It is ironic to me that just days after we celebrated our nation’s independence, I got a call from the parent of a young lawyer. Sadly, this isn’t unusual, it happens more often than you might imagine. I’m really terribly ambivalent about telephone calls that start “my son/daughter just graduated from law school and….” I’m ambivalent because who can criticize a well-meaning parent who is genuinely hoping to help their kid by gathering career advice? On the other hand, for those of us on the receiving end of the phone call, it can really undermine your child’s credibility. Er, I mean, your adult son or daughter’s credibility.
Also, it’s unprofessional.
On a cranky day, my instinct is just to say “tell them to call me directly” and hang up the phone. I’ve never been cranky enough to do it. I just try as best I can to answer their (the parents’) questions and send them in the right direction. I usually point out that it would *really* be better if their son or daughter was doing this work on their own behalf. I hear two responses. First I hear “oh well he or she is sooo busy.” Second, I hear that the parent is just trying to give them a kick in the pants to push them forward in their career. Neither of these excuses dull the absurdity, in my opinion. It certainly highlights the possibility that if your parents are doing the work of managing your legal career, you have more significant issues to overcome than time management.
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