u/Sparkly_Chanclas

I’ve tried to do a little research. It looks like the options aren’t too much different now from what they were when I was a student at UCR a few years ago. I’m really bad at things like transportation, directions, etc. so I just want to post this here and ask for any other tips.

I know this has been posted here before but I’m posting it again because this stuff changes with time.

1) Facebook group

I don’t want to say how old I am, but I was at UCR a while ago. In my day, we had a Facebook group for rideshare. On most days (especially weekends), you could find someone on that group who was going between LA and Riverside. If you said when you were leaving, they would accommodate you. It looks like that group still exists.

2) Metrolink

Metrolink looks like the main way people do it.

When I was a student, the last train back to Riverside left Union Station around 6:15pm. I missed it the first time 😂. In LA, you can usually get between two points in two hours. Less than two hours, you’re pushing it, especially during rush hour. The day I missed the train, I had gotten to the station two minutes before the train left and I went to the wrong track. Like I said, I’m really bad at that stuff. My brain needs time for those things.

3) Greyhound/Flixbus

For some reason, i feel like everyone I knew avoided the Greyhound. I had myself convinced that Greyhound was unreliable or unsafe. Now that I think about it, I kind of doubt it’s all that much worse than other forms of public transportation. I wish I had tried it at least once. Same with FlixBus.

4) Amtrak

Amtrak also looks useful but it’s a little too complicated for me because I don’t think it goes to Riverside. It goes to Ontario? Or maybe I’m just reading wrong on the website.

5) Uber

I would probably not take Uber because it looks too expensive. In my day, Uber only cost around $60 from Riverside to LA (I don’t think I ever took it from LA to Riverside). which I already thought was expensive. But if I look now, the cheapest option is $112 each way. That is $224 round trip, and that is just too much for me. Having said that, it was really normal to offer the Uber driver cash and say like “I’ll give you 2/3 in cash.” So instead of paying around $60, you could offer them $40 cash to take you to LA. I have a feeling that probably would not work today unless you offered them a lot more. I also feel like Uber drivers could get in trouble for doing that, and I don’t want to put someone in that position. So I think I just have to take the L on this one.

I don’t know that much about public transportation. What are some options that you know about or might recommend?

TLDR: I am one of two associates at a three-attorney firm. I handle an entire department while the founder focuses on marketing. My managing attorney is toxic, including yelling at staff and criticizing how they look. I have made up my mind that I'm leaving. My contract requires two weeks’ notice. I want to protect clients and transition my cases responsibly. I want to hear your thoughts on things I should consider before I quit.

Without going into too much detail, I work at a firm with three attorneys. There is a founder and two associates. The founder mostly handles the business side, marketing, etc. Then the legal work is divided into two departments.

To keep this simple, let’s call the founder "Cynthia." Let’s also pretend we do family law and immigration. We do not, but that is close enough for this conversation. I handle every family law case, and "Becky" handles every immigration case.

Cynthia’s name is on the firm. Her pictures are everywhere. The website is Cynthia. The social media is Cynthia. The events, panels, speaking engagements, and professional photos are all Cynthia. She is very good at being visible and photogenic. She does not practice law often.

New clients are sometimes disappointed when they find out I am representing them. They thought their lawyer was going to be Cynthia. I am not as confident, pretty, sweet, or charming as Cynthia is. Cynthia's way of talking makes clients feel reassured. I do not have that same personality. If I were worried about getting divorced and I talked to Cynthia, I would feel better. If I were worried about getting divorced and talked to me, I would not feel better.

Cynthia can be extremely toxic behind closed doors. She comments on other people's appearances. She also calls people into her office and yells at them. That has become normal at the firm, which is really not a good sign. I have tolerated that behavior for much longer than I should have. I have really had enough of it.

I've had enough of this firm. I'm really over it. I've thought about leaving before. Now, my head literally hurts here. I have a headache as I'm writing this. I've made up my mind. I'm getting out of here.

The issue is that I cannot just send a cute little resignation email and never talk to Cynthia again. I have an entire department of cases and I need to make sure those cases have a seamless transition to whoever will take them next. My contract says two-weeks notice. If I gave two weeks’ notice, Cynthia would have to hire another attorney immediately, take over all my cases herself, or come up with some other plan. I do not know if two weeks would count as reasonable notice in that situation.

What should an attorney actually be thinking about in this kind of situation?

And no, I am not taking clients with me after I leave.

Please let me know if you have an thoughts or general feedback about what I should think about before I quit. Tysm!!

This almost feels like something that would have been on the MPRE or an ethics essay in law school.

Without going into too much detail, I work at a firm with three attorneys. We have a founder and two associates. The founder handles most of the business and marketing work. Then we have two departments.

To make it simple, let's just say “Cynthia” is the founder. We do family law and immigration (we don't, but let's just go with it). I handle all the family law cases, and “Becky” handles all the immigration cases.

The firm has Cynthia’s name and pictures all over it. She named it after herself. She is constantly making social media content, attending events, getting speaking engagements, etc. But she does not practice law very often.

I don't know if that's misleading, but clients are sometimes disappointed to learn that I will be their attorney. They were expecting Cynthia to represent them.

The problem is that leaving is not as simple as just quitting. I have an entire department of cases. If I gave two weeks’ notice, Cynthia would need to hire another attorney almost immediately, take the cases herself, or figure out some other way to protect the clients.

I don't know if that would be reasonable notice before quitting. I also feel like it might prejudice the clients a bit. Of course, I can't just quit in the middle of trial. But what if trial is set to start in five months?

What should an attorney think about here in terms of ethical obligations, notice, client communication, and making sure nobody is prejudiced? Also, how much responsibility do I really have to control the firm’s staffing problem before I leave?

I never got involved in the firm's finances. But let's say Cynthia has to stop doing business-y things and has to start working my cases. And as a result, the firm loses so much money and needs to close down. Am I liable for anything there?

If I quit, I know Cynthia is going to be furious, but I want to burn as few bridges as possible. Cynthia can be toxic behind closed doors. She makes comments about other women, their outfits, their appearances, and things like that. I already kind of know I'm going to be remembered negatively after I leave.

And no, I do not plan on taking clients with me. I have had enough of this.

Do you have any ideas on things I should think about before I quit?