Karma, Baby, Karma

Long time, no post, been busy with work, kids, etc. But last night, I got some fun news.

I used to work for a satellite office of a relatively large law firm. At that time, I really wanted to work in the suburbs, thinking I'd have a shorter commute, less stress/work hours and more time with family. Certainly I was interested in getting ahead in my profession, and I had the impression the firm understood my desires and would work with me for both our benefits.

The job started out well, my boss seemed pretty decent, interesting cases and I made my billable hours without problems. After six months, I got a good review and indications that this would be my job for the future. I had heard rumors that my boss could be difficult to work for, but he seemed ok to me. I was also aware that the current managing partner of the satellite office was going to retire within the next couple of years and my boss was the leading candidate to take over the position. He knew it and did have a tendancy to throw his weight around because of it.

Then, over Christmas, I went on vacation and during that time found out I was pregnant. When I returned to work, I was still having a very difficult time with "all-day sickness" (I ultimately lost 25 pounds with the pregnancy, and only gained back about 10 of those pounds before birth). Also, given my age and weight, I was placed in the 'high risk' category. Due to these circumstances, and the anticipated effect it might have on my work hours, I told my boss early.

Almost overnight, my work environment changed. Suddenly my boss was on my back about every little thing. While I didn't have set work hours, he would be annoyed if I got to work 5 minutes later than when he felt I should be there. He was annoyed everytime I went to a doctor's appointment (which were more frequent because I was high risk). He started cutting my billing hours, then yelling at me for not billing enough. During this time, work did slow down overall, plus none of the other partners wanted to give me work when I was going out on maternity leave soon. On several occasions, my boss yelled at me about something or another, enough that it brought me to tears. My doctor could tell that my work environment was not good and wanted me to go out on maternity leave early, but I didn't have the 'symptoms' to justify a medical leave, so going out early would be without a paycheck.

I also heard from a couple other people that my boss treated them quite poorly over various things. A friend of mine, who got a job at this office on my recommendation, ended up leaving because my boss treated her so badly. I'm sure her leaving didn't sit well with my boss and he probably took some of his annoyance out on me, but I certainly don't blame my friend.

My boss made my life so miserable during this time that I pretty much decided before I did go out on maternity leave that I would either seek to transfer to another office within the firm, or find a new job. As it turned out, my maternity leave got extended into a medical leave due to a torn rotator cuff that required surgery, and when I didn't return after the FMLA leave expired (due to the medical leave), my firm decided they didn't want me back. I'm fairly certain it was my boss' decision, or that he pushed it through the managing partner.

Coincidently, the other two associates at this office did not have families, and thus worked late hours. I'm pretty certain that I was let go because I did have a family, with other obligations that required my time, and couldn't work late hours. One of the associates I kept in contact with said that after I left (along with another associate that quit) she routinely worked until 8-9 pm almost every night and rarely took more than 15 minutes for lunch. In my opinion, the office decided it was better to have 2 associates working 15 hour days, rather than 4 associates working 7-8 hour days. I also know that the other associate that left, did so in part because she hated working for my boss (she had a few cases with him before my maternity leave, but more when I went out on maternity leave).

I suppose it worked out pretty well for me in the long run. I got a decent severance package and unemployment sustained me until I found a new job. I got more time home with my new baby. My new job doesn't pay quite as much, but its close, and the work environment is significantly better. Fortunately, I got my new job before the economy went to hell and I'm plenty busy.

So, the good news? Well, turns out that my ex-boss, Mr. "In the lead for managing partner" didn't get the job. Hah!! Just found out last night when a friend and also former associate ran into a secretary at the office who told her that another partner, a much nicer partner, got the job. Rumor has it that my ex-boss was voted down because the management committee for the entire firm felt that my ex-boss cost too many other people jobs and people didn't like working for him. Gee, wonder where they got that idea from?

All I can say is Karma, baby, Karma.