I became a legal assistant while contemplating law school and this job makes me want to quit law as a whole.
Not sure if this is the right place to post this. I'm legal assistant in "regulations". I had been debating on law school before I landed this job, and after a year into this position it makes me want to rethink law.
The head of our department is nice and somewhat laid-back, but just a terrible boss all around. They don't hire competent attorneys and that causes more work for us legal assistants in having to babysit and train these attorneys in order for their cases to move forward. We were also given very little training ourselves. If the cases don't move forward, we get the blame for it no matter how many times we sit and walk it through with the attorneys to get them to review drafts. Some of the attorneys have been there for a while and will straight up throw other assistants under the bus for drafts they haven't looked at in weeks.
To be fair, we do have it better than most private law sectors, but in terms of training or communication the office is a complete mess. This job also offers no flexibility. We are in the office 40 hours a week and we are not exempt, no remote days. The person in charge of the legal assistants also wants out of the job and acknowledges all the issues but they're not willing to demand changes for our positions.
I used to be so set on becoming a lawyer but this job has turned me off to it entirely. I work with some great people -at the end of the day we can make a great team and get things done when we have to but my position in the department is the most draining. Not sure what to do, but I'm definitely planning on quitting at the end of the year and rethinking if law is right for me. I'm good at law. I love finance and business and the art of contracts. I loved reading. But this job has kind of sucked all the wonder of being a lawyer out of me. I'm not sure if becoming a lawyer is still a good idea and legal assistants just get the shitty end of the stick or if this truly is what all jobs in law are like... am I over indexing the experience of being a lawyer with my experience of being a legal assistant? I have no idea.