Deep Breaths...I Cannot Quit...I Cannot Quit

[Biscuitsmom31]

She's at it again. The attorney that I said keeps giving me tons of her personal stuff to do has moved on to more unsavory behaviors.

She has a client who has a settlement offer pending and it is only good until Friday (tomorrow). Well, this client called about 50 times yesterday and although I'm not familiar with the case, she asked that his calls be routed to me.

She had her reasons, I'm sure but she refused to talk to the guy and gave me a lot of lame excuses to pass on to him. I passed on the excuses and tried to calm the guy down but he is in a panic and nothing I could say would resolve his concern. Finally, at the end of the day, he was getting downright rude. I did the best I could to handle the situation.

So, today, he is calling again, still upset. Finally, she takes his call. I just heard her in her office on the phone with him saying "My assistant didn't let me know what was going on..."

Oh no she didn't.

 

[kaw1218]

hot sauce in her coffee

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

hot sauce in her coffee

She's not a coffee drinker. What can I put in her Diet Coke?

 

[JCJRSmith]

She's at it again. The attorney that I said keeps giving me tons of her personal stuff to do has moved on to more unsavory behaviors.

She has a client who has a settlement offer pending and it is only good until Friday (tomorrow). Well, this client called about 50 times yesterday and although I'm not familiar with the case, she asked that his calls be routed to me.

She had her reasons, I'm sure but she refused to talk to the guy and gave me a lot of lame excuses to pass on to him. I passed on the excuses and tried to calm the guy down but he is in a panic and nothing I could say would resolve his concern. Finally, at the end of the day, he was getting downright rude. I did the best I could to handle the situation.

So, today, he is calling again, still upset. Finally, she takes his call. I just heard her in her office on the phone with him saying "My assistant didn't let me know what was going on..."

Oh no she didn't.

She has no problem throwing you under the bus. Find another job. When she asks why, tell her you cannot work for someone would do that to you.

Sorry this is happening to you. Best of luck.

 

[kaw1218]

She's not a coffee drinker. What can I put in her Diet Coke?

soy sauce

 

[momof3littlelilos]

Yes, you can quit, just don't do it until you have a solid exit plan.
I agree with the previous poster about being thrown under the bus. That bites. Good luck.

 

[kaw1218]

oh wait!!! better yet...a tiny dab of dish liquid....

 

[Crankyshank]

Go to your supervisor. Explain the situation. Provide documentation of everything she asks you to do, as well as the situation yesterday.

 

[JR6ooo4]

That is flat out lying to the client. Report her to the BAR association!

Mikeeee

 

[JR6ooo4]

oh wait!!! better yet...a tiny dab of dish liquid....

Ya, is that a good idea? Starting a lawsuit with someone who will have ZERO attorney fees? NO!

Mikeee

 

[Darcy03231]

Definitely time to look for a new job!

If calls are routed to me and its not one of my cases my standard line is "I'm sorry, I don't know how this call got to me but I know nothing about your case as I work in a completely different section of the firm. I'd be happy to take a message and get it to the right person." Then make sure you take a message on a pad that either has duplicates or photocopy the message slip and give it to the right person. Keep all your copies so if you're ever questioned you can pull them out.

 

[Lanie]

oh wait!!! better yet...a tiny dab of dish liquid....

I'd say some eye drops...

 

[lilyv]

Definitely time to look for a new job!

If calls are routed to me and its not one of my cases my standard line is "I'm sorry, I don't know how this call got to me but I know nothing about your case as I work in a completely different section of the firm. I'd be happy to take a message and get it to the right person." Then make sure you take a message on a pad that either has duplicates or photocopy the message slip and give it to the right person. Keep all your copies so if you're ever questioned you can pull them out.

Those message slips are a great idea.

 

[kaw1218]

I'd say some eye drops...

darn....now I KNOW I should have tried to get in more sleep....I should have thought of that one

 

[kaw1218]

Definitely time to look for a new job!

If calls are routed to me and its not one of my cases my standard line is "I'm sorry, I don't know how this call got to me but I know nothing about your case as I work in a completely different section of the firm. I'd be happy to take a message and get it to the right person." Then make sure you take a message on a pad that either has duplicates or photocopy the message slip and give it to the right person. Keep all your copies so if you're ever questioned you can pull them out.

On a serious note.... those duplicate copies are wonderful!!!!

 

[EthansMom]

Definitely time to look for a new job!

If calls are routed to me and its not one of my cases my standard line is "I'm sorry, I don't know how this call got to me but I know nothing about your case as I work in a completely different section of the firm. I'd be happy to take a message and get it to the right person." Then make sure you take a message on a pad that either has duplicates or photocopy the message slip and give it to the right person. Keep all your copies so if you're ever questioned you can pull them out.

I like this response. I'd also refer the client back to whomever routed the call your way.

You could always consider giving the client the attorney's personal cell number.

You really need to talk to your boss about the extra work load this woman has put you under and how it's compromising your ability to perform the work that needs to be done. Answering her client's 50 calls yesterday because she couldn't be bothered to return a call is not the best use of your time.

 

[TeresaBelle]

She's not a coffee drinker. What can I put in her Diet Coke?

Drano!

 

[happily single]

I swear OP and I could work in the same office I find that handing out my bosses cell phone number works wonders in getting irate clients to stop calling me. He gives out his number to some clients, so he can never remember whether he gave it to them. Plus, we have a lot of clients who just use caller id, so if you ever get questioned you can just say that the atty must have called the client using her cell phone.

ON a more serious note, I would just say "I'm sorry, i don't know anything about your case...." as one of the other posts stated.

Keep us updated

(PS I'm diss'ing at work right now)

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Banana in the tail pipe of her car...

 

[Carly_Roach]

Definitely time to look for a new job!

If calls are routed to me and its not one of my cases my standard line is "I'm sorry, I don't know how this call got to me but I know nothing about your case as I work in a completely different section of the firm. I'd be happy to take a message and get it to the right person." Then make sure you take a message on a pad that either has duplicates or photocopy the message slip and give it to the right person. Keep all your copies so if you're ever questioned you can pull them out.

Once again, Darcy has the answer. If you'd given this answer instead of the moocher's script she wanted you to use, the client would then be able to answer her "My assistant didn't tell me..." excuse with, "Your assistant didn't even KNOW who I was! Why did you have me call her in the first place? And why am I even dealing with "your assistant" when I should have been talking to you?"

I'd also add email to the chain of evidence. Nothing is better than being able to instantly produce 50 copies of sent emails demonstrating that you DID try to make her aware that her client was calling 50 times trying to reach her.

Best of luck to you. When you're dealing with someone who lives life amidst a spiderweb of lies, the fastest (and best) way to shoot her down is to merely tell the truth. She'll stop using you if you stop making it so easy for her to do so.