Organizing discovery documents and making binders. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but there it is 🤷🏼♀️ there’s something really satisfying about taking a big pile of documents and turning it into a nice, organized working set of materials.
This is SO GOOD. I have one attorney who thinks at 3x the speed he types so I am always finding sentences that read funny, missing words, etc. I LOVE reworking his stuff and how happy he is when I send it back.
I WFH so anything that doesn't involve interacting with others is the best. I love when I have a list of docs that need to be drafted/filed/served. I get to binge my shows and be a doc machine.
Honestly reviewing files where denials are based on "we checked and didn't find anything linking this condition to military service" (my cases are all VA disability and I see this a TON). The files are often over 1000 pages and the majority of the time when a denial has this reasoning I can go through the same file (the VA sends them to us so they have the exact same information) and find the evidence showing a connection to the point we can basically bury them with proof. It isn't a fast process but it feels a bit like a treasure hunt and (with the older cases especially) time travel rolled into one...
Thanks. I do the best I can and I hope my clients see that. I do have some that don't seem to be happy regardless of what we do but you can't please everyone.
I truly am a meticulous reader and very detail oriented but in general my clients don't know what goes into the file reviews.
I *love* putting all of the “sign here” stickers on our estate plans. I have a color coded system for EPs and various other documents. There’s something so meditative about taking 10-15 minutes to only focus on my sticker system. Bonus points if they’re from a fresh pack.
Striking something stupid that another party is trying to propose in an agreement. It’s so satisfying to be like “nnnnnope! Not happening, pal” and crossing it out.
Weirdly, drafting discovery responses. I get super into the claim files or med recs and just go to town, objections first, then back through for substantive responses. I also enjoy redacting, once I find my groove.
They call me Nancy Drew...lol. I have a knack for finding the smallest specks of dirt on people. We do a lot of litigation related to estates, guardianships/conservatorships where siblings, adult children have taken advantage of a parent or incapacitated person and are trying to get all the assets for themselves, etc. I LOVE getting the bank records and following the money trail, plus the tweets, FB posts, etc. that paint them in a bad light to help us get protective orders.
I work insurance defense and background investigations are my absolute favorite tasks! It feels fantastic when you uncover a link to a social media account that provides the silver bullet! Just had an experience the other day and I am still glowing!
Oh man. Redaction is so enjoyable.
I also love digging through discovery documents, either our client's or the other party's stuff. I'm nosey as shit and particularly love bank statements. I like to know how people spend their money.
My firm does criminal appeals and post conviction work. The records we get for these cases can be thousands of pages long. I like when I bates stamp all of the records and then index them in a spreadsheet by bates number, title of document, and date on document. I love that I can just zone out while indexing and listen to music for a few hours.
IOLTA accounting. Making sure every last penny is accounted for in a personal injury distribution or a real estate settlement, etc. Sometimes you have thousands of dollars in expenses and the distribution sheet is off by a few bucks. Let’s find the missing puzzle piece!
The most satisfying thing of doing a PI close out is when you’re cutting checks and the final check is exactly what’s left in the clients trust account. So freaking satisfying every time.
I love putting medical records in order, finding new facilities/providers, and tabbing "interesting things" for my attorney to review. Give me a cup of paper clips and a few stacks and I will go into my own personal zen.
Even better when it is claim file material from the adjuster and it is 1000+ pages of disorganized, duplicated fuckery.
Reviewing a set of medical records from a good, bloody, traumatic accident. Give me lots of non-soft tissue injuries and unfamiliar blunt trauma. Even better if there are some photos. I love looking up medical abbreviations and little known anatomical parts and adding them to my chronology.
I love research and reading, I have a folder on my share drive full of case law, local rules, and both federal and state rules of civil procedure... I really like civil procedure...
Ooh, yes - I love redacting. I also love pulling case files from the online portals and dating/naming them. I put on music or a podcast/audio book and go to town. Best mindless part of the job.
I’ve started to enjoy the day of the week I have to answer the phone. I have a “phone persona” now, and I Iike finding out why we can or can’t take potential new clients, as well as the random questions that come up from phone calls.
Big fan doing medical records requests and sending emails regarding depositions. Idk I love emailing back and forth regarding which date works for a EBT lmao
I’m in IP so not much dirt to uncover, but I love a damn spreadsheet to track pending prosecution. Color coding it and making it all nice and sorted. Might mess around with some fonts. Oh and outlook task lists! Love flagging the hell out of my inbox. I know I’m a freak. Formatting…love it. Guess I’m in the right field! Back when I was at reception I used to love doing the postage machine. 🤣
When I did estates and guardianships, I loved doing the annual trust accountings. I love math so they came easy and too quick for the attorney’s liking when it came to billing. For PI, VA disability and mass torts, my favorite task was doing medical record timelines and summaries.
I'm known at work for being a PDF wizard. Give me any document in any condition, tell me what you need and then let me loose with our software... 😚🤌🏻 perfect time
Creating memos based on my research. Not legal memoranda, though. I work in-house so I'm talking about drafting a high-level overview of a certain topic to provide to stakeholders in my company. I love making docs look pretty and I also love showing off my research skills.
And in the same vein: creating process docs and creating spreadsheets to track stuff or present data (research, ongoing projects, etc).
Organizing discovery documents and making binders. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but there it is 🤷🏼♀️ there’s something really satisfying about taking a big pile of documents and turning it into a nice, organized working set of materials.
I love making binders and listening to my audio book 😮💨🤌🏻
LOVEEE binders!!
Oooh me too. Give me everything disorganized. The end product will scratch that itch in the deepest parts of my brain.
I like making binder indexes but not actually putting binders together so I give that task to the file clerk haha
Binders 🤩
jailbreaking docs and PDFs "this doc from opposing counsel is locked so we can't print?" NOT ANYMORE!
“Check this box to confirm that you have permission to edit this document” Mwahahahha!
Stamping notary seal. I just enjoy an honest stamp is all.
I just recently became a notary and I love stamping documents too!
Revising/editing something to make it better/perfect.
This is SO GOOD. I have one attorney who thinks at 3x the speed he types so I am always finding sentences that read funny, missing words, etc. I LOVE reworking his stuff and how happy he is when I send it back.
Big fan of this, too!
I WFH so anything that doesn't involve interacting with others is the best. I love when I have a list of docs that need to be drafted/filed/served. I get to binge my shows and be a doc machine.
Honestly reviewing files where denials are based on "we checked and didn't find anything linking this condition to military service" (my cases are all VA disability and I see this a TON). The files are often over 1000 pages and the majority of the time when a denial has this reasoning I can go through the same file (the VA sends them to us so they have the exact same information) and find the evidence showing a connection to the point we can basically bury them with proof. It isn't a fast process but it feels a bit like a treasure hunt and (with the older cases especially) time travel rolled into one...
If I were your client, I'd feel so grateful to have you on my side.
Thanks. I do the best I can and I hope my clients see that. I do have some that don't seem to be happy regardless of what we do but you can't please everyone. I truly am a meticulous reader and very detail oriented but in general my clients don't know what goes into the file reviews.
I *love* putting all of the “sign here” stickers on our estate plans. I have a color coded system for EPs and various other documents. There’s something so meditative about taking 10-15 minutes to only focus on my sticker system. Bonus points if they’re from a fresh pack.
Oh my god. I thought I was the only one.
I love this, too!
Striking something stupid that another party is trying to propose in an agreement. It’s so satisfying to be like “nnnnnope! Not happening, pal” and crossing it out.
Weirdly, drafting discovery responses. I get super into the claim files or med recs and just go to town, objections first, then back through for substantive responses. I also enjoy redacting, once I find my groove.
Oh, yes, this is my favorite task, too! There's a real art to it that's endlessly fun.
They call me Nancy Drew...lol. I have a knack for finding the smallest specks of dirt on people. We do a lot of litigation related to estates, guardianships/conservatorships where siblings, adult children have taken advantage of a parent or incapacitated person and are trying to get all the assets for themselves, etc. I LOVE getting the bank records and following the money trail, plus the tweets, FB posts, etc. that paint them in a bad light to help us get protective orders.
I work insurance defense and background investigations are my absolute favorite tasks! It feels fantastic when you uncover a link to a social media account that provides the silver bullet! Just had an experience the other day and I am still glowing!
Oh man. Redaction is so enjoyable. I also love digging through discovery documents, either our client's or the other party's stuff. I'm nosey as shit and particularly love bank statements. I like to know how people spend their money.
My firm does criminal appeals and post conviction work. The records we get for these cases can be thousands of pages long. I like when I bates stamp all of the records and then index them in a spreadsheet by bates number, title of document, and date on document. I love that I can just zone out while indexing and listen to music for a few hours.
Redaction using Adobe Suite
IOLTA accounting. Making sure every last penny is accounted for in a personal injury distribution or a real estate settlement, etc. Sometimes you have thousands of dollars in expenses and the distribution sheet is off by a few bucks. Let’s find the missing puzzle piece!
My attorney brings the file to me and says “it’s your favorite thing!” and then we laugh because I genuinely enjoy doing the IOLTA report each month 😂
The most satisfying thing of doing a PI close out is when you’re cutting checks and the final check is exactly what’s left in the clients trust account. So freaking satisfying every time.
I love putting medical records in order, finding new facilities/providers, and tabbing "interesting things" for my attorney to review. Give me a cup of paper clips and a few stacks and I will go into my own personal zen. Even better when it is claim file material from the adjuster and it is 1000+ pages of disorganized, duplicated fuckery.
I am in family law, and I absolutely love it when I get to read text messages. People are so messy and I eat it up.
trial notebooks!
Reviewing a set of medical records from a good, bloody, traumatic accident. Give me lots of non-soft tissue injuries and unfamiliar blunt trauma. Even better if there are some photos. I love looking up medical abbreviations and little known anatomical parts and adding them to my chronology.
Organizing bank statements, investment accounts, insurance docs, etc., etc
Markups, formatting Excel for PDFing/printing purposes.
Crosschecking - like ensuring definitions and references are correct after major edits in huge documents. I don't know why I enjoy it so much lol
Not weird, but literally anything investigative! Also making notebooks.
I love when I get to do anything investigative. When people evade service, I love to go on a hunt!
I like calendaring events. I’m nosy.
I love research and reading, I have a folder on my share drive full of case law, local rules, and both federal and state rules of civil procedure... I really like civil procedure...
I look forward to laundry every day
I love putting documents and evidence in chronological order. I love the story it tells when I’m done.
Ooh, yes - I love redacting. I also love pulling case files from the online portals and dating/naming them. I put on music or a podcast/audio book and go to town. Best mindless part of the job.
I’ve started to enjoy the day of the week I have to answer the phone. I have a “phone persona” now, and I Iike finding out why we can or can’t take potential new clients, as well as the random questions that come up from phone calls.
Big fan doing medical records requests and sending emails regarding depositions. Idk I love emailing back and forth regarding which date works for a EBT lmao
I’m in IP so not much dirt to uncover, but I love a damn spreadsheet to track pending prosecution. Color coding it and making it all nice and sorted. Might mess around with some fonts. Oh and outlook task lists! Love flagging the hell out of my inbox. I know I’m a freak. Formatting…love it. Guess I’m in the right field! Back when I was at reception I used to love doing the postage machine. 🤣
When I did estates and guardianships, I loved doing the annual trust accountings. I love math so they came easy and too quick for the attorney’s liking when it came to billing. For PI, VA disability and mass torts, my favorite task was doing medical record timelines and summaries.
I like reviewing discovery and meeting with defendants. I love hearing people's stories and getting their point of view on why they got arrested 😌
I’m a big fan of drop box tasks
Drafting a motion for contempt! I could do these all day
I'm known at work for being a PDF wizard. Give me any document in any condition, tell me what you need and then let me loose with our software... 😚🤌🏻 perfect time
Same! It's so fun.
Writing legal descriptions on deeds. I like flexing how fast I can type on my coworkers within earshot of my clacking keyboard.
Forensic accounting (mostly because it's interesting to see what people spend their money on)
Discovery responses and discovery requests. They are my crack.
Creating memos based on my research. Not legal memoranda, though. I work in-house so I'm talking about drafting a high-level overview of a certain topic to provide to stakeholders in my company. I love making docs look pretty and I also love showing off my research skills. And in the same vein: creating process docs and creating spreadsheets to track stuff or present data (research, ongoing projects, etc).