August 8th, 2024
81
Messed up as horribly as humanly possible on day one and now thinking about quitting
I was a social worker at a public school for 10 years and wanted a change. I thought I was cut out for paralegaling so I got put in contact with a recruiter and landed a entry level 6 month contract at a small practice. Yesterday was my first day and within a few hours I fucked up so bad I was crying in the bathroom and right now am 99% sure I’m quitting or going to be fired.
Basically, my boss was showing me around and introduced me to an attorney who I would be working with extensively. After pleasantries, the attorney handed me a hard drive and said she needed everything pulled and uploaded to our server, explaining that it was a client’s security footage from the night they are being accused of starting a huge fire through negligence.
I was excited to get my first assignment, so I got right to it after I did some more orientation stuff. While I was loading everything up, the attorney came by with a cup holder with 3 coffees without lids and said one was for me as a first day treat. She asked if she could set them down on my desk for a second and put them down without the holder very close to the hard drive which made me nervous. She then asked if I could help move a table to the conference room. You can probably see where this is going. I swear it wasn’t me who was swinging the table wildly— it seemed the attorney wasn’t being very careful. There was a LOT of room between my desk and the wall and yet we veered right into it. The hard drive became completely drenched in coffee. I think the whole office of about ten people came out of their offices/bays when they heard me yelling “OH MY GOD” five or six times.
IT couldn’t recover it and apparently it was the original and only drive with arguably the most important evidence for this case— so I majorly, majorly, majorly fucked up. I have a lot of questions about why they made no copies, about why they were just giving it to a day one employee, etc, but I didn’t have a chance to ask anyone in the shock of it all. The attorney said it was serious spoliation of evidence and I would need to sign an affidavit about what happened right away. I did so and confirmed my responsibility for the terrible mistake, then went to cry. I later asked the attorney if it would damage the case and she said yes. Weirdly she didn’t seem too upset about it, so I’m not sure if this has happened before or if this case is not super important to the bottom line or what. But the fact that I destroyed a case within an hour of working there has completely ruined my confidence.
I had several panic attacks throughout the night and this morning and called in sick and right now am considering just quitting. That is if they aren’t already in the process of terminating me. I don’t think I can recover from this.
August 8th, 2024
81
Comments:
nightowlbibliophile
334
DRBassett
Same. I can’t see realm of reality where this is OPs fault
74
LuciusDickusMaximus
It was made clear to me it was my fault, politely. “We need you to sign an affidavit about your spoliation of the evidence, but please don’t be stressed about it!” from the attorney or “Everyone makes mistakes, it’s good that you got your first one out of the way early” from the receptionist. To be fair to them, I think it could have been me who moved the table toward the desk now that I think about it, because that’s kind of what the attorney said and implied I should say in the affidavit.
54
nightowlbibliophile
They need the affidavit so they can explain what happened to the important evidence. It's not because they want to shame anybody or make anyone look bad. This was an accident. Accidents happen.
I obviously wasn't there and didn't see how it all went down, but at MOST this was an honest mistake on your part that nobody should be upset with you for. I don't even think it was a mistake on your part tbh. I would be shocked if you got fired. If you stay with this firm, it will probably turn into a funny story to look back on a year from now.
I know it sucks now and feels like a huge deal, but you'll make it through this! Don't quit over this one accident.
126
mavgoosebros
This! Which is probably why the attorney didn't make a big deal out if it... they know it isn't your fault but they need an affidavit from someone who isn't themselves.
47
Wander_Kitty
That is just a legal technicality. I wouldn’t worry about the receptionist’s comment, either.
41
LadyBug_0570
“We need you to sign an affidavit about your spoliation of the evidence, but please don’t be stressed about it!”
Yeah... that doesn't sound like they were blaming you.
I once had to make a sworn statement about a fuck-up I did as a legal assistant. The estate/probate folks might get a kick out of this.
One of the partners had a brother with a will. Wanted me to copy it. Did not say (and probably didn't think to tell me) to not unstaple it from the blueback. Not only did I do that, I put back one of the pages upside down.
Wouldn't have been a big deal except after the guy died, he had a relative challenging the will and saying it was changed based on my fuck-up.
I explained what happened, they drafted an affidavit with my explanation, I signed, it was notarized and that was the last I heard of it.
41
Primary-Avocado-8297
I’ve worked in trusts and estates in two different states for going on 6 years and I do not know why you couldn’t remove it from the blueback? I do that all the time to make copies. Unless you mean that the true error is that someone misplaced the original will after it was removed because it was less obvious that it was the original.
10
Lobscra
In my state removing a staple from an original is not permitted because it calls into question the validity and can lead to challenges. Is it strictly illegal? Probably not. But a removed staple is grounds to challenge the validity of it. So it is a best practice that borders on state wide protocol.
Have I forgotten this and removed a staple to copy something once? Probably. But we did a new will and so no harm done that time
11
Las1970
WOW, that is... wow! Illinois estate and trust paralegal here and I removed staples from Wills a few times a week for years (before I went 100% remote) to scan in Will of decedent before it was sent to county for filing.
6
Lobscra
Yeah until we have a new one in place, if I have to scan or copy an old one, I have to do it page by page
5
Primary-Avocado-8297
Yeah this blows my mind to hear because I do the same thing all of the time. I’m going to look more into this and talk to my attorney. It makes me nervous because I frequently make copies of old versions of client documents and sometimes that happens before they’ve executed their new ones!
I’m also a (former) Illinois paralegal :)
4
Lobscra
Yeah until we have a new one in place, if I have to scan or copy an old one, I have to do it page by page
5
itsmedri
I'm a paralegal in Texas, currently working in estate planning/probate, and my attorneys make sure to tell me every time to not remove the staples from originals. Even prior to working here, I worked for the county district attorney's office in the felony division and the biggest rule when scanning certified priors from the clerk's office was to not un-staple anything.
2
LadyBug_0570
It was the original will. And the only one. And the guy was dead.
5
KEmFries
Don't quit because of this! I know it feels like it's your fault, but it's not really. It was an accident! Plus they told you to not stress about it. So keep your head high and move on. It's not the best way to start a new job I know and it sucks, but it sounds like the attorneys understand the situation. If you quit now, you're just showing that you can't handle the job, which I'm sure you are capable of doing.
9
Capable-Ear-7769
Don't feel bad, I had to file an Affidavit of Scrivener Error when an associate forgot an important word in a pleading. If memory serves correctly, he forgot the word "not" like admitting guilt for something. I didn't do it, but took the fall.
5
nbsffreak212
Practical advice: I'sld recommend taking the drive to an expert in data recovery. There's a chance that IT just plugged it into a computer and said it was lost after they couldn't access it. There's a chance it's still recoverable.
Yeah, it wasn't your fault. She asked to place the coffees on the desk, then asked to move a table. In a perfect world, one of you guys would have noticed and moved the drive. But it happened. The fact that she gave you the one and only copy of the security footage, without telling you, and ensuring there were dupes (she should have made a dupe the moment it came into her possession).
It's very mildly alarming that she kindly put the blame on you, but I don't think she's seriously upset about it. Her reaction seems to indicate that it's not a big deal. The worst outcome is you draft the affidavit and have to explain what happened to the judge.
3
HinaYamamoto
You signing that was a big mistake. You should have said it wasn't your fault! If you signed it already, you essentially acknowledge it was your fault and now they will use you as the scapegoat.
Informal-Ad-4527
Scapegoat for what? That their office doesn’t respect the evidence their client entrusted them with enough to handle with care. No, this was not your fault, this is the attorney’s fault and the attorney knows it. The attorney is looking at malpractice on their part on their part and they know it. You are not in trouble, the attorney is.
3
LovesHerKnights
Me too 😅
1
Hair_This
130
SHARKS_and_SKUNKS
Seriously. This does not sound like a normal thing to give someone on their first day on the job. I’m thinking the evidence was already damaged and they needed someone new to blame it on.
91
[deleted]
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[deleted]
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Thek1tteh
Yeah definitely sus. Look further down, it’s all troll/fake posts. In one she (he? They?) says she has kids too.
16
JRose608
Came here to say this!! These posts are so fake, you can tell by the way they’re written.
6
[deleted]
I agree. There’s just too many coincidences happening all at once…
22
feetmeelina
I also had that thought
14
[deleted]
Why would they set down three cups of coffee without lids on the brand new persons desk?! Good lord.
9
buddyfluff
For real. My first day I wasn’t even given tasks, just putzing around and intros…
3
Kawasakison
Yup. This.
5
AppropriateCupcake48
Yep, thought this too.
3
Admirable_Donut_8409
Oh for sure, 100%. It feels like this was a setup and I wonder if what was on there was actually incriminating vs helpful. Not being mean but why would they give a crucial piece of evidence to someone brand spanking new, then here’s the only thing that can destroy said evidence and bam, gone. Total set up.
2
LovesHerKnights
I was getting that vibe too lol attorney wanted this to happen.
1
SkyCoi
I work in legal IT. Not your fault, the attorney has attorney voodoo to handle the lost evidence, and your IT guys are rooks if they can’t recover the data.
You’re new and unfamiliar with law firm machinations, totally understandable to be freaked out. Unless the attorney is a total wanker calmly talk to them about it and ask how they deal with such things. For the love of all that’s holy, probably stop apologizing.
30
LadyBug_0570
and your IT guys are rooks if they can’t recover the data
I was wondering about that. When OP says they gave her a hard drive, just what are we talking about? A literal hard drive from inside a computer? Those are pretty tough.
And there's no back-up? Not even a cloud back up? No one made a thumb drive copy? Nothing?
13
SkyCoi
In fairness, it’s absolutely possible to destroy a hard drive - usb, spinning, ssd, whatever - by spilling coffee on it. Seems unlikely in this scenario based on my experience, and Reddit.
5
LadyBug_0570
Not saying it's not possible, just hard to do.
And who gives someone on their frist day a naked hard drive that holds the one and only footage crucial to a case and then brings them a lidless coffee? That's just... odd.
5
[deleted]
The whole thing is super odd. Who carries around several full cups of coffee without lids too?!
5
SkyCoi
Yeah, I was thinking the same. FFS, no backup? Better than even odds the attorney feels like a dumbass and knows they f’d up. 50:50 whether they cut OP any slack and don’t lord it over her.
3
LadyBug_0570
I have a feeling they won't because they purposefully destroyed the evidence and set her up as the scapegoat. Poor OP.
2
FutureRealHousewife
Not having a backup is crazy
2
shotsallover
That's what I'm wondering. Hard drives are generally sealed. I don't know how spilling coffee on it would kill it. It's very difficult to get enough liquid into the one vent hole to ruin the whole thing. Maybe it was spinning when it was hit, and fell into a bucket of coffee and shorted out the power going to it. But even then, the data should be recoverable.
1
orbitalchild
Yeah, that part of the story is not making much sense to me. My 11th grade math teacher was able to recover a paper for me off of a corrupted floppy disk in 2004. If the IT guys at this law firm can't recover even a little bit of data from that hard drive, then they either massively suck at their jobs or we're missing information. I highly doubt that spilled coffee would damage the drive so much that no data was recoverable.
4
dawnseven7
I was thinking the same thing about recovery. Law firm IT can’t recover, fine, they don’t know how, or don’t have the tools (they’re rooks) but that doesn’t mean it isn’t recoverable. Any litigation support/eDiscovery firm would be able to recover a drive like this.
2
LuisKing1
20
Wander_Kitty
What I am hearing is that you internalized this event to the point of panic and it affecting your mental and emotional health.
The attorney wasn’t upset and no one berated you. Perhaps get in touch with your therapist/other mental health support and go through why you’ve decided it is your fault, disregulated to the point of panic, and want to quit.
It took me a while (and a few jobs) to not lose control emotionally about my mistakes. This wasn’t even your mistake and it has greatly affected you.
You have been social worker so I know you can handle stress. What skills got you through that? Maybe try them now.
18
cakeandwhiskey
12
catsandjettas
“it was a client’s security footage from the night they are being accused of starting a huge fire through negligence”…” IT couldn’t recover it and apparently it was the original and only drive with arguably the most important evidence for this case” Seems pretty sus…and convenient…on a green temp employee’s day 1…
Edit - OP seems sus
11
[deleted]
2
[deleted]
2
McAssMaster3
2
mavgoosebros
2
Flashy_Community_103
I wouldn't quit. I don't think it was your fault. That attorney should have told you it was the only copy in existence and to handle with the utmost care. I think the attorney wasn't angry because they know it's not your fault.
One thing you'll learn very fast in the legal field is that everyone makes mistakes. I see it in my office and from opposing counsel. I've made my fair share of mistakes too. The most important thing is that you tell your attorney right away if you notice a mistake.
6
Mr_D_Stitch
If it’s a criminal case there’s really no such thing as “original” evidence. It might be the original copy of the evidence but for an attorney, especially a non-public defender attorney, to be given the original, only one in existence, piece of digital evidence is wildly irresponsible & seems impossible. So they took the footage from the source, copied it to a hard drive, destroyed it at the source, & then gave it away? Or did they just take the tape/hard drive/memory card out of the recording device & give it away without making a single copy? That’s flies in the face of Evidence Handling 101. Nobody in their right mind gives the only copy of something & even if the source gives you the only copy then you move it to somewhere secure & make copies from that.
If this is real then you’re being pranked or your firm is engaged in incredibly stupid, ethics breaking, mishandling of evidence & should be reported to the local bar.
6
[deleted]
9
emnubez
this was my thought - calling in sick on day 2 after the incident on day 1 was worse in my opinion 😬
17
trivetsandcolanders
5
catsandjettas
This person wasn’t a social worker, they’re lying. Super weird.
3
Spring_Dreamer31
4
Latter-Unit-2842
4
meerfrau85
5
EstablishmentEasy694
4
stray_girl
Asking the real questions.
2
FlyByNight1899
You're 100% fine. Seriously. Take it from a paralegal that's always worried I'm going to be fired hahahaha
The attorney knows it wasn't your fault but probably better they say it's you than them. Don't worry about it at all. Shit happens. Worse has happened. You're fine. No one is dead.
Stop stressing and keep your head up!!!
3
Super_Bluejay
Once I filed an affidavit, but forgot to send it to the other side and completely forgot about it. The affidavit couldn't be used in trial as evidence. Still employed at that office.
As my managing partner once said: 'that is why we have insurance'
3
Dull-Law3229
3
Hefty-Squash1361
3
Kawasakison
4
Careless_Whisper10
2
Fishbonzfl
2
titsaroni
2
Soft_Maintenance_688
2
footflash1
1
FutureRealHousewife
Damn, Mercury Retrograde is truly in full swing. Anything having to do with data and technology is prone to problems right now. Also, it’s definitely their fault that this happened. First rule of data backup is to have three different backups on two different types of media, with one off site.
You shouldn’t be taking this so harshly. It’s honestly very strange that the attorney came by with coffee without lids…..
Also just FYI, mistakes happen all the time in law, and you’re going to encounter more mistakes. You’re going to have to get used to it because people are human. I don’t think this is worth quitting over for being fired for.
1
GeneRevolutionary155
1
grabtharshamsandwich
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gothicsportsgurl31
1
Aggressive-Speed-187
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lucylose
1
AssuredAttention
1
AnhedoniaLogomachy
1
amatthew317
1
[deleted]
1
Bogglez11
1
RepresentativeDay578
1
[deleted]
That feels like such a set up to me. Like they were the ones who probably wiped it or ruined it, then concocted this little scenario to use you as a scapegoat. Or they were testing you somehow.
I dunno, I'm paranoid and don't trust people. Especially attornies.
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_J_Dead
My only red flag is that your reaction to this situation was to call in sick. Don't take blame for other people's mistakes!
Actually I lied another red flag I have is my suspicious side thinking they wanted to destroy that evidence.
But yeah, IMO not the best move to call in (but I understand you're feeling awful and not wanting to deal, just doesn't sit right for me) but again, not on you.
14
[deleted]
I was thinking that is was pretty sus too. Seems a little too convenient
11
_J_Dead
"Janice, hire a scapegoat ASAP" (apologies in advance to the Janices)
11
abcox77
8
fdxrobot
Where does one even buy a bunch of coffees with no lids? How would they have transported them? Like what?
5
catsandjettas
This seems totally fake. A recent prior post from this same account:
“Guys I’m freaking out and need advice. Basically I’ll start from the start. My class had a trip to California in March and I got souvenirs for my entire family. My older sister is in college and I got her some cute Hollywood themed mints which I gave her when she was home for spring break. When she was here I realized how much I missed my sister. I hadn’t seen her since January and we used to be best friends but have grown apart a lil and it makes me sad. She’s a total science genius and my role model, the first one from my family to ever go to college and she’s got all of her stuff together so well.
I wanted to surprise her since I have a day off of school today and catch her after her classes so we could hang out and get some food or something...”
11
stray_girl
The post is from a Pakistani Commune Account. Possibly it’s BS, but those accounts are used by multiple people so you cannot judge anything by post history.
2
[deleted]
[deleted]
1
Louis-Shitton
Dude this person is obviously a troll and made up the whole PCA thing. Read their posts - none of them are from Pakistani people lol
1
lolsnacks
It’s ridiculous to see a community of legal professionals falling for this bs
1
Thek1tteh
7
Additional-Run7663
I always think to myself “ain’t nobody got time for that.” Apparently someone does!
10
Thek1tteh
Haha, nah, someone raised this in the comments and I have adhd 🤗
5
stray_girl
This account is a Pakistani Commune Account, used by many people.
1
Thek1tteh
Yeah, but the posts appear to all be troll posts.
0
stray_girl
It’s entirely possible this is a BS post. It’s also entirely possible it’s not. The Pakistani Commune accounts are weird, so we’re going to leave it.
1
Thek1tteh
Gotcha I understand, I wasn’t saying to take it down :)
1
Thek1tteh
Just that the descriptions in this post are… a bit far fetched, along with the rest of the posts :)
1
stray_girl
Agreed
2
KoalaNo2996
11
feetmeelina
I low key thought this
3
[deleted]
2
Latter-Unit-2842
This!!
1
rqnadi
Ummm… this sounds sketchy as hell…
The lawyer gives you the only evidence that shows the client starting the fire ( or not I guess), brings coffee with no lids on them to you. Ask you to help move a table, runs the table into the coffee destroying the evidence and then makes YOU sign an affidavit saying it was your fault?
I’m sorry but this straight up sounds like a set up. They fire you and then they can claim whatever they want since they think you won’t stand up for yourself.
But I also trust no one, sooo…. Maybe I’m just being dramatic.
1
Brad1979
If OP's post is true, it was 100% a set up. The evidence was damning to their case and they needed a "fall guy" to remove the evidence from the record.
The events leading up to the destruction of the hard drive are extremely suspect. Who carries around lidless coffees, leaving them exposed near a hard drive with precious evidence? OP even explained that the attorney was swinging the table wildly and seemed to veer off course into the table with the hard drive.
Additionally, no one at the firm was bothered by the destruction of the hard drive. It all went according to plan. I guarantee you that if OP had actually committed a wrong the lawyers would have had a STRONG emotional reaction to the loss of their case.
Not your fault, OP. Your employer is shady.
Source: Paralegal 10 years.
1
[deleted]
[deleted]
[deleted]
1
pixelpetewyo
Sorry I was kidding, because she works with lawyers.
1