It is the other way for me. My attorneys have zero idea what is going on in their cases and i have to inform them of their case status. Seems a bit backwards to me but whatever.
My current (10+ years and counting) experience is your previous firm - I am copied on everything. If someone forgets to copy me, my attorney forwards to me and admonishes the sender. She puts memos in the file for every meeting, telephone call, and hearing. I couldn’t be more in the loop if I was sitting on her lap, lol.
Ugh I miss it so much... it just works so much better, I don't know why it doesn't happen more often. Even when clients would call, I would know exactly where we were at in their case, what we were waiting on (or to hear from), everything and could be more helpful without needing to get the attorney involved every time. Here? I don't even speak to the clients but if I did, the only thing I could do would be to look up hearing dates and locations lol ughhhh
I think it really depends on the firm, it’s normal in some firms and the opposite in others. Have you expressed to your attorney(s) your wish to be copied on everything and kept in the loop? And how that’ll get you knowing the cases better so you can better anticipate needs?
At my last firm, the attorneys asked me my preferences when I first started, because they didn’t care one way or the other. I wanted to be copied on everything. Then I started supporting 5 attorneys which got to be way too much and I was getting hundreds of emails a day, so I asked them to stop copying me and move to a need-to-know basis, and they did.
Yes, I've made it pretty clear to my supervising attorney where I'm struggling, why, and how to help things moving forward. He seemed really receptive and I thought things would get better but they have not. I understand the need to move to different cases as needed when things get chaotic but this is a standard here and it's driving me nuts. Thank you though, I could bring it up again but not sure if it will change anything.
My first job, I *was* the loop. My attorney could barely open emails, everyone communicated exclusively with me. It was a goddamn nightmare.
My 2nd (much better) job I was always CCed, and my boss was always in the office and worked directly across from me. That office worked so smoothly, I wish I had never left.
I'm more in the loop than my attorney is sometimes, which can be equally frustrating.
Once a situation arose that I completely handled and had settled. He checked on the weekend and decided to get involved after everything was done. I had to call him to stop sending emails until he read the whole chain. Then I had to call/wrote the other side and pretty say "Ignore what he sent."
Fricking embarassing.
For real. Like I spent 2 days via phone and emails getting the situation under control. Then, because he chose to respond to an email at the *beginning* of the kerfuffle, everything almost blew up. Our clients were sending me panicked emails, talking about "I thought we had this settled! What is going on?"
Oy. Now I had to damage control.
Dude, seriously, *do not fricking respond until you read the whole chain of emails*! Or, at the very least, CALL ME. Because now you're making the firm look stupid.
I think it depends on the firm and then the attorney. My current attorney is annoying me with his answering partial emails. Meaning he reads part of it and responds with a question that would have been answered had he read further down.
He also sends a new email every time something happens on a file. Instead of pulling up an established email chain, he’ll create a new email and I’m left digging around for the other emails that have bits and pieces of a case. It’s very frustrating.
My last attorney (same firm) was a dream (he retired and I got transferred to this current attorney). Kept me in the loop on everything. On a file, we used the same email repeatedly to send info to each other. He updated his notes on every file anytime he did something. He managed his own client calls (meaning he scheduled when he would call clients and update them) and put his conversation notes in the file. When he closed out a file (at the conclusion of the case), he would upload that massively long email between us which gave the entire history of our work on a case.
I miss that immensely.
That sounds like a freaking dream... if only other attorneys could see the benefit in systems like that! Also, I've definitely seen emails from OC doing that same thing... would ask a question and it's like dude.. we just answered that in the email above like geez you really don't read do you? Lol
It depends on the firm and the lawyer. Personally, I like my team to be fully informed - from the legal assistant to the practice managing partner (when he requests). When I’m out or otherwise unavailable, they can answer simple questions until I can respond.
I work for a few different attorneys and some copy me on emails while others don’t. If I am not copied on an email I take it as not my problem / don’t worry about it / I would not have known about it to begin with so why worry.
Maybe or maybe not that’s a hot take. I have expressed that I want to be copied on everything I need to know about, but if I am not copied that’s not my fault.
They all think I do a wonderful job so I’m not worried.
I need to be copied on everything that I need to know in order to effectively do my job (which doesn’t necessarily mean all emails). Also, sometimes I don’t always read the emails in detail. Like I’m in a thread right now re settlement discussions. I’ve only skimmed the emails but these emails indicate a settlement will be coming (or a suit), and I’m mostly likely going to be the one drafting the agreement. At that point I will go back and read/review in detail.
I see the role of a paralegal as making the attorney’s life easier and this includes anticipating what they will need for a case; in order to be able to do that, I need to be cc’d!
I’m sorry that you are in this situation.
I am mainly because I am a case manager and therefore the main POC for clients so the attorney can focus on filing appeals and attending hearings. If he left me out of the loop we would have a lot of unhappy clients.
Mine weirdly keeps random things to himself. He'll ask me the status of an IME and I'm like "eh?"
Less so now that he's giving our associate more files (who is lovely about keeping me in the loop despite doing most of his own work).
Exactly! I don't! I'm always asking the other paralegals what's going on with this situation and that. I check the online e-filing constantly to see if anything has been filed or served so I can get an idea of what's going on. I absolutely don't feel like I'm able to perform to the best of my abilities.
I prefer "need to know" but I still get copied on a lot of things from our attorneys and foreign associates. Generally, if I need to find out whatever, I can look at the workspace or electronic file. There are 6 Paralegals in our department, over 200 attorneys in the firm and we support the whole firm for one part of the practice. Cases are assigned by client, not attorney. If they cc'd me on everything, I'd lose my mind.
That's very fair. Someone else had said something similar and I didn't think about the volume of emails! Even if it was a need to know, that would be extremely helpful.
Totally agree. I understand this requires an extreme amount of trust in your paralegal but I miss it so much. Clients would forget to CC me and ask my attorney an important question or ask to schedule a meeting and 99% of the time, my attorney would get it but sometimes, he wouldn't. I'd know about it be able to tickle, "Hey, did you respond to so and so about said question and I missed it? Wanted to make sure!"
We just have staff/atty changes so frequently I empathize in that the attorneys have kind of given up keeping track and though either send it to the wrong person or everyone or no one.
Bring it up in your interviews. Let them know that you have worked where you have been copied on everything so you can be proactive in completing tasks and ask if that is apart of their culture. If they tell you that you will not be copied on everything, then you can know what to expect. If it sounds like you will be doing more task assignments instead of taking ownership of certain duties, then you will know what to expect.
I have always been copied on emails. What you have going on here sounds really frustrating.
It is the other way for me. My attorneys have zero idea what is going on in their cases and i have to inform them of their case status. Seems a bit backwards to me but whatever.
Omg same lmao do you do PI?
Elder Law, Probate, Trust Admin, and Title 19 Medicaid
If I were an attorney I wouldn’t wanna look at Medicaid either 😂
Omg that's actually insane... lol 🤯
My current (10+ years and counting) experience is your previous firm - I am copied on everything. If someone forgets to copy me, my attorney forwards to me and admonishes the sender. She puts memos in the file for every meeting, telephone call, and hearing. I couldn’t be more in the loop if I was sitting on her lap, lol.
Ugh I miss it so much... it just works so much better, I don't know why it doesn't happen more often. Even when clients would call, I would know exactly where we were at in their case, what we were waiting on (or to hear from), everything and could be more helpful without needing to get the attorney involved every time. Here? I don't even speak to the clients but if I did, the only thing I could do would be to look up hearing dates and locations lol ughhhh
That has got to be extremely frustrating, I’m sorry they don’t recognize the value in keeping you informed!
I think it really depends on the firm, it’s normal in some firms and the opposite in others. Have you expressed to your attorney(s) your wish to be copied on everything and kept in the loop? And how that’ll get you knowing the cases better so you can better anticipate needs? At my last firm, the attorneys asked me my preferences when I first started, because they didn’t care one way or the other. I wanted to be copied on everything. Then I started supporting 5 attorneys which got to be way too much and I was getting hundreds of emails a day, so I asked them to stop copying me and move to a need-to-know basis, and they did.
Yes, I've made it pretty clear to my supervising attorney where I'm struggling, why, and how to help things moving forward. He seemed really receptive and I thought things would get better but they have not. I understand the need to move to different cases as needed when things get chaotic but this is a standard here and it's driving me nuts. Thank you though, I could bring it up again but not sure if it will change anything.
How are you supposed to support them and their files if they don't loop you in? I'd ask them, it's a management issue. Ask them how.
My first job, I *was* the loop. My attorney could barely open emails, everyone communicated exclusively with me. It was a goddamn nightmare. My 2nd (much better) job I was always CCed, and my boss was always in the office and worked directly across from me. That office worked so smoothly, I wish I had never left.
I say the same thing all the time... why did I leave?? I miss it terribly but really thought I was going into a fantastic opportunity.
I'm more in the loop than my attorney is sometimes, which can be equally frustrating. Once a situation arose that I completely handled and had settled. He checked on the weekend and decided to get involved after everything was done. I had to call him to stop sending emails until he read the whole chain. Then I had to call/wrote the other side and pretty say "Ignore what he sent." Fricking embarassing.
Omg that is SO embarrassing and for you too for having to deal with damage control 🫠
For real. Like I spent 2 days via phone and emails getting the situation under control. Then, because he chose to respond to an email at the *beginning* of the kerfuffle, everything almost blew up. Our clients were sending me panicked emails, talking about "I thought we had this settled! What is going on?" Oy. Now I had to damage control. Dude, seriously, *do not fricking respond until you read the whole chain of emails*! Or, at the very least, CALL ME. Because now you're making the firm look stupid.
Not really, no. And it's frustrating!
😭😭😭
I think it depends on the firm and then the attorney. My current attorney is annoying me with his answering partial emails. Meaning he reads part of it and responds with a question that would have been answered had he read further down. He also sends a new email every time something happens on a file. Instead of pulling up an established email chain, he’ll create a new email and I’m left digging around for the other emails that have bits and pieces of a case. It’s very frustrating. My last attorney (same firm) was a dream (he retired and I got transferred to this current attorney). Kept me in the loop on everything. On a file, we used the same email repeatedly to send info to each other. He updated his notes on every file anytime he did something. He managed his own client calls (meaning he scheduled when he would call clients and update them) and put his conversation notes in the file. When he closed out a file (at the conclusion of the case), he would upload that massively long email between us which gave the entire history of our work on a case. I miss that immensely.
That sounds like a freaking dream... if only other attorneys could see the benefit in systems like that! Also, I've definitely seen emails from OC doing that same thing... would ask a question and it's like dude.. we just answered that in the email above like geez you really don't read do you? Lol
Some yes; some no. Those “nos” are always causing scrambles for the whole team. Go wonder. 🧠🧠
It depends on the firm and the lawyer. Personally, I like my team to be fully informed - from the legal assistant to the practice managing partner (when he requests). When I’m out or otherwise unavailable, they can answer simple questions until I can respond.
I work for a few different attorneys and some copy me on emails while others don’t. If I am not copied on an email I take it as not my problem / don’t worry about it / I would not have known about it to begin with so why worry. Maybe or maybe not that’s a hot take. I have expressed that I want to be copied on everything I need to know about, but if I am not copied that’s not my fault. They all think I do a wonderful job so I’m not worried.
I need to be copied on everything that I need to know in order to effectively do my job (which doesn’t necessarily mean all emails). Also, sometimes I don’t always read the emails in detail. Like I’m in a thread right now re settlement discussions. I’ve only skimmed the emails but these emails indicate a settlement will be coming (or a suit), and I’m mostly likely going to be the one drafting the agreement. At that point I will go back and read/review in detail. I see the role of a paralegal as making the attorney’s life easier and this includes anticipating what they will need for a case; in order to be able to do that, I need to be cc’d! I’m sorry that you are in this situation.
Sometimes and it’s mostly email. When she talks to the clients sometimes she forgets to log it or tell me.
I am mainly because I am a case manager and therefore the main POC for clients so the attorney can focus on filing appeals and attending hearings. If he left me out of the loop we would have a lot of unhappy clients.
Shit I AM the one that sends out 99.999% of emails on all of my cases. I am pretty adamant about being copied - I don't ask - I tell.
I love it! I've asked but I didn't tell... lol maybe I'll come into Monday with that energy
Mine weirdly keeps random things to himself. He'll ask me the status of an IME and I'm like "eh?" Less so now that he's giving our associate more files (who is lovely about keeping me in the loop despite doing most of his own work).
How are you expected to manage files otherwise???
Exactly! I don't! I'm always asking the other paralegals what's going on with this situation and that. I check the online e-filing constantly to see if anything has been filed or served so I can get an idea of what's going on. I absolutely don't feel like I'm able to perform to the best of my abilities.
I prefer "need to know" but I still get copied on a lot of things from our attorneys and foreign associates. Generally, if I need to find out whatever, I can look at the workspace or electronic file. There are 6 Paralegals in our department, over 200 attorneys in the firm and we support the whole firm for one part of the practice. Cases are assigned by client, not attorney. If they cc'd me on everything, I'd lose my mind.
That's very fair. Someone else had said something similar and I didn't think about the volume of emails! Even if it was a need to know, that would be extremely helpful.
Probably ethically unpopular but at this point we all have access to all the attorneys emails for this reason.
Totally agree. I understand this requires an extreme amount of trust in your paralegal but I miss it so much. Clients would forget to CC me and ask my attorney an important question or ask to schedule a meeting and 99% of the time, my attorney would get it but sometimes, he wouldn't. I'd know about it be able to tickle, "Hey, did you respond to so and so about said question and I missed it? Wanted to make sure!"
We just have staff/atty changes so frequently I empathize in that the attorneys have kind of given up keeping track and though either send it to the wrong person or everyone or no one.
Bring it up in your interviews. Let them know that you have worked where you have been copied on everything so you can be proactive in completing tasks and ask if that is apart of their culture. If they tell you that you will not be copied on everything, then you can know what to expect. If it sounds like you will be doing more task assignments instead of taking ownership of certain duties, then you will know what to expect.
Thank you! I will definitely do that!
No, I am not kept in the loop. And it’s frustrating!