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We are the robots dun doo da dap!
May. 8th, 2015 07:44 amYesterday I attended an EEOC luncheon and...showed political skill? I'm sort of warming up to the fact I've been litigating for almost 10 years. I feel incompetent and meet people more skilled than I, but I also am not bad for the available field.
The discussion was good as we got to pepper, at-will, the panel of 6 AJ's (including the chief) with questions on any subject. Fascinating to me were some stats: the fed side of EEOC is only 7% of their budget, DC/Balt. get the harder cases with HQ staff having far more complex litigation fact patterns and experience attorneys, 10 years ago 40-50 cases were considered a standard high caseload, now it's 80-100 per AJ (they had 11-12, now they have 5-6 with no hope of being allowed to fill vacancies), and their own clerical is out on extended leave (so they have some of the same problems we do).
I asked the first and the last question. I didn't do this on purpose, but I'm aware in terms of impressions those are the times to make them. I touched some difficult areas with attempted tact, and after the session was approached by multiple people who all complimented my tact and thanked me for voicing opinions (that they shared). These included the head of a major law firm that I may flirt with, an OGC member, and a bunch of people from our sister Agency in the Dept. All this without putting on a tie.
My just-from-private-law coworker also really nailed some good comments, and complimented the skill of a private attorney who I pegged as a scumbag (the areas are compatible). She also worked the room, well, and I was impressed but not surprised at her networking skill. I also talked to a girl from biglawfirm who had left the firm and joined our sister Agency...she also left due to the hours (not knowing she was thinking of leaving, she had seemed less enthusiastic and on point compared to other staff).
I feel somewhat hypocritical as I say I hate networking, and frankly I do hate networking, but I've actually started doing it - not always on purpose, but not without awareness of what my socializing may yield. Perhaps I'm developing into what the goal really is, the goal and conduct that so many mimic for the purpose of manipulating the system like cleaner fish copycats who bite their subjects.
As I drove away I changed into a t-shirt and tore off my shoes and socks - I pulled over to switch to shorts and stop driving barefoot. Curiously this is legal while texting at a red light is not.
But my ghetto clothing options aside, I'm back to considering what I want to do. I'm happy to keep seeding multiple areas to enable career paths, but at some point I have to consider OGC, private law, developing training and getting that show on the road, this EEOC AJ job, joining management ranks again (in litigation most likely), or just noting I love this work and I could retire in 15-20 years. I had always hoped to coast but that just doesn't seem to be how this works - not at this level.
Also while these developments and possibilities are interesting to me, and could be developed more in this type of writing, I don't care that much and it's not that conducive to storytelling.
The discussion was good as we got to pepper, at-will, the panel of 6 AJ's (including the chief) with questions on any subject. Fascinating to me were some stats: the fed side of EEOC is only 7% of their budget, DC/Balt. get the harder cases with HQ staff having far more complex litigation fact patterns and experience attorneys, 10 years ago 40-50 cases were considered a standard high caseload, now it's 80-100 per AJ (they had 11-12, now they have 5-6 with no hope of being allowed to fill vacancies), and their own clerical is out on extended leave (so they have some of the same problems we do).
I asked the first and the last question. I didn't do this on purpose, but I'm aware in terms of impressions those are the times to make them. I touched some difficult areas with attempted tact, and after the session was approached by multiple people who all complimented my tact and thanked me for voicing opinions (that they shared). These included the head of a major law firm that I may flirt with, an OGC member, and a bunch of people from our sister Agency in the Dept. All this without putting on a tie.
My just-from-private-law coworker also really nailed some good comments, and complimented the skill of a private attorney who I pegged as a scumbag (the areas are compatible). She also worked the room, well, and I was impressed but not surprised at her networking skill. I also talked to a girl from biglawfirm who had left the firm and joined our sister Agency...she also left due to the hours (not knowing she was thinking of leaving, she had seemed less enthusiastic and on point compared to other staff).
I feel somewhat hypocritical as I say I hate networking, and frankly I do hate networking, but I've actually started doing it - not always on purpose, but not without awareness of what my socializing may yield. Perhaps I'm developing into what the goal really is, the goal and conduct that so many mimic for the purpose of manipulating the system like cleaner fish copycats who bite their subjects.
As I drove away I changed into a t-shirt and tore off my shoes and socks - I pulled over to switch to shorts and stop driving barefoot. Curiously this is legal while texting at a red light is not.
But my ghetto clothing options aside, I'm back to considering what I want to do. I'm happy to keep seeding multiple areas to enable career paths, but at some point I have to consider OGC, private law, developing training and getting that show on the road, this EEOC AJ job, joining management ranks again (in litigation most likely), or just noting I love this work and I could retire in 15-20 years. I had always hoped to coast but that just doesn't seem to be how this works - not at this level.
Also while these developments and possibilities are interesting to me, and could be developed more in this type of writing, I don't care that much and it's not that conducive to storytelling.
