One of These Days, Alice in BookThree: Flight Log 2016

I woke up tired. Of course I did.

Over the weekend, I saw friends and hung out with my family and that was good.
Until I received a Voice Mail from an open Mental Health Case patient. RULES OF LAW: Ex-parte communication is strictly prohibited in most, if not all cases. Therefore, once an individual is a defendant or respondent in a case and is given an attorney, opposing counsel MAY NOT speak with that individual without a lawyer present. That is a rule of law. RULE OF BUSINESS: As an employer, bosses receive sensitive personal information of their employees and MAY NOT disseminate or distribute that information without the expressed consent of the owner of that information. COMMON FUCKING SENSE: If a mental patient calls you and wants information of a sensitive nature, you don’t fucking give it to them!

So I’ve been pretty irate since I got that call. Fuck any reason why my Boss gave that information away so cavalierly. I don’t give a shit as to why. I don’t care if this guy was on his deathbed and didn’t want to die in a hospital. MY job is to represent the Physicians and State Employees who are saying this man needs to be in In Patient Therapy. THAT is my job. HIS lawyer’s job is to represent HIM and say that the man does not need to be in In Patient Therapy. Then the Magistrate, if she’s fucking capable, makes the decision. This is stuff even I know.
Thus… not only did my boss feel free to give away MY PERSONAL INFORMATION with no concern for my safety… she also encouraged ex-parte communication WHICH IS A BIG NO NO… on an issue where the only acceptable statement would be “Call your lawyer!”

Honestly… without exaggeration… I almost telephoned my boss to quit THAT SECOND! It is just.... such a shitty thing to do! But instead, I slept on it. I didn’t want to react out of a place purely of emotion. So I slept on it.

When I woke up, tired though I was, I was still very upset. So I e-mailed Des Moines Prosecutor’s Training Counsel. And I asked. Is this the kind of behavior I need to take to the Ethics Board? To a Disciplinary Board? Am I overreacting? What, exactly, is to be done when the County Attorney starts giving away personal information of members of her staff? We’ll see what the answer is.

But holy fuck. Over the weekend, my Dad was trying to tell me that “I’ll find trouble and problems wherever I go” but… seriously? As a new lawyer, you expect “the boring cases because experience means you get first crack at what you want.” As a new lawyer, you expect “to be treated like someone who knows nothing, despite the fact that you just got out of school.” As a new lawyer, you expect to “work long weekend hours doing bitch work.” THAT is what new lawyers expect. New Lawyers do NOT expect to handle the entire County’s criminal, juvenile, and mental health docket without training. New Lawyers do NOT expect their boss to give out sensitive personal information to clients (let alone defendants!) New Lawyers do NOT expect the nature of their employment to change on a dime. Church on Sunday was about suffering. How suffering leads to endurance; endurance leads to character; and character leads to hope. Well… I’m sure as fuck going to endure a lot after this job.