a few weeks ago, my rock star assistant moved with her husband to Hawaii. He is in the Army and got transferred there for two years.   She found out in mid-November and broke the news to me.  I was immediately sad, and then jealous.   Apparently her husband gave her the option of not going with him, as it is a two year assignment and besides Hawaii, the options were South Korea and Alaska.   As soon as she heard “Hawaii,” she, of course, readily accepted.  Unfortunately, she still had about a month and a half left at the firm and she had a tremendous case of  I-could-care-less-about-this-job-since-I-am-moving-to-paradise-itis.  It was unfortunate for myself and the three partners she supported.    Still, I have fond memories of her as she was willing to drive me home from happy hours when I had a little too much to drink, which is always appreciated.

We have been interviewing replacements for over a month.  Unfortunately, you are dealing with super nice associate (ahem…that would be me) and three very particular, and very demanding, and VERY opinionated men.  This one did not have enough litigation experience, this one lived too far away, this one refused to stay late…and then this afternoon, we meet a very nice, and VERY upbeat, woman who I thought was just perfect.  Her kids are teenagers so her schedule is flexible, her commute won’t be great, but she’s well aware of that fact, and she wore cute shoes.  I was sold!  Of course, during the post-interview discussion, one of the partners whined that she did not seem to be intimidated by working for four attorneys.  Keep in mind, another partner had just finished criticizing today’s first candidate because she seemed nervous about working for four attorneys.  I looked back and forth at them in disbelief.   So we want someone who is scared to come work for us? Okay, fellas, that makes sense.   

I made my pitch for candidate #2 and cast my vote.  I think my vote only matters if it is same vote as the other three, but still – it is nice to be given a voice, especially when it turns out yours is the voice of reason.   

One sidenote – when she met the three of us (one partner was out today), she called me by my first name and the two male partners “Mr. X” and “Mr. Y.”  I hope that doesn’t mean she is going to be one of those assistants who focuses on supporting the partners and considers helping associates an afterthought.  Because, I must say, sometimes I look around and think “Am I the only one working around here?”  Okay, FINE, today was NOT one of those days. Today was more like “I am going to take a long lunch and clean out my inbox” type day.

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