"A Rose By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet"

I was hired to be a "legal secretary."  I use the title "legal secretary," when referring to myself, my profession and the work that I perform.

Many of my colleagues prefer the title "Legal Assistant."  Some firms reserve the title "Legal Assistant" for "paralegals."  Others use the title "Assistant to John Doe."

I'm proud to be a secretary.  I feel that I have a skill-set that has served me well and feel blessed to have acquired skills (such as typing) early on.  Okay, I'm of "a certain age," but nonetheless, there is a deep sense of pride that goes along with being able to earn a decent living to support yourself and your family.

Whatever title you prefer to use, one thing remains the same, you are an integral part of a legal team, your firm, an asset, if you will.

Here's to a great week for all the legal secretaries, legal assistants, assistants and support staff who give 100 percent to keep the wheels turning!

This is your pep talk.  Monday will be here very quickly.

Salary Increases Post Recession

While on vacation this week, I received a text from a friend telling me that she was upset that her firm had sent out the salary increase letters and she felt her increase was so small it was insulting.

I told her that I preferred a small raise or no raise at all to a "pink slip" any day of the week.

I think it's safe to say that the days of big pay increases, fully stocked kitchens, and "dot-com" perks are pretty much over.  Unless you're working in-house at google or somewhere, I don't suspect you're going to find law firms spending money lavishly on staff.

In fact, a couple of weeks ago, several large national firms announced staff reductions and early buyouts to qualifying employees.

That said, I think it's safe to assume that the role of the legal secretary has changed.  No longer do firms call in "temps" when someone is on leave or vacation.  They merely shuffle work assignments.  I know some friends who tell me they have as many as ten attorneys to one desk.  Bear in mind, the younger associates aren't looking for a typist and the legal secretary is not only the person who electronically files with the court, he is the one who also makes binders (another post for another day) and is a personal assistant to the attorneys, particularly, the partners.

In the coming weeks, I will be talking more about the changing role of the secretary and the paralegal.

But, keep in mind, if you don't get the raise you want, at least you have a job!

And for those of us in San Francisco, thank God, the transit strike appears to be over (at least for now).

Happy Friday!!

Dream A Little Dream For Me

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while.  It's been a crazy few weeks at work, with lots of people taking vacations and such.  

Anyway, I'm here to tell you about a wonderful new product I discovered to help you fall asleep without narcotics.  

Dream Water, why did it take me so long to find you?  

If you're like me, after a stressful day, you may have trouble falling asleep at night.  Not that any of us who work in law firms know anything about stressful days (snicker).

One bottle of Dream Water will help you get to lullaby land simply and enjoy a relaxing night's sleep without the "hung over" effect that sleeping pills can often leave behind.

While I think you'll get best results by using it only a couple of times a week, two good nights sleep in a  work-week can make a world of difference in your productivity and attention to detail.

I also found during my recent airplane trip that it's great for those long cross country flights.

Visit their website and look at all the neat flavors.  And, it's drug free!


http://www.drinkdreamwater.com/

*fine print - Dream Water provided me with free samples of their product for the purposes of preparing this review.