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This is a humorous and sarcastic blog written by a paralegal in a mid-sized law firm in a mid-tier market. The goal is to share some of the pitfalls and foibles encountered in my own day-to-day experiences. Feel free to contact me at aparalegalslife@gmail.com with comments. Complaints, not so much :)

Friday, March 4, 2011

Firm Wars - Co-Counsel Strikes Back

Nothing is a greater source of aggravation and stress in my job than dealing with out-of-state co-counsel.  It's like the old joke about the phone company ("We don't care, we don't have to!") from back before the break-up of AT&T in the mid 80's (yes, I'm old). 

They do not understand the true nature of deadlines.  Or that the product they send has to be worked on further to make it comply with our local requirements.  This work takes time.  Time that they inevitably ignore the need for.   Since deadlines are laid out in a Scheduling Order, we can't even lie to them and say something is due on the 3rd when it's really the 4th.  Plus, with e-filing, we are permitted to file all the way up to 11:59 PM, so we can't even use the close of business anymore. 

Co-counsel is a 4 letter word in my universe.  If you find yourself in a position of needing the help of an attorney in another state, please do them the professional courtesy of getting stuff there earlier than they ask for it.  Giving them extra time means the end quality work will be much higher.  Plus, you won't be thought of as that last-minute douchebag.

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