PT-LawMom

The ABA Law Practice Magazine has some great tips in their latest issue for new associates working with an assistant for the first time.

· Do tell your assistant where you are when you leave your office.

· Do assign priorities when you give your assistant several jobs at once.

· Do introduce your assistant to your clients.

· Do share the credit when things go well.

· Do encourage your assistant to take training courses.

· Do say please and thank you.

· Do set an example by being hardworking and professional and showing that you care about the clients.

· Do keep your personal problems to yourself, especially your issues with other people who work for your firm.

· Do prevent a buildup of tensions by sitting down with your assistant at least once a month and really listening.

· Don’t hover over your assistant and make a sucking noise at every typo.

· Don’t wait until the annual performance review to reveal what your assistant’s goals should have been.

· Don’t act like your disorganization is your assistant’s problem.

· Don’t eat, slurp coffee, cough, sneeze or sniff into the dictation machine.

· Don’t yell from the next room or use hand gestures to signal your assistant to come and go.

· Don’t shift the blame when things go wrong.

· Don’t lie to your assistant, and don’t ask your assistant to lie on your behalf.

· Above all, don’t underestimate the power of positive expectations, participation, civility and recognition.

These are all dead on. In my opinion, miscommunication (or lack of communication) is the number one problem in attorney/secretary relations. And I could go on and on with stories I’ve heard from colleagues about their attorneys’ nasty habits (dictating while in the bathroom, clipping toenails with their foot on the desk and the door open, sending their secretary to buy lunch and asking her to work through but not buying her food even though the firm would reimburse them, putting a hand on the secretary’s shoulder and leaning over her while giving instructions, marching right into her workspace and reaching around her to open her supply drawer, etc.) Don’t get me started…

Kelly over at Lawyer’s Right Hand also shares some great tips in her post on the history of Administrative Professionals Week. I learned a lot from that post. While I agree with her that we should be treated well all year round, I do enjoy having a special day where the spotlight’s on me. I think Kelly’s suggestion that, in lieu of candy/gifts, the lawyers give more business/professional development-related gifts is great. I would have loved to receive a new agenda, some software or some neat office supplies (yes, I’m a bit of a stationary freak). Thanks for the perspective, Kelly!

Today is May 1, the day that immigrants nationwide plan to march for their rights, encouraging lawmakers to move forward on reform bills and to stop individual cities and states from trampling on individual civil liberties.

Janet Parker wrote a fantastic op-ed in Wisconsin’s Capital Times about the history of May 1 as a day to celebrate workers’ rights/independence and how immigrant workers can reclaim this day to push for legislation that recognizes the ways they help this nation succeed:

I know that most groups expect that today will have low turnout due to immigrant fears of capture, but I am hopeful that immigrants will take a stand against these bullies and again make their voices heard on May 1.