60 day review my ....

Today, both attorneys decided to have an impromptu review of my work. The female attorney projected her flaws on to me; claiming that I need to work on accountability (hello, pot calling kettle black - see my previous thread) and communication (also a load of horseshit b/c I communicate all day long with her and the male attorney; asking questions, cc'ing them on emails).

I'm still applying for other jobs. Just not legal assistant jobs as none of the ones near me pay more than where I work now. The paralegal is back from his 4 week vacation so I'll just ask him questions now instead of to the two attorneys.

Time to crack open my leadership books for a refresher on how to deal with toxic bosses.

Going to email the attorneys tomorrow to ask them to respond with the talking points from today so I have it in writing. Also, I am going to ask them to give me 30 days from today for my correct review time. It was supposed to be 3 weeks ago. So they are 3 weeks behind.

Here is what I believe happened today to me. This week, the legal staff are required to do their annual review with their attorneys in the large conference room where each side shares their goals for the upcoming year. All of the paralegals except for the two legal assistants (me and the other new legal assistant) participated. We were required to complete the evaluation forms for our supervising attorneys to read in preparation for meeting with each of us and a partner to discuss goals. Well, that never happened today.

What I found suspicious: when my two attorneys spent an hour in a partner's office without any warning. I assumed they were talking about me. All of the sudden, 30 minutes before the end of the day, the female attorney and male attorney called me into her office. The male attorney returned from a 3 week vacation yesterday. They impromptly (and might I add, illegally) forced me to sit through a 20 minute "60 day review" that should have happened a month ago. I had to sit and listen to the female attorney project her issues on to me. I wasn't even given the chance to speak.

My 30 day review happend on 11/14
My 60 day review should have happend on 12/14 (it didn't) that is when the male attorney went on vacation for 3 weeks. No preparation for me was given for today's impromptu review. No mention by either attorney that my 60 day review would be late because of the male attorey's vacation.
My 90 day review is supposed to happen 1/14. Today, they both joked, "well, you have 6 days to improve or you're fired." Laughing at me.

Is what they did dirty and underhanded? YES, it is. Illegal? YES, it is. They are attorneys so they think they can act this way. I can go to an employment attorney if I need to, and sue them for discrimination and retaliation if they do fire me.

I know that the only way around ****** bosses is to play possum. To be as neutral as Switzerland.

However, I have to protect my job until I can find another job. And no, I have no allies in the other partners. I don't.

My strategy tomorrow morning is to casually stop by the female attorney's office and ask her to cc' the male attorney and email me their talking points from yesterday's 60 day "review." Then, I will at least have their shenanigans in writing. And, then I can point out to them, that by law, they are required to give me 30 days. I have to find a way to be nonchalant so I make it hard for them to sabotage me more than they already have.

I read the Glassdoor reviews of their former legal assistants who ALL wrote the same thing that I've pointed out here. Unrealistic expectations. Unfair treatment. Sabotage. Undermining. Lying. Manipulating. Lack of transparency.

Today, one of their former legal assistants who worked for them for 4 years got a new job and they were without ANY legal assistants until they hired me (about 6 months). So, they BEGGED her to work at night to do legal assistant work to help them out (and then they hired me and a month later, hired the second legal assistant). I have her phone number. I can always apply at her company (no legal assistant jobs open, just administrative jobs, so fine by me). I can use her as a reference. So that is helpful. She has no loyalty to them, I have to hope.

I am trying to stay strategic b/c as we all know, it's much easier to get a job when you have a job. I won't use either attorney as a reference if I do get any interviews. I will need to figure out other references and explain that I can't use anyone at my current law firm as a job reference b/c they don't know I'm looking.

Does anyone have any helpful advice at all? What is the best way to outsmart these two attorneys tomorrow with my email about their illegal 60 day review? My gut feeling tells me, if they had planned to keep me around for the year, I would have been invited to the large conference room to meet with them and a partner to review the stupid 5 page self-evaluation and goals I have, as part of incentive to stay there. I feel like they are strategizing to get me fired.

Or maybe I just should work for myself and stop working in traditional workspaces. Maybe I need to find multiple one-person type jobs where I can be my own boss and make money that way. Even if I am fortunate enough to find anothe job, there will still be toxic people at that job. I can't escape toxic people. They are everywhere. And therein lies the rub, as the bard Shakespeare would say.

Honestly, at this point it sounds like it's not a good fit and I would just continue working and applying for other positions. I think challenging them on dates or pushing back (even asking them to email you and CC the other attorney) is going to be seen in their heads under the topic of "accountability" and dismissed by them. It even could hasten whatever their ultimate goal might be.

I'm fortunate that my job is metrics-based and pretty much all recorded (what I do on screen and during a phone call) so there is always a record of what I did to back me up. My reviews are based around that data also - for example one of my "things" to work on is getting better scores on how I approach and construct a case - my cases are complaint-related.

I think for those of us (and I do say "us" because I fit here) who are never the cool kids in class do MUCH better in positions where our performance is judged on real data and not these social/work interactions with eccentric people who always seem to be in charge.

I refer to the cool kids because work reminds me so much of high school where there were cool kids and then everybody else (me). I was never in the cool group and very much remained on the sidelines. Any attempt I made to become a cool kid was rejected/rebuffed. It used to bother me a lot but I'm 61 now and it stopped bothering me a few years ago.

It also helps (?) that I've had health things that took priority over how well I'm doing at work and I no longer care so much about career climbing and doing better financially. First the cancer, then at Thanksgiving I fell off a stepladder and broke my leg so since then I've just been going to the doctor and I'm on a walker for at least another month, so I'm not going out much. It's been a struggle to keep from being depressed and my attitude toward work now is I'm glad I can work from home during times like this and I collect my pay and do as good a job as I can do.

I find it hard to believe that delaying your review is illegal. Is there a probationary period there? At my workplace it's 6 months. We've had a few people who didn't make that cut.

In the US there are statutes for employment law, surrounding the use of probationary policies. Each state has them. If an employer delays a work performance review, they employee can sue them for discrimination, for not being treated equitably and given leadership.

Wrong termination lawsuits result when employers aren't transparent with their employees about their hiring policies.

Also, if you want to keep your employees you don't delay their performance reviews. Don't Delay That Performance Review

Performance reviews is a trigger topic for most companies because managers don't like doing them and employees don't like being scrutinized.

If you want to create trust between yourself and your employee, COMMUNICATE with them. Constant FEEDBACK from the manager to their emloyee shows investment in the relationship and the work that the employee does for the manager; it also removes a LOT of negative feelings and can create a bond of trust between the employee and their manager that goes a long way.

So is your probationary period 90 days? At my workplace they can extend it at the 6 month period to 6 more months. That's a bummer but it beats being let go. It's hard to win on any type of discrimination is an at will state, isn't? What kind of discrimination would you claim?

The firm administrator has been there for 1 year yet she concedes any hiring questions (her domain) to one of the female partners, who then deflects the question back to the firm administrator.

In short, I can't get a straight answer so I don't know. It does beat being let go in that I could apply for unemployment if they terminate me. I'd rather they fire me than lay-off me. I won't quit. I need the money. Despite my complaining.

That is nice that your workplace extends the probationary period. I think it's up to each individual company to do that.