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Problem at work.

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Gypsy

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I work in a tech company and I work int he contracts department. They hired me because of they had a total of 2 attorneys at the whole company. One patent only. Another part time attorney who handled everything else. He''s over-commited and frequently fails to meet deadlines. The company has had a large push to get all of their suppliers under contract so they needed an attorney who was willing to work in contracts (not in legal) to help them with these contracts. THe Snior Counsel (Contracts organizationally is not UNDER legal here, as it is some places... we are under business units... so he''s not my supervisor or anything like that) saw this as an opportunity to push a ton of his work and duties onto me. I was fine with that as long as he was available for consult when needed.

I love my job. Various reasons why this is better for me than working strictly as an ''attorney'' but bottom line is I love my job.

However, they hired a General Counsel and the ''part time attorney'' has been freaked about his job stability. Especially since the new GC is focused on the Legal Departments ''responsiveness'' and the Senior Counsel knows that in responsiveness he gets an F.

So... anyway. He was over commited for the week before our holiday shutdown and tells me that he will help my department the following week and that he had specifically requested that the GC authorize him to work that week because we in Contracts were going to be working.

Well he gave us ONE HOUR that week. We has at least 8 hours of things that he had been delaying with promises to help us with. I was frustrated and mentioned that I felt that he did not honor our commitment to us and had placed me in a very position with my boss, the VP and the Senior VP. I mentioned this very professionally. And he pitched a fit that he is overworked and unappreciated that that I never give him notice in advance. And well... we was flat out wrong about the notice (the rest was just whining) and I told him that he LITTERALLY gets notice of anything that needs his attention within minutes of my having notice.. but that I frequently don''t get any notice either. And that its simply my job to be the liason to him....

Anyway... he''s STILL having that snit and has been shooting me snide emails with a tone of voice that someone would use with a deaf ninety-year old with Amnesia or Dementia or both. And today I just told him that I don''t appreciate his tone. Well.

Needless to say that set him off again. And now he says that I''m after his job, trying to bog him down with my immature complaints so that he gets fired, that he''s CERTAIN that I''m shooting to jump from Contracts to Legal (I''m not) and that I''m difficult to work with.

My boss has witnessed alll of this and has told the VP that this guy is difficult to work with, skews reality to unreal proportions, frequently over commits, and is always trying pawn his job off on others and has reported the situation to the VP.

But I''m scared. They are in the process of making me permanent... and my boss and I have a good relationship... and this guy doesn''t have realistic leg to stand on as the facts back me up... but still.

I feel like I should be flying under the radar... and that this as placed me firmly in the center of the darn thing.

Advice?
 

strmrdr

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ride it out and let the ball fall where it will.
If it comes back on you then the place isnt worth working at and its good to know now instead of a couple years down the road where you have more invested in it.
 

Gypsy

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We just moved cross country... uprooted DF job, left our house... everything. I''m very commited. But well... I think I''ve got to back down. He''s wrong... but I have to keep the big picture in mind.
 

codex57

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Why is he part time? They''re considering making you permanent? If they really loved him, wouldn''t they have made him permanent a long time ago?

Your boss is backing you up. I wouldn''t worry too much.
 

aljdewey

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Keep your boss abreast of your projects, and any failures to meet *your* project goals because of lack of PT atty''s help.

Other than that.....I''d probably stifle any inclination to fight to the death on anything right now. It''s all about timing, and if you''re around (made permanent), they''ll be plenty of time to "wage the war" and correct the problem them.

I''m not usually an advocate for tongue-biting......hehehe - you KNOW me! LOL ....but there are times (temporary in nature) when it makes the most sense. This is one of them.

Document, document, document (via email, etc.) asking for commitments from him, and just keep your boss in teh loop when promises aren''t met.
 

:)

Brilliant_Rock
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Yikes! I know it must be scary - it sounds like the guy is a crackpot anyway and everyone knows it. The important thing is that YOUR boss knows it, and that he has also communicated it to the VP himself. Aljdewey''s suggestions about documenting are good - maybe start keeping a little email log that you mail only to yourself that would be ''dated'' if you ever needed to pull it up to prove anything. Sounds like this guy may actually be on the way to getting HIMSELF fired! Then they could hire someone else, and you would be able to get some real help when you need it!
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If anyone was ever behaving like he knew he was in the wrong, it is this guy!
 

Finding_Neverland

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Jan 10, 2007
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This guy sounds like he''s his own worst enemy and your best friend right now. I believe Aljdewey gave you some good advice. Bide your time and your tongue and document. He''ll trip up and reveal himself, or he''ll aggravate the higher-ups to a point of no return.

And the best part,......... You don''t have to do a thing. Don''t have to get your hands dirty. He does all the work for you.
31.gif
 

Gypsy

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He''s permanent. Salaried. But part time because he has his own (litigation) practice.

He''s just... emotional.

For me, if someone tells me they are disappointed because they relied on my commitment, that I failed to meet, I apologize then make sure to not to do it again. This guy just FLIPPED.

Aljd.... I called him and left a message saying that I would like to bury the hatchet (didn''t mention WHERE I''d like to bury it) as this is impacting our work.

I know you are right. I REALLY need to not make an issue of this as I''m not permanent yet.

I have documented... most of his ''flipping out'' has been in emails actually (not smart on his part). As for my boss... he flipped out on her a few weeks ago so she''s had to deal with him before when he''s like this... so it makes it easier in that respect.
 

Gypsy

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Date: 1/10/2007 9:20:25 PM
Author: Finding_Neverland
This guy sounds like he''s his own worst enemy and your best friend right now. I believe Aljdewey gave you some good advice. Bide your time and your tongue and document. He''ll trip up and reveal himself, or he''ll aggravate the higher-ups to a point of no return.


And the best part,......... You don''t have to do a thing. Don''t have to get your hands dirty. He does all the work for you.
31.gif

Yeah...that''s a good point. *shakes head*


THANKS EVERYONE!
 

gail013

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Sep 21, 2006
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I think you''ll be fine. Maintain your professionalism and just watch him burn himself out. He will be so consumed with jealousy that he will fail to do his job and screw it up on his own. The calmer you are, the angrier he will be. These people just want to win, and he can''t. He will try to make everyone else look bad, but in the end it will backfire. I have worked with people like this, and once you see them for who they are it is easy to ignore.....
 
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