My Life, As Told Between (Baby Cakes') Naps

My litigation team is swamped.  I haven’t come up for air in the last couple of weeks, and I have the least to do out of all of us.  We’re losing a mid-level associate this week to a too-good-to-pass-up job opportunity and lost the other first year a month ago to the transactional folks in our office.  As a result, I’m doing the work of two first years while simultaneously being groomed to take on mid-level responsibilities.  In one of my many conversations with JP, the junior partner, in which he’s telling me everything I did wrong on the latest assignment (believe it or not, these sessions are actually super-helpful, although a crushing blow to my ego), he mentioned the team was counting on me to learn quickly and to absorb all this information like a sponge.  I didn’t have the heart to tell him my memory is more like swiss cheese.  Besides, I imagine he’ll find out on his own soon enough.    

Funny moment I almost forgot to mention:  In the course of discussing how overwhelmed we all were, I told JP that I couldn’t wait for the new second year associate to start.  JP’s response?  “Why?  She’ll just be another you.”  This sounds horribly insulting and mean in writing, but was only mildly insulting and a little mean in person.  What he meant by that was, “I really need another me right now to do all this work, rather then another person I have to supervise and train.  Please don’t take offense as you are actually a brilliant first year.”  Well, I’m sure that’s what he really meant anyways.  =)