interrogatories since I check TimeMatters frequently. But, “Chris” is usually the one who updates TimeMatters in regards to the motion dates so I trusted her. Anyway, the associate replied that we had to go and told “Chris” to talk to our boss about it.

When I got back from Court a little while ago, I was called into my boss’ office. I thought he wanted to know how I did. “Chris” was already in there when I stepped in. My boss started talking about how he didn’t want to have to look over our shoulders or worry that requests aren’t being answered. He also went on to say that if we couldn’t handle the work, he could find others to do it. I was confused but I didn’t want to interrupt because he seemed really upset. After we left his office, I asked “Chris” what that was about. All she said was “I warned you not to go this morning.”

Well, I just found out that “Chris” changed the date for a motion for sanctions that’s not due until May to today’s date. While I was gone, my boss stopped by her desk just to see how things were progressing. She told my boss that she reminded me “numerous times” that it was due today, but I ignored her and didn’t get it done and now he’s going to get sanctioned. She even claimed that she attempted to do it herself previously and when she asked for my help I wouldn’t assist her. Of course, everyone in the office heard her and was talking about the situation while I was gone. None of this is true and I have since proven to my boss that the response isn’t due until May. “Chris” now claims that it was an error on TimeMatters. This is also a lie because that case was originally entered into the system in February, but it was mysteriously updated today right after I left for court. Needless to day, I’m pissed off, but I’m biting my tongue because I really need this job.”

If you have a story you’d like to share with Dirty LAWndry, please email it to blog@dirtyLAWndry.com.

I can’t really say I’m shocked by this story on Law.com. It seems to be the norm for BigLaw to overcharge clients for JDs, paralegals, and legal secretaries that aren’t earning anywhere near the billable amount.

Dirty LAWndry reader, “Nick,” is disappointed with the level of assistance provided by his local bar association while he is unemployed.

“I’ve been unemployed for five months now. I’m a member of the ABA, my state, and local bar associations. Every year I’m expected to pay bar dues and CLE fees or risk losing my license to practice. This was fine when I was employed and my firm covered the costs of my memberships and CLEs. But, now that I’m broke and the unemployment benefits aren’t covering much of my expenses, I think that there should be some type of assistance or break this year for attorneys. I’m sure it wouldn’t devastate the bar associations or these CLE companies. Why is a portion of my license fees allocated for drug or alcohol addicted attorneys but not for those in financial need? There are plenty of attorneys who are and have been struggling to make ends meet without any real help from the bar. I think it’s time for the bar associations to start earning these fees.”

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Please share your thoughts. And if you have a story you’d like to submit, email me at blog@dirtyLAWndry.com.

Dirty LAWndry reader, “Ronald”, regrets not being able to express himself completely to his boss on the day he quit:

“I just quit my job of four long, long years. I am not an attorney yet, but I worked as a legal intern. At least, that’s what it says on paper. I’m attending law school this fall. I didn’t plan on quitting, but working for my boss was just becoming unbearable. There were nights I couldn’t sleep because of how miserable I was working at this firm. It’s a small personal injury firm with four associates and two partners. My boss is one of the partners, but he’s also the owner of the firm. The other partner, as I just found out, was really just there for tax evading purposes.

Throughout the years, I’ve had to “take care of” my boss’ side gigs. He’s also a slumlord in Camden, NJ and has several rental properties there. I would have to type up leases, field calls from tenants, and anything else that came up with regards to these properties. My boss’ attitude was that he didn’t want to deal with “these people”, he just wants the rent. I’m still expected to carry out my duties as a legal intern. I don’t have time to field the numerous calls coming in from complaining tenants. So, one day, I asked the receptionist to put the calls straight to my voicemail. I guess that was a problem for my boss because he wanted the tenants to have someone to voice their complaints to, even though he had no intention of solving their problems. So, he had the audacity to give my HOME phone number to his tenants as an emergency hotline number. This is just one example of how inconsiderate he can be.

On top of that, I had to keep his wife happy by buying her gifts for her birthdays and holidays as if they were from him. I also had to buy presents for his kids and his mom. I had to make sure that his wife never came to the office and if she did, I was expected to “handle it” and make sure she couldn’t meet with him. This was due to the fact that he was having an affair with his secretary and didn’t want to feel guilty about it. So, I was expected to run errands for his wife everyday. These were things that she could and should be doing, like picking up the kids from school, grocery shopping, driving her places, etc. It was just ridiculous.

Looking back, I should have quit earlier. But, my boss knew that I wanted to become an attorney. When he hired me, he said he would be my mentor. I was the youngest employee at the firm. I dropped out of high school, but I did get my GED and went on to college. I completed my BA in two years, even though I was working. When I graduated, I delayed my admission to law school because I didn’t want to have a lot of debt. Plus, both of my parents are deceased and I had no one else that could co-sign the loan and financial aid applications. I think my boss took advantage of this knowledge because he offered to pay a portion of my educational expenses in exchange for me doing more work. At the time, I assumed that I would have to work longer hours and weekends, which I didn’t mind. I figured it would give me more exposure to legal research and procedure. My main responsibility before this was client intake, where I would meet with a prospective client and have them fill out paperwork regarding their accident. I didn’t know that it would lead to being his personal slave. I never received an advance or an increase in my paycheck, but I still did everything he asked me to because I really wanted to be an attorney. I figured that after law school I would still have a job there. Well, it turns out that my boss had no intention of ever assisting me with my education. Apparently, he made promises like that to others in the office and never kept them. It was his way of getting us to do his dirty work.

What prompted me to finally quit was when he asked me and a few other employees to take paycuts. Of course, everyone was alarmed that maybe our firm wasn’t doing too well and that we’d be laid off soon. But, the employee that was in charge of the firms’ bills and receipts assured us that the books were okay and that she had no clue why our boss wanted us to receive less compensation. She volunteered to speak with him on our behalf. I guess she got too nosy, because she was fired shortly after. My boss never found a replacement for her and he started handling the bills and receipts himself. I couldn’t survive on what I was making, so I decided to quit after I found another job. On that day I was so prepared to go into the office and give my boss a piece of my mind. When I got to work, there were men and women carrying boxes and computers out of the office. When I asked what was going on, I was told that my boss was being audited and that he was also facing a federal probe for his part in some kind of fraud. So, I never got the chance to have my last stand.”

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Dirty LAWndry reader - “Tammy” - has this to share:

“Hi, LAWndry girl. I recently went back to work at a large firm. I had to take some time off from work because I was diagnosed with breast cancer. During that time, I couldn’t keep up with the maintenance of my hair. I am a black woman and I used to wear my hair in relaxed hair styles before I had cancer. I lost a lot of my hair during my chemotherapy so I eventually shaved it. Once the cancer began to recede, I was still too weak to take care of my hair like I normally do. I decided that it would be easier for me to have locks.

Well, now that I’ve finally returned to my job, everyone seems to be focused on my locks. I get compliments from some people. But, there are those in my firm that act as if my hairstyle is somehow offensive. I’ve had co-workers ask me if I was “trying to be militant” or if I was “angry” since I came back. I’m neither. I just wanted a simple hairstyle that I could maintain. My hair is healthy and well-taken care of. I still wear the same professional work attire, so I don’t see what the big deal is. More importantly, my clients are fine with the hairstyle change. It’s just these damn attorneys that I work with.

I asked one of them why my hairstyle was such a controversial issue. He replied that it was just distracting to many in the office. Right. But, when “Julia” decided to add blueish-purple highlights to her jet-black hair, I guess no one thought that was distracting because she didn’t get bombarded with questions on a daily basis as I am. Why is this even an issue? I’m still the same person who’s well on her way to becoming a partner. It’s just hair, people.”

Dirty LAWndry reader, “Sarah”, has lost confidence in certain graduates produced by law schools.

“I have worked as an attorney for the same firm for almost 40 years now. I know things are different for law school graduates now than when I attended. I would imagine that the quality of education and workforce preparation would be better. My firm claims to select graduates that are in the top ten percent of each class. If this is true, then I am frightened for the future of the legal profession. Quite frankly, I think that there are too many spoiled, ill-mannered, and clueless people graduating from law schools. I think the legal profession should adopt a three-year program similar to the medical residence program that would place JDs in firms or clerkships and weed out those who aren’t prepared for the workforce.

I have many examples to share, but I’ll begin with the most recent. On Good Friday, the firm was pretty much empty as it is on most holidays. So, there was more of a relaxed atmosphere. Around lunchtime, there was an email sent stating that there were Easter treats in all of the break rooms. Quite a few people on my floor ventured into the break room for these treats. There were associates, staff attorneys, paralegals, secretaries and JDs. The JDs aren’t permanent employees yet as they were waiting for their bar exam results. A few of the JDs were joking about the pros and cons of plastic surgery. One of the JDs decided to show off her new breasts by flashing everyone in the break room. She obviously thought it was funny because she kept doing it over and over, especially to those who seemed embarrassed by her behavior. Is this what law schools are producing? Shouldn’t she know better than to expose herself at work?”

“Sarah”, I witnessed pretty much the same thing when I used to work at a small firm. A legal secretary flashed the partner’s mother, but that’s a story for another time. Speak on it, people. Do you think law school prepares graduates for the workforce?