Assertive ideas for CF colleague? I'm new in job.

[Waytooearly]

I'm really just musing, would appreciate some perspective on how to handle this if anyone had perspective.

Without being too outing, I'm a lawyer and my firm has two branches. Other Branch is like three hours away. This is my first month at firm.

Being in practice is always going to be a little fast-paced, I know that.

Sometimes I cover hearings for colleagues based at Other Branch if they're listed at the tribunal close to me. Fine, great, I love going to court.

But there's one man at Other Branch who is frankly taking the P. I got a mystery bundle in the post yesterday, rang the Other Branch admin and found out it was Take P's case.

'Oh right,' I said, 'didn't realise he needed me for a hearing. When is it listed?'

'Uh... Tomorrow' (Tuesday, I. E, today)

'Wow, okay. I'll shift things. Bundle is missing [important evidence which should havebeen obtained months ago]. Could that be emailed to me?'

'I don't know, I just photocopied it! Ask him!'

So I emailed Take P and his PA, asked for evidence to be emailed to me, sent follow ups all day, rang but couldn't get through. Finally rang Other Branchs receptionist at 4, asked her to find someone to help.

Found out that Take P had actually never managed to get evidence from client. That honestly never even occurred to me. Could I maybe get it? Before tomorrow's hearing?

I was just sputtering, saying,' Wow,' trying to keep my cool. 'Okay, I will see what I can do. Could you maybe get the client's contact details for me? Thanks. YEAH I'LL HOLD'

At the same time, I asked the receptionist about any other hearings coming up, telling her about the ones in my diary for the next two weeks. She started rattling off a few more for this week and next (that I had no idea about) and I finally just asked her to email all the sols and tell them to email me if they wanted me to cover a hearing. If I didn't get an email it wouldn't be in my diary.

By a miracle I got hold of the client last night, with interpreter, took instructions, and got the evidence needed. You're fucking welcome!

So yeah, I am fuming. How fantastically discourteous. And Take P not even acknowledging my emails. Suck my dick.

I have problems being assertive. I'm good at getting pissed off and combatative (lawyer). Sometimes I take ownership of things that I shouldn't, and then get resentful. I want to know how to respond (not react) to this in a pleasant, ineffable, non-negotiable assertive way here.

I don't think an email is the thing right now. Emails get misinterpreted and forwarded, I am the new guy, etc.

I am thinking of having a chat with the director's PA (who is lovely). How to pitch it?

'If people just post bundles to me with no email heads-up, the hearing won't be in my diary. If there's key evidence missing I definitely need details on that as soon as possible. Otherwise it's just a matter of time until one of these hearings gets missed (regretful tone, headshake). '

What do you think?

So I had a talk with Nice PA and told her what happened. I said I came close to missing the hearing, told her about missing evidence.

She seemed suitably surprised and said, 'Well not to make excuses but our email was playing up last Weds---but still he could have rung you.'

I said I thought it was something like that. I took the line of, 'Really happy to do any and all hearings, just seems like maybe people think I have access to their shared diary, but I don't.'

I asked her to help me put a friendly word out to everyone that if they need me for a hearing, I need an email.

She was like' Of course! How else are you meant to keep track? '

She said she'd mither everyone.

An underlying issue is that I'm still not hooked up to their system, and we talked about that too.

What was the process in your previous firm, and is there anything you can institute here?

How about a meeting request email, which is either sent by your colleague or a PA, to make sure that if you're requesting cover it goes in a diary and there aren't clashes. You could attach a schedule of paperwork to the email, which you can then check off against the hard copies to ensure nothing's missed. Plus an agreed timescale - generally giving X working days notice and if the request is short notice it'll be followed up by phone.

Thanks for reading.

The 'process' at my old firm was: if you needed someone to appear, you'd send them a hearing notice (a court doc showing date time venue appellant name) make sure they got it and were okay to cover, and then send them the bundle and a briefing.

Alternatively you'd ring someone, say, 'You free x date to cover a hearing in Birmingham? Great, I'll send you the notice and all docs.'

It doesn't have to be more complicated than that.

I mean the idea of just sending a random bundle, and then expecting the recipient to ring everyone in your office going,' Who sent this? When's the hearing? Where's the missing evidence?' is bizarre!!!

Even if email is playing up--I've never just emailed someone a request to cover a hearing, and then just assumed they got it and would cover. I always get them to confirm.

Madness.

Tribunals have begun to get less and less happy about this sort of approach by solicitors. I don't know which particular field you're in, but in mine, adjournments caused by one side turning up on the day with evidence they should have acquired three months ago are increasingly accompanied by wasted costs orders.

Do you not instruct counsel for hearings ever? If so, don't you use essentially the same system to instruct internally?

Yes exactly, if you're instructing counsel you check availability, send notice etc.

The same goes for 'instructing' a colleague at another branch. How else would you do it?

The difference being if you're counsel and you get a crap bundle or shoddy evidence, you can just shrug at the judge and say, 'I can only apologise on behalf of those instructing' and still get your fee. If the judge makes a wasted costs order, not your problem.

For me it's different. I can hardly say to the judge, 'Yeah this statement is pants but you need to talk to that joker Carol in the Slough branch, nothing to do with me.'

If you're counsel, Carol the Joker phones your clerks and shouts at them that you rolled over and let a wasted costs order happen, you won't be getting your fee and nobody in THE ENTIRE WORLD will ever instruct you again. But yes, at least you can avoid the direct judicial firing line.

Much sympathy and no sensible advice, other than escalate it every time otherwise it will somehow end up being your fault that Carol lives in a world where time is fluid and deadlines don't exist.

Thanks for the sympathy.

Yeah, I was really taking it personally, but putting it in perspective, probably everyone else is pissed off at TakeP too.

Nearly everyone else has been really assiduous and thoughtful. And I can tell that word has gone out, because yesterday I got several emails from others, saying things like, 'I trust you got my bundle okay. Here's my mobile if you need anything.' Aw.

And to be fair, all the bundles are in good shape with updated case law, etc.

I think I've climbed off the ledge.

Ahhh, just got a note from a clerk who was off sick for last couple of days. She re-sent an email that she'd tried to send last week, with a whole chart saying the dates they needed me for hearings in the next two weeks. The table shows the date, the venue, and whose case it is.

I wrote back saying, 'Great thanks hope you're feeling better etc. But hey could you tell me the names of the clients having appeals on which dates? I'm getting bundles without covering notes so don't know which bundles to bring when. Also won't know if I'm missing a bundle... '

Jesus Christ