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Today's Quote: I Find My Legal Staff Want Ad Soul-Sister

By Lynne DeVenny

Help wanted: Careless, unprofessional legal secretary with sloppy appearance to work for grumpy, hack lawyer in third-rate firm. No need for good communication skills or ability to work well under pressure. No one here talks to anyone else, and we work at a snail's pace.

Finally, someone is telling The Truth in a want ad about life in his or her law firm.

Not. This is an excerpt from The Assistant-at-Law's March 25, 2010 article for Texas Lawyer, "What Job Postings for Legal Staff Often Lack."

I sort of have a girl-crush on The Assistant-in-Law, and am thrilled that she has an email address so I can cyber-stalk her, or maybe just send her a LinkedIn invite...

Another favorite quote from this article:

The cardinal sin of legal-assistant recruiting is listing the faults of the employee who previously held the position. A recent posting admonished: "Do not bring drama to the office. Do not ask attorneys in the firm to help with your legal issues. Do not gossip. Bring a good work ethic."

She's right. Veteran legal support professionals aren't impressed by hyperbole, and using the word drama from the get-go is usually a deal-breaker. But darn if those cardinal sins don't contribute to one of my favorite hobbies, reading hilarious Craigslist ads for legal staff.

Know someone responsible for writing the job postings for your firm - who could use a bit of guidance? Leave a copy of The Assistant-at-Law's article (anonymously, if necessary) in his or her chair.

For a list of Practical Paralegalism's posts about some awesome want ads gone awry, click on this link. I get many of them from readers, so if you run across one that makes you laugh so hard you pee a little in your pants, then I'm your girl ;)

Another Post about The Assistant-at-Law: "Dealing with Micromanagement: Don't Become a Zombie"

Full post as published by Practical Paralegalism on March 25, 2010 (boomark / email).