Ever have one of those days where the news outside The Firm is just as bad if not worse than what little info you can gather inside The Firm? I’m talking about the recent problems on Wall Street, not on Montgomery Street.
The problems on Montgomery Street barely rate a blip on the newswires, locally or nationally, but by the end of the month, the end of Q3, I’m sure the Chronicle or the Trib will pick it up. It has been called the Lehmanization of Heller Ehrman.
Right now is not the time to play “shoulda, coulda, woulda.” There will be plenty of time during the post-mortem of the bloated corpse that was Heller Ehrman to play CSI, point fingers, assign blame and walk away in a huff. Right now is the time when professional support staff who have tried to believe the line of bullsh*t fed to them by management need to gather together, pull down the life boats, make sure everyone is safe, and get the hell out while the deck is still at an angle, and not vertical.
In this past decade, we’ve all learned that when the man on the intercom says, “Everything is fine. Stay where you are. There is no danger,” that you haul ass and get the hell out or at least make plans for when you feel comfortable leaving. That time is now.
We all know that over the next few days management will make attempts to seem concerned, watchful and caring – all in line with their much touted “respect and dignity” policy. But as with any disaster, being pro-active, being positive, and helping each other is the way to survive. As the shareholders, at least those that are left, are pulling out their dry and golden life preservers, we’ll do what many of us have done in the past (remember Brobeck?):
- stay focused
- be creative
- help each other out
- encourage
- celebrate successes
- briefly note defeats
- and do what our leaders failed to do:
lead and communicate!
So there it is and have at it. Please review the Terms of Service for the code of conduct during a disaster. This is not a drill. I repeat: this is not a drill.
All –
I’ve had the distinct pleasure of working with a number of support staff who were both consummately professional and fun, interesting people. I wish you all the best of luck in the future.
- (A Soon-to-be-former) Heller Associate
It’s sad to watch this slow, painful death of the once-mighty Heller. But this ship is really sinking and everybody should bail out now before they are forced out — with the associated Brobeckian stigma.
All the IP partners have gone. Dissolution is oh-so-near. Can’t believe the economy is so damn shitty that I’ll struggle to find a decent job.
well, this was a long time coming, wasn’t it? greed, greed, greed! in truth, the heller people once loved has been gone some years now: by the time dear joan left us, it was more like HELLer for the paralegals. it’s very tempting to gloat; my only sadness is for those of my friends who still work there. so many others, however, were callously dismissed after decades of loyal service. i reached my own limit for managerial contempt circa 2005, and left voluntarily. just remember, there is life after heller. we’re all much happier on the other side. walk into the light…
ps– love the blog.
Like “(now) happy former paralegal” I left the firm early this year after not deluding myself that “this slump is temporary” as management kept insisting, despite consistent signs to the contrary. (Even management itself degraded; replacements for Dear Joan and others were incompetent.) My observations turned out to be spot-on, and I’m in a much, much better position now. Current HE Staff: take heart, there are better opportunities “on the other side.” You don’t deserve all this stress and tension and uncertainty. Leave your comfort(?) zone, be strong, and “walk into the light…”
Thanks for the comments and the visits ex-Heller staff.
I’m thinking of you guys right now. Heller was a great place to work. Without violating the terms of service TOOOO much, let me concur that the Heller we knew and loved has been gone for a long time. And there REALLY is life after Heller, I assure you. The best thing is most of the places you’d want to go have ex-Hellerites working there already, and we’ll put in a good word for you.
So hang in there, and give Patti a hug for me.