I just finished my second year of law school. Law students usually work for attorneys while they’re in school and I’m no exception. I started at my current job a year ago this month at a small criminal defense law firm in a big city. I do research on statues and case law, go through evidence/discovery, brainstorm or research defenses, write memos and motions for the court, and some other things. My boss also treats me like IT staff and GeekSquad/tech security person and like an administrative/executive assistant where he asks me to type emails he dictates for him sometimes. The IT/exec assistant were not part of the job description.
I’ve consistently been praised for performance, going above and beyond to find ways to help clients, and for high quality work. I have directly contributed to hundreds of thousands of dollars in property being returned to clients, reduced sentences or deferred prosecution (no conviction on someone’s record if they complete probation), and I’ve gotten clients different benefits they’re entitled to (ex: VA, mental health, disability benefits).
This spring, my coworker/co-clerk graduated and our boss offered to bring me on full time for the summer. He said his wife (also an attorney but somewhere else) suggested it and he thought it was a good idea. I said yes, but the next time I was at work (two days later), he reneged. I asked for a raise and he agreed to it at the one year mark. He didn’t give me a dollar amount then and still hasn’t told me the dollar amount a month.. at the one year mark. My current/original pay was ~80% of market rate for the role/subfield. He pays his clerks as 1099 employees, which I believe is legal but also seems like a way to put the tax burdens on us rather than on himself. Not all law firms do this for their clerks. Many are W2.
Later that week, he asked me if I knew anyone he could interview to be co-clerks with me. I found two good people—dumb to help him, I know, but I didn’t want to hurt myself by having a dud coworker. My boss started to get very weird around that time. He started being secretive and excluding me from things. He wouldn’t tell me which person he hired—for no apparent reason.
After his interviews with the potential new clerks, my coworker and I left for two weeks for final exams. On Monday I came back and he wasn’t in the office because he was in court. Tuesday he was and he was very nice to me. He told me I looked well rested and my eyes looked brighter. He complimented my work and work ethic and said I could come to more court dates and other meetings and be otherwise more involved. He invited me to stay late to meet with a client so I could truly be more involved. He asked me on Tuesday to train the new clerk. Before I came back from finals, I’d put together an awesome client list/explanation and a crash course on criminal law for state and federal cases. Wednesday (today) the new clerk started and I gave her the crash course before the boss or other attorney got to the office. Then he was a little weird to me all day today. He was secretive and exclusionary again.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE. The new clerk has never had a job in the legal field. She’s a weekend program law student so has essentially has just finished her first year. Our boss just offered her full time… on her first day… never having seen a legal work product…. and never having had a legal job… but still won’t allow me to work full time. And honestly he hasn’t even told me what days to be in for my part time gig.
Both myself and this new clerk both had successful careers prior to law school and are capable, intelligent, and friendly with one another. I have no issue with her at all and I’m happy she’s here. I’m just very upset with the situation.
I’ve asked many times over the last year for more mentorship and for him to teach me more about practice. He’s offered many times. He says he’ll introduce us (me and former clerks) to Other Attorney A or Other Attorney B or Judge A or Judge B but never follows through with anything.
Am I right to be frustrated or am I expecting too much? Do I say anything to him? Since I’m 1099 and an independent contractor do I just come in when there’s interesting stuff going on and not give him that option? What do I do?