Anonymous Lawyer

The first week back from any kind of break, people think they're still on vacation. "I'm still catching up on what I missed" is not an excuse. An associate promised me a memo by end of day today, and just stopped by my office to let me know it's going to be another day or two because she's still "crawling out from under the pile of e-mails." This is why we give associates Blackberries. How can she have a pile of e-mails? Wherever she was, her e-mail was in her pocket. It's not my fault she let it get out of control. It's her own fault. And now she's making me wait an extra day for a memo I'm never going to read, but that isn't the point. It's the principle. The memo could have been important. Her e-mails over the holiday could have been important. She needs to answer her e-mails when she gets them. And she needs to get me the memo when she promises. This isn't just a game. Sometimes it's a game. But not this time.