Halloween

Climate Change

It seems that the credit crisis, bank meltdown, CEO lootings have diverted attention from the global warming crisis. Europe was the leader in carbon controls, but apparently is looking at other things right now. Alternative Energy is losing momentum as well.

I don't know whether this means we'll be dependent on gas forever or not; in my case, we're dependent on Canuckistani imports, rather than OPEC.

Credit Meltdown Creates Opportunities

The credit meltdown may have created opportunities for attorneys to keep on working. There are many more lawsuits being filed and our pal Andrew Cuomo is getting involved with the Feds.

I expect additional shareholder lawsuits, along with more attorneys general weighing in; after all, the people looting the companies were the upper echelon of management, therefore presumably breached their fiduciary duty to the company in question.

It seems reasonable to tie bonuses to actual performance, rather than looting the company for whatever they want.

Meanwhile, perhaps there'll be more document review projects in our future.

Thrift as a Way of Life

For those like me, whose grandparents lived through the Depression, stories of deprivation and thrift were part of our upbringing. As if the Depression wasn't enough, the economy was then fueled by war, which begat The War Effort, rationing and deprivation for another reason; helping the boys at war.

During the Depression, people just plain didn't have money and couldn't buy things. Not that there was the wide array of consumer goods that we have, I mean people put newspaper in the bottom of their shoes because they could neither afford new shoes nor repair the old shoes. Soup Kitchens and bread lines proliferated, feeding many who had no other source of sustenance.

With the tumbling stock market, credit crunch and daily announcements of layoffs, we'll be lucky not to need assistance from tax deductible charity organizations. In my area, there are several downtown agencies that assist; the House of Charity which provides a noon meal to anyone who shows up at the appropriate time, no questions asked, Sharing and Caring Hands and Dorothy Day. There are food shelves associated with Dorothy Day, as well as with many other organizations. In addition, a church near my home provides free food once a month. Many years ago, my grandma was in a USDA program for those with low incomes; they came to her building and handed out butter, cheese and honey.

I'm not suggesting that contract attorneys are in a position to need these services; however, at one point in my life I worked on a temporary project with a woman who had lived for a time at the Dorothy Day center when she first moved here. Her church subsequently assisted her in finding a roommate situation.

Because of the rampant spending the formerly credit-worthy countries of the world have engaged in, it's entirely possible that we might know someone who could benefit from a reminder that these sorts of services are out there. When I was in law school, someone told me to apply for government benefits, such as food stamps; while I was poor, I chose not to take advantage of the programs because it was my choice to go to school. It seemed silly as a single person to do so, though one of my college classmates used food stamps; she had a child, so under her circumstances it would have been foolish not to do so.

I'm fortunate in not being in a situation in which I need services, but due to the masses of debt that people have, I also believe that it's important not to be too proud to take services if you need them. Especially if you have a family.

Mixed-Up Holiday Shopping

I'm a firm believer in shopping for holidays year round; I've never been one to purchase generic gifts as some people do.

A friends brother bought his mom, sisters, sil's and nieces each a pearl bracelet for Christmas a few years ago. He had gone on a business trip to the Far East somewhere and brought back generic men's and women's gifts. It's a nice thought, but not terribly personalized, which is great if you're just bringing someone a souvenir from a trip. There seem to be many people who just pick a gift and buy the right number of the same thing.

I can't imagine doing that; I buy gifts when I find them, no matter the time of year. Then I just wrap it up and I'm ready. Some people are easier than others to find gifts for, and there are times that I visit gift shops not because I need a gift at that moment but because I want to see what interesting things they might have. If I see something interesting but think it'll be gone before I need it, I'll buy one on the spot. Other times, I just keep track of interesting items. Or go to that particular store if I need inspiration.

The above linked stores are all local but have a lot of interesting merchandise and I've never gone in looking for a gift and been unable to find something appropriate, though I prefer to encounter things in a more serendipitous manner.

Christmas items are out in full force and tonight I bought cards, at the thrift shop. I need another box or two, but the beauty of it is that I can more closely match the style of the card to the person.

Shopping in a Bad Economy

I haven't gone to the mall in ages. I sometimes go to TJ Maxx, Marshalls or Nordstrom Rack when I want something new; I'm more likely to go to a thrift store, Kohl's or a consignment shop.

I bought a couple of skirts at Nordstrom Rack a few weeks ago. I had a wedding to go to and nothing to wear. It was outside so I really didn't need anything too fancy and ended up pairing a long black skirt with a hot pink twinset. The skirt was about $40 but is quite versatile. I also bought a shorter black skirt in a similar style but different fabric. I'd like a couple more sweaters but that can wait a bit.

I really don't need anything, which is why I stay out of the mall; thrift stores are a different matter altogether. I'm a reader by nature so need to get a new supply of books and check out their offerings regularly. I usually find some other thing that I want but don't need and at thrift store prices am more likely to buy.

One of the stores I shop at has higher quality merchandise but corresponding higher prices, which is fine sometimes but not so much other times. The same store has a very nice book department and categorizes them by genre so for the most part you only have to look in the section that should have the type of books you want. They probably sell a lot more books because of it since people aren't always interested in looking through every book in the place.

What I find a bit frightening is the number of new stores and restaurants still opening. I realize the plans were begun a few years ago and it isn't always possible to put them on hold or cancel. We really don't need more stores.

Halloween Candy

Halloween is coming up next week but I don't know how prepared to be. I live in a suburban neighborhood and it seems lately there have been more children coming through. I did ask one family where they were from, but the kids had come to trick-or-treat in their grandparents neighborhood. They didn't live in that great an area. Makes sense both from bonding with grandparents and safety perspectives.

We tend to give more candy to kids we know, but I think that's universal. I have a friend in CA whose kids get much better stuff than the imported kids; she lives in a neighborhood that's quite nice but not gated so people drive truckloads of kids in because they get better candy. I was there last year for Halloween and there were cars parked all over both sides of the road. Tons of them.

In practice, her kids were either given a mammoth chocolate bar or a toy. The imported kids were given a couple of so-called fun-size candy bars and were quite happy with that. Her girls had magic wands and various toys that weren't cheap. Then again, her neighborhood is full of excesses anyway.

I buy several bags of candy at the grocery store, one of the big-box stores or at the drugstore. Drugstores aren't hit the way the other places are, so if you're a desperate procrastinator, you're likely to find a better selection at your local pharmacy.

I haven't tried Big Lots or the Dollar Store for halloween candy, but I wouldn't be surprised if they had good options.

Reading the Paper

I just posted about being cautioned not to invest in companies involved in this litigation and how the likelihood of investing just wasn't a concern, but what wasn't mentioned in that caution was the possibility of having a much better idea of the whole based on the combination of newspaper articles and document review gleanings.

I always read articles related to companies involved in the review, as well as previous reviews. It's fun to learn the outcome of a case later on. In this case, there are a lot of changes and some strife within the industry. Because we're familiar with other corporations involved in the industry, the Business section, especially of the New York Times, can be fun to read. Every day there's something that makes more sense to me than it should.

Upcoming CLE's

This is one of my big CLE weeks. In addition to my statistics workshop, which may end this semester, due to lack of attendance, I have a social justice CLE at the downtown law school, conveniently located two blocks from the office in which I'm working as well as an afternoon law firm-sponsored CLE taking place at a hotel, kicking off with a free lunch and ending with a reception.

Statistics is 1.75 credits per session, social justice is 2 and I think the afternoon one will be 3.5 or 4. That's a lot of free credits for one week! Now that I know the downtown law school has free stuff, I'll definitely check out their offerings. By the time I go to my car, get out of the ramp, get to my law school and find parking, that's about 45 minutes. In the grand scheme of life, that isn't much, but two blocks is much better!

I'm on track to achieve my goal of reporting without paying for the next period; the social justice opportunity brings me up to 30 credits and my reporting period began July 1 of this year. Not so bad when I need 45 credits. I need three ethics credits and two elimination of bias credits as part of that but know where I can get those credits free.

Investments

There have been a lot of articles lately about investments and how cash sounds safe but isn't a good place to move your money. Which is great advice for those who have investments. I'm not one of them. I invested in education because it seemed like a good idea at the time.

On my review, in addition to confidentiality, we have recently been informed that due to the sensitive nature of the information in our possession, that we shouldn't invest in any of the relevant companies. Because the sensitive information in many cases isn't limited to the two adversaries, I would guess that truly is a prohibition on investing anywhere in this industry. While we don't necessarily have the most up to date documents in a given area, we have sensitive information provided under NDA's for many companies in the same industry.

So nice of them to give us that warning. Do you know any contract attorneys who have extra money laying around with which to invest? Didn't think so. The ones with money have things like jobs, working spouses and trust funds so can afford to sit it out, do volunteer work or take low-paying jobs that are more fulfilling than document review.

In my case, and as far as I know, the case of all others with whom I'm working, the caution was unnecessary. But good that we know just in case.

Confidentiality

On the current review, they're very concerned about confidentiality. So much so that even after three months in they bring it up frequently. We know we're supposed to maintain confidentiality. We know that we can't talk to anyone in the other group or other firm employees about this project. We don't want to.

The project isn't that interesting that I'd have anyone who would bother listening to me blather on about it. I don't have a sufficient understanding of some of the material that it makes sense for me to talk about it; in any case, I wouldn't!

My objective is to get through each day without lapsing into a coma. I'm not always convinced I'm successful.

Networking for Introverts

My brother is the best networker ever; he chatted with someone at his part-time job selling flowers at the farmer's market when he was in college and ended up getting an internship with the city. That was pretty amazing. Right now he's doing contract work for an outfit that manufactures computers. He met someone on a chatroom who brought his resume to the company that employs her. When he got hired and went to another state, he ended up staying with chatroom girl and her family until he could make other arrangements.

With him it comes naturally. I have to force myself. If I'm at a short CLE, breakfast or lunch, I make a point of introducing myself to one person and trying to find out where they work, what they do and if they'll schedule a meeting with me. I'm rarely unsuccessful and if I am, no worries. There's always someone else to chat with.

Because I'm an introvert, chatting with strangers doesn't come naturally to me and is stressful. I know it's necessary, and while I enjoy the conversations in the end, it's difficult to force myself to initiate conversation. I envy those to whom meeting strangers comes naturally.

But I'm here to tell you that it can be done.

Networking

Someone recently told me that I'm a skilled networker, which I would never have considered myself to be. Apparently finding out about free CLE's is a talent that not everyone has developed; really, it's about being friendly and talking to your colleagues as well as googling around to see what's going on out there. Even if it's meant for the law firm's clients, there's no reason not to ask, especially if it's a few days beforehand.

One of the law firms whose list I'm on sends me random related breakfast meeting invitations. So far I haven't been able to attend any of them.

The other part of it is that I do share most of my CLE findings with my colleagues; though I also resent it when people I don't know feel entitled to the information. It's out there. If I can find it, they can find it.

Finding CLE's by Word of Mouth

Word of mouth is a great way to learn about CLE's; or really, via e-mail. I have found out about several through others, most recently a CLE that has been around for several years and apparently people hear about it but don't know how to sign out about it.

Someone on my project told me about it and I forwarded the info to a couple of friends. One woman has been working on a project with several others, all of whom were interested in attending. I don't know exactly what they knew or how they found out; none of them had registration information. Until I sent it to the one person.

Getting to know your doc. review colleagues or other attorneys can help with CLE's. My goal this time is not to pay a dime to report my CLE's. While my statistics workshop may not go past this semester, due to attrition, it's still 12 credits and takes me about to the 50% mark with nearly 2.75 years remaining before I report again.

If I get the government position, I'll be near the Capitol complex and it'll be easy for me to attend free CLE's, schedule permitting. Unless it's in a relevant area, I'll have to do it on my own time, according to one of my government contacts.

Now that I realize there are free CLE's, I know that there's a possibility the agency itself could have CLE's and that perhaps law firms, non-profits and trade groups would do the same. It's all about looking for them.

Timing on Applications and Interviews

Timing is everything. Like everyone else, I apply for jobs and nobody cares. As far as I know, most of my applications go into a black hole and aren't able to get out of it and get the attention of the HR person or manager.

Case in point, my recent interview. I applied for the posting a week or so before the closing date. In late Aug. About three weeks later, I had e-mail from an HR rep informing me that I'm qualified for the position. Unlike all the other positions for which I seemed to be just as qualified and was immediately told I was unqualified, they had other candidates who had better qualifications or they had re-hired people previously laid off. It was a huge surprise to hear anything, much less something positive.

It's a job with the state, and upon signing in to their webpage, one is greeted with a list of positions for which one has applied and it shows whether they've been filled or remain open. Depressing place to go. There's also a place to click to see whether you're still a candidate. I clicked on this once a week between receipt of e-mail and call regarding interview. Since I didn't hear anything for another 6 weeks.

Government works in glacial time, so it's best to apply for every position possible; you'll be quickly ruled out for many, but the ones that find you interesting will take their time.

It's a good place to go in a bad economy.

Frugality Hits Pampered Children

Like everyone else, I've noticed how spoiled kids are these days and how they need to have everything right now. Don't get me wrong, I wanted everything right now as a kid too, but my parents weren't in a position to have it for themselves or give it to me. Partly economics. Partly values.

With the recent economic meltdown, children of the wealthy or aspirationally-wealthy, were provided with consumer goods at will; now they're not. And are upset about it. Which makes sense, because they don't necessarily realize that the entire world isn't on the gravy train they were raised on.

This may reduce the competition for private schools, or merely increase the number requesting financial aid for those same schools. Private colleges have been making choices about what to spend money on and are reducing their donation requests as unseemly in this economy. Rather than going for additions to buildings, they're focusing on making money available for financial aid, in light of the changes in credit lately.

While I'd like to think there will be fewer students in law school entering classes, due to the increase in attendance at graduate programs during bad economic times, the net result will likely be fewer new law school students whose parents are funding everything.

Interview!

My interview went well and I expect to hear from them in a few weeks. I don't know how many candidates there are, but there are two days of interviews. Based on timing thereof, I was first. One of my friends tells me that the first candidate wears the halo. I guess the trick is to keep the halo!

It's a government position, so the interview process is formal, with a list of questions and three interrogators. They went around the table, taking notes and taking turns asking questions. I answered everything as best I could, and then had a few questions of my own.

I'll hear from them in a few weeks. Hopefully.

Attorneys Working as Paralegals

During bad economic times, one of the things that happens is that attorneys look for work as paralegals. They can be successful or not, depending on the theory of those hiring.

A contact at a major bank told me never to apply for paralegal openings there; she knows people do it but the legal department decided never to hire attorneys to work as paralegals because they have two different functions and different training.

One problem with attorneys doing non-attorney work is ego. Some people have egos that can't stand the lower title; you know them, you've worked with some on doc reviews. Sometimes they're less successful at project work because they can't check their egos at the door and are difficult when not in charge.

The other problem is that sometimes employers view attorneys in paralegal positions as short-timers who are just going to go when they have an opportunity to do so. Because the job market has changed a lot in the last 20 years, that's not nearly the consideration it may have been a few years ago; the reality is that many employers complain about the lack of loyalty in their employees but there's no reason those employees would be loyal, since loyalty is now a one-way street. Yet there's a local corporation which hires attorneys to work as paralegals. So it can go either way, depending on the employers beliefs.

More projects

As expected, it has been getting busier. Some projects are expanding and I saw ads from two companies in this market this week.

Ads themselves are interesting, it means that the agencies know that more attorneys will be licensed in a couple of weeks or that people are doing something other than document reviews, which give me hope.

It's always good to know that there's more work out there. We have a lot of agencies here for the size of the market and one of the newer ones may have hired someone from an agency that had been here longer. We don't have confirmation of anything except the recruiter left her old agency and the other agency hired someone from inside the industry. That's enough for me to think it's the same person.

Of course, more attorneys out there looking for work only creates more competition for the rest of us.

Interview!

I have an interview coming up, for a job to which I responded several months ago. It's a state government position and I'm very excited about it.

I have to dig out my suit, make sure it still fits, or go to Plan B. Because I don't have a Plan B, it really needs to fit.

My interview skills are rusty, but I earlier this summer, I took advantage of an Interview Skills course through my local unemployment office. It was one of the things I needed to do in order to obtain my unemployment payments. Even though I was already scheduled for a project, since I don't think I'm the best interviewer in the world, I thought it was a good idea to go.

It was beneficial. The part I remember is the little script we were given, where you filled in the blanks: "I'm a _____________ with X amount of experience, and my skills include __________, __________, and ________. "

I decided to look for a job that isn't designated as Attorney but one in which my background would make sense. I decided to look at government positions, as there are many areas of government in which a law degree would be beneficial, but that have other types of job titles. You have to read through a lot of job descriptions.

My state and the federal government both have webpages on which one may enter a resume and create a job search. Once you've done both of those, potentially appropriate jobs pop up on lists in your e-mail and it's easy to respond. And painless.

The biggest problem is actually sitting down and determining what information is best to include for these jobs. One of my friends recommended sending a cover letter and resume to the HR contact if that information was provided. I did so for this job and rather than targeting my resume, used their key phrases in my cover letter. I matched my experience and qualifications to the requirements listed for the job.

I do that all the time, but in this case it was actually useful.

Corporate Buzzwords

I hate corporate buzzwords. Once you get into a review, it's easy to learn the industry jargon, merely from repetition. My pet peeve is "Robust" which serves only to annoy me.

It has its own definition in several industries. Particularly timely is that which is used in the financial world. According to Wikipedia: In economics, "robustness" defines the ability of a financial trading system to remain effective under different markets and different market conditions.

Apparently, Wall Street decisions were less robust than previously believed.

The upside to the downside is that there are likely to be lawsuits as a result.

Quirks and timetables

Everyone has quirks. I have them. You have them. That reviewer over there has them. Our quirks are normal though. For the most part. At least we think so.

I chew gum to stay awake some days, and probably chomp on it loud enough to annoy everyone around me. I put on hand lotion several times a day too.

Someone else eats on a very regular schedule.

I've been told of a reviewer who would remove shoes and socks to reveal stinky feet which were put on desk. Yuck!

Most of us just listen to music though. I'm with a fairly small group and everyone seems pretty normal.

Personal items people bring to document reviews

People tend to bring personal items with them to document reviews despite being discouraged by circumstances. It's one thing when you have a drawer to put things in, but that isn't always available. I'm always leery of leaving items behind in the evening, because you never know when the review will end or you for some reason will be dismissed.

Beyond the coffee mug, water bottle or snacks, people bring sweaters, CD's, lotion, kleenex, hand sanitizer, hot pots, coffee pots and mug warmers.

Some people bring a whole warehouse of snacks, beverages, personal coffee, tea, a salad bar; I'm actually not kidding with that one. On one review, instead of bringing lunch every day, there was someone who brought salad fixings and made a salad every day. Others bring 12-packs of soda, replenishing their supply as needed.

I don't bring a lot to a review. I have a gigantic purse, and most of what I need fits right in. Because I expect my current review to go a few more weeks, I leave lotion, tea and gum at my work station, my milk is in the fridge. I only leave things that are easily replaceable and I wouldn't be upset if for some reason I wasn't going back.

After all, we're not going to be there forever. It only seems that way.

Unfortunate Terms

Sometimes corporations choose unfortunate terms to use within their business. Ones that make everyday activities seem relevant for purposes of e-discovery. Like instead of having a decision-making process, having a business judgment. So everything related thereto will come up as potentially privileged.


My favorite potentially privileged items are the ones that get tagged due to the blurb at the bottom of someone's e-mail that says the information may be confidential or privileged. Gets in there every time. No matter what.


Other items would include people's names that seem relevant; if a hospital is being sued and has an administrator named Doctor, whose documents end up being tagged. No fun for either the litigation team or the document review team.

How to Occupy Oneself on a Document Review

Inspired by another blog, on which an attorney listed activities of colleagues, I bought a second mp3 player and German CD's so I can brush up on my language skills. I might as well, I listen to my ipod all the time; I like the mix of music on it so don't want to add anything as it's a couple years old, only 4g and full.

I considered online lessons, but decided to go with a company of which I've heard, Berlitz. They're a known quantity so it seemed a reasonable choice.

Maybe next I can run off to Germany and do document reviews for American firms with offices abroad.

Business as Usual

It's always great to get out of town, and not so great to return to the review room. The best part is the steady paycheck.

Our review is still plodding along. Some custodians are easier to deal with than others; because it's technical information, the complexity of the work varies by custodian. I prefer it when the batches are easier; numbers are up and my brain doesn't turn to mush. Either way, it has to get done.

In this review we've been encouraged to mass annotate, which is new. On one review, our QC team was mass annotating, despite having been told not to. Most reviews on which I have worked haven't suggested mass annotations as an option. When possible, it does make the work go faster; however, sometimes it isn't possible.

Mass annotations seem to work best in batches with basically two choices; check one, leave the other. Immediately mark any other random thing. It's a great theory, but in some cases, custodian has too wide a variety of materials for it to be feasible. In those cases, it's just easier to mark them one at a time, or a few at a time.

Up North for the Weekend

And will be somewhere near here.

Fall Leaves

I'm going up the North Shore for a wedding this weekend so will be nowhere near either my computer or the current document review.

Think of me as I drive up

Highway 61.

I will be able to see Canada this weekend which will enhance my chances of being Vice President.

Fatigue Sets In

This project is slightly more than two months old and due to a combination of complexity and having been provided with the easier part of the work first, my brain is turning to mush. On most projects, it starts out difficult and once I learn the material, it gets easier. This one isn't like that at all.

We've had training twice because they didn't bother training us on half the material as they hadn't collected from the custodians who might have the relevant material. Both parts were very complicated and it isn't getting easier.

Every day I hope I understand more and when I don't I review the key words and keep looking for them. Every day I get more tired. And we're not even working overtime.

Housing and Contract Work

Another sign of the impending apocalypse is the first time I have heard of someone being turned down for an apartment due to contract work. The coder who was turned down did find another apartment that was willing and is also in a roommate situation so signing a lease with another person, which I would expect to mitigate the contract situation. Apparently not for some landlords.

I didn't ask for more detail so don't know if it was a private landlord or a corporate entity that turned down the renter; I just know that it's a sign o the times. Credit and housing are both going to be more problematic. Even roommate ads on Craigslist are announcing up front that you need to have good credit and a good work history or you shouldn't call them; I read for entertainment purposes because so many ads are hilarious. They make it clear that while they're advertising for a roommate, what they really want is someone to pay the rent without bothering to be there for more than a few days a month; many ads are targeted to flight attendants, since an airline has a hub here, or to people who commute from outlying areas so are gone weekends.

I can see that landlords would view contract work as a red flag, and in some ways that seems reasonable; there's never any idea how long the project will really last or when the next one appears. If the project ends and there's a gap, the landlord might be out in the cold and have to follow the statute for eviction, which takes several months. It's totally understandable that a landlord would want to avoid that.

At the same time, if the proposed renter has good credit and can provide a rental history with no problems associated, it seems like overkill to deny the apartment.