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Should a Legal Secretary Tell a Senior Co-Worker the Firm Plans to Let Her Go?

By Lynne DeVenny

A legal secretary asks an advice columnist about a dilemma many of you may have experienced firsthand. When she was new to the job, a veteran employee and office manager of two decades - and a "lovely woman" to boot - showed her the ropes and helped her settle in. Now one of the lawyers has given the legal secretary the unpleasant scoop; a down-sizing is in the law firm's future, and he wants to keep the new legal secretary and fire the long term employee.

The legal secretary's inclination is to look for another job, but she wonders if she should tell the office manager what the lawyer said.

The columnist's advice is short and to the point; in a tough job market, the legal secretary should stay mum until she finds another job and has given her two-week notice.

This is a tough situation for any staffer to find herself in, especially when the senior employee has mentored her and helped her gain the skills she needs to advance in the profession. The column attracted quite a few reader comments, ranging from, "Let them fire the office manager, and then you quit, leaving them with no one to run the office," to "It's none of your business who the owner of the company decides to let go." I do wholeheartedly agree with one commenter who says, "It is unprofessional to tell one rank-and-file employee about your plans for another."

I really empathize with the legal secretary who obviously respects her co-worker, and wishes the lawyer had not placed her in this difficult position. She should concentrate her energies on doing her best work and developing her skills set, while keeping an eye out for a better opportunity, hopefully with lawyers that she enjoys working with.

It's tough knowing things about co-workers that you wish you didn't. There have been a few times over the course of my career when I was entrusted with confidences about other co-workers, sensitive information I would have preferred not to know. But, bottom line, that information was not mine to share - with anybody.

What do you think? Should the legal secretary give the office manager the heads up about the lawyer's plans?

Source: PatriotLedger.com

Full post as published by Practical Paralegalism on September 13, 2010 (boomark / email).