Lexolution, paired up with Hogan & Hartson, has been stringing us along with a project we were “selected” for. First, on Friday, July 17th, at 4:30 pm, we were sent the following email:
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to let you know that we are a definite go for Monday. Please come to 750 Third Avenue (b/w 46th & 47th) at 9:00 am. Tell the person at the security desk that you are there for the Lexolution/Hogan & Hartson project, and they will direct you to the appropriate floor. Please remember to bring a photo-identification. The dress code for the project is business casual, but please err on the side of business for the first day. Scott Krowitz and I will be there to greet you.
PLEASE REPLY TO THIS EMAIL UPON RECEIPT SO THAT I CAN CONFIRM THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS INFORMATION. Also, please be sure to check your emails throughout the weekend for any potential updates. Many thanks-see you Monday,
Kim
Despite, the “definite go” at four thirty, at eleven o’clock that same Friday evening, we received another email telling a different story:
Hi Everyone,
The Hogan & Hartson project WILL BEGIN ON TUESDAY, JULY 21 AT 11:00 AM, not Monday. All of the other information is the same, but it’s repeated below. Sorry to ask you to do this again, but PLEASE REPLY TO THIS EMAIL UPON RECEIPT SO THAT I CAN CONFIRM THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS NEW INFORMATION.
Date: Tuesday, July 21
Time: 11:00 am
Place: 750 Third Avenue (b/w 46th & 47th). Tell the person at the security desk that you are there for the Lexolution/Hogan & Hartson project, and they will direct you to the appropriate floor. Please remember to bring a photo-identification.
Dress Code: Business casual, but please err on the side of business for the first day.
Kim
Needless to say, the project did not start Tuesday. We were then told it would be Wednesday or Thursday. Then Tuesday night, we receive the following email:
Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to let you know that it’s not likely that Hogan will start tomorrow (but check your email before you go to bed tonight and first thing in the morning just in case). If you don’t hear from me tonight or tomorrow morning, I will be in touch at some point tomorrow to give you an update.
Thanks again for your patience.
All the best,
Kim
And, no, it didn’t start Wednesday. Or Thursday either. See below:
Hi Again Everyone,
I just wanted to let you know that I am still waiting for more information from Hogan, but it doesn’t look like it will start tomorrow. They have assured me that the project will start, but the documents are not getting loaded as quickly as they anticipated, hence the delay.
Again, I apologize for this, and appreciate your patience.
Many thanks,
Kim
On Thursday, at eleven at night, we received “reassurances” that the “technical problems” would be resolved soon, though we would not be starting Friday:
Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to touch base again and let you know that we are still waiting on a start date from Hogan. The client has been in touch several times a day and I do believe the project will start. Hogan is using Attenex, a database they have not used before, for this project, and it seems they are having problems coordinating everything to load the documents, but they fully intend to move forward with the project once everything is figured out.
I understand your frustration (I really do), and appreciate your patience. I think we will have a start date soon. Thanks again for hanging in there.
Best regards,
Kim
Late Friday night, Lexolution claimed to have “good news” for us:
Hi Everybody,
Some good news-the project IS going to begin next week. Hogan is going to start people off in staggered groups of 5-10. On Monday I should be able to give you a better idea of exactly when you can expect to start, but please check your email over the weekend in case anything changes.
Thanks again for your patience, and have a great weekend.
Best regards,
Kim
We heard nothing over our “great weekends.” On Monday, we learned that both Lexolution and Hogan are indeed full of shit, and the project would not be starting for another couple of weeks, if ever:
Hi Everybody,
I just got off the phone with the people at Hogan, and they expect that it will take at least 7-10 days for the rest of the documents to finish loading. I know this is quite a bit longer than any of us initially anticipated. At this point, I cannot honestly say when the project will be fully up and running, and I don’t want you to miss out on any other opportunities waiting for this. Obviously, it will be great if this works out, but I will completely and totally understand if you need to take something else.
I know it doesn’t help, but I am truly sorry about the delay. I will continue to keep you posted about this project (and any other projects that come in), but I truly understand if you can’t wait anymore.
Please feel free to call or email me with any questions you may have.
All the best,
Kim
So, in other words, we have been expected to check our email around the clock for weeks on end, for a project that may not even materialize. Some of us tried to stick it out and give Lexolution and Hogan the benefit of the doubt. You feel like an ass for believing them and turning down other work, or even applying for things, because you are being assured every day that any day you will be starting. Obviously, we can not believe a freaking word either has to say at this point. Regardless of the economy, no one has the right to take advantage of and shit on people this way.
P.S. They were paying $32/hr straight for a mandatory 50-60 hr. workweek.
59 comments:
FIRST!! to say Lexolution sucks! ABA boycott!
Reminds me of Spherion's Tamara Thaxton and Merrill Corp., who constantly delayed and postponed and downsized.
Reminds me of Lindsey Livingston at Kelly. Do all of these people go to the same screw the worker training school?
Sara Chin can ride me anytime !!!
Lexolution is located at 295 Madison Ave., which seems to consist of nothing but temp agencies. These agencies are all owned by the same person. None of these agencies are any good.
Avoid registering with any agency located at 295 Madison Ave.
You're just wasting your time and, more importantly, your soul.
Lexolution expects absolute and complete obedience. They have a large blacklist. Serving them entails constantly being crapped upon and abused. Stay away.
Sign you are about to start a shitty assignment:
Krowitz and Aunt Kim Powe wait to greet you at the front door.
wow.
that is bad.
I hope that the 0L's are reading this blog to see what awaits them....
It's absurd. Lex-a-loser is the lowest form of temp life, as this e-mail string shows.
I was blacklisted by these heinous jackals a long time ago and I'm better for it. There are far too many agencies to allow yourself to be held captive by these sleaZebags.
It sounds like a horrible project anyway. Compulsory 60 hrs at a below market rate. Another lex-a-loser winner!
Tale of two Industries:
Doc Review/Legal: If the client or the recruiter get confused or doesn't have their act together; you pay. You sit and wait till they get the Docs loaded and the client feels positive about starting. The Recruiter always gets paid. No money axe over her head.
Construction: Workers show up and General Contractor or Building owners is not ready? The Workers still gets paid 5 hours show-up pay. The Workers get paid to stand around or go home. The General Contractor calls and says "don't show up," union members get paid. The Contractor and building owner eat they cost of their incompetence, not the workers. Do they mess up like this frequently? No, not if they want to keep their jobs.
Are they dumb construction workers??
Dude, you're an idiot. #1 temp rule: say yes to all work, show up, and if it lasts 2 days, THEN tell other gigs you have something UNLESS the other gigs offer more money. At that point, you call in sick, go there 2 days, REPEAT.
This job is never starting. Reminds me of every Clutch project I've ever agreed to. Does Clutch ever even have projects or do they just get a kick out of torturing people?
BTW betcha Hogan lost the client- that firm is full of morons and have been laying off associates left and right. By the end of this year a few more major firms will collapse.
Can we report Scott Krowitz to the bar? His pattern of dishonesty on the backs of people trying to put food on the table is very unbecoming of a professional. Having had the fire department called after having shoved so many people into that deplorable workspace speaks volumes about his total disregard of the law and how profit trumps all else including the safety of the people who work for him. This guy is a total SLEAZEBAG and needs to be exposed on a greater level.
Yes, yes, keep looking for other work even if an agency says a project is starting soon. NEVER give up looking. 9:38 is right. They WILL fuck you over -- this has happened MANY MANY times and they do NOT give a shit. That's how the temp world is and it will drive you nuts. Even though I earn less at Starbucks, the peace of mind is great. That and the CDs I steal.
By outsourcing document production in one Federal Trade Commission matter to a team of Indian attorneys, an international mining company saved $1.5 million over what it would have paid to have its usual BigLaw antitrust firm in Washington, D.C., contract out the same work.
And that's just the beginning of the savings Rio Tinto expects to make in its legal expenses due to such outsourcing, the company's managing attorney, Leah Cooper, tells American Lawyer.
She estimates Indian staff attorneys cost the company about a third of what in-house counsel cost, and about one-seventh the price tag for outside counsel, to do some of the same work.
"My phone has been ringing off the hook," she says of Rio Tinto's bellwether move to contract directly with Indian legal services providers. "I think other corporates are going to follow."
Do these biatches think I have e-mail on my dick that I can check it 24-7???? What the f&^%??? I don't have time for this shit. I got some babe action and surfing going on - call me biiatch if you want to tell me something. Otherwise take your pansy ass elsewhere.
Their e-mails should REALLY read:
Hi Everybody:
GO FUCK YOURSELF.
We have no FUCKING clue what's going on.
Please feel free to call me if you have any questions or concerns.
Best regards,
Kim
They are guilty. If a client drops even a hint that a project may be coming down the pipe, scum suckers like LexPollution will immediately not only hire, but OVERHIRE X number of people for the project. Little do these job candidates know that the "definite"/"it's a go" project that they were told was going to start the following day hadn't even been ordered yet!
Krowitz is such a loser... living off his wife the doctor and tooling other lawyers around with his stupid little agency. Kim is just a tremendously nasty woman.
LOL, temp life sucks, get a perm job..paralegals get paid more, sadness..
Rio tinto is embroiled in a dispute with the Chinese govt. Several of their employees have been accused of spying.
Short rio tinto. It is a gutter dwelling dump of a company.
Good luck with your outsourced scabs. You will get what you pay for.
They are paying $28/hour in LA and not covering parking. Why? Because they can. Someone is going to take 28/hour over nothing. Meanwhile, the money saved from paying an extra $7+/hour or more to each attorney was probably used to move Nora out to LA.
You are better off waiting tables--if only the 7 years of education debt wasn't on your back!
When I was hired for my present job, I had to wait ten days purely because of the company HR bureaucracy. It's a different story where they are stringing along an untold number of people who are relying on a particular start date. About the only positive is that the agency is not making any money either by doing this. But everyone is making their problem your problem.
sofa king we taught it
JCPenny just opened a store @ 34th street..hiring around 500 ppl..c'mon guys lets go!!!!JCPenny just opened a store @ 34th street..hiring around 500 ppl..c'mon guys lets go!!!!JCPenny just opened a store @ 34th street..hiring around 500 ppl..c'mon guys lets go!!!!JCPenny just opened a store @ 34th street..hiring around 500 ppl..c'mon guys lets go!!!!JCPenny just opened a store @ 34th street..hiring around 500 ppl..c'mon guys lets go!!!!JCPenny just opened a store @ 34th street..hiring around 500 ppl..c'mon guys lets go!!!!JCPenny just opened a store @ 34th street..hiring around 500 ppl..c'mon guys lets go!!!!JCPenny just opened a store @ 34th street..hiring around 500 ppl..c'mon guys lets go!!!!JCPenny just opened a store @ 34th street..hiring around 500 ppl..c'mon guys lets go!!!!JCPenny just opened a store @ 34th street..hiring around 500 ppl..c'mon guys lets go!!!!
A good article that explains how outsourcing (shitsourcing) is contributing to the trade defecit and the gutting of the American economy. There is a reason so many are out of work, the jobs are being created in India.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/7/28/758584/-The-Real-Reason-Unemployment-in-this-Recession-has-Skyrocketed
I was wondering if anyone could help. I am about to submit my resume for a perm position. The last few months I worked only three on very short-term project but last year I was on very long-term assignments.
Should I take out the short-term work - I don't want them to think I've been jumping around. It's not me, it the econommy, still. Or is it better to show some work -- even if several short-term assignments. Thanks
DEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRETDEXTERS SECRET
List what you did in between jobs and put the temp work in one sentance at the end of the paragraph.
No one outside of the temp agencies cares about temp work, so by listing it at the end of your resume after substanative work that you've done, you minimize it.
Also, guys, I mean relly, if some agency is contantly pushing back the start date then start looking for other jobs. You relly ought to be looking for a permentant job while you're temping anyway.
A lot of the temp stuff is smoke and mirrors. You could make 100K if this or if that or if something else. Unless you're a permatemp, i never works out unless unemployment is below 5%. However, in that case it's easy to find a permanent job, so why are you bothering with temping.
Easy to find a permanent job???? On what planet? We just posted a 50K a year paralegal position and we got over 100 responses from out of work JDs!
JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?JCPENNY?
Wonder if I should move to JC Penney from Starbucks? What a dilemma - Frappucinos vs. bedsheets???
I am going to have to think about this one.
I would stay put at Starbucks. The people that work there are morons for sure but at least you get to see some hot babes come and go - and some professional yuppie types. Who knows they may give you a tip - a professional one.
JC Penny is going to be full of cheap problematic ghetto labor like Lucy K, and Big Mamma, with NOTHING to keep them from your throat. At least at the big law firms they can only get away with some shit. At JC Penny they will scalp and roast a hard-working legal nerd. You are no match for the ghetto-dom that reigns supreme there.
11:44,
If you only worked for several days or several weeks on temp doc review projects, consider not including them in your CV for a perm position.
Those few days or weeks do not add any value to your credential and people would understand if you just tell them this economy is causing lots of unemployment among attorneys. And I am sure they'd understand.
Don't put them in just for the sake of putting them in or because that the truth; we have to package our goods to specific buyers.
Good luck.
hey any job is a godsend at this point..so long as it pays more than unemployment..god i love this country!!
V10 associate now looking to work for free.
I am a prior big law junior litigation associate, and a product of the recent economic downsizing currently occurring at the majority of corporate firms.
I am looking for an opportunity to keep my litigation skills fresh and learn new areas of law until I am able to secure another full time position. My primary areas of interest are business/commercial, antitrust, securities, appeals, soft IP and real estate litigation but I WILL consider other areas.
I am willing to entertain offers for unpaid positions, as long as they provide for extensive SUBSTANTIVE and SUBSTANTIAL litigation experience in a variety of areas. Ideally, I would prefer a contingency or stipend arrangement where I would be compensated for work on successful cases.
My Credentials:
- Ivy League undergraduate and law school.
- Law journal experience.
- Two published articles law articles and one currently in peer review.
- Worked as a law clerk for a State Judge.
- Worked in-house for a large publicly traded company.
- Excellent legal research and writing skills.
- Approximately 1 year of litigation related experience.
I would like to put my services to use for a medium sized litigation boutique, either in NYC or somewhere easily commutable from NYC, and involved in at least some of the areas of law I mentioned above.
Please e-mail me with offers.
I can provide my resume, references, and writing samples upon request.
Keep up with the outsourcing, ABA.
Though I completely understand being upset about this, why in the world is that anger focused toward Lexolution? Wouldn't they want the project to start as well and aren't they being strung along just as much by Hogan and/or the client? Do you think Lexolution is making up these start dates from scratch? Do you really think they would waste their time making up projects to have a good time?
About the only thing they would be doing wrong here is using the ol' Special Counsel "don't leave or you'll never work in this town again" blackball threat or guaranteeing that the start date given by Hogan is solid, but it is made clear in the emails that neither is the case.
Re Lex
I think I am on their shitlist (blacklist). Not even sure why. The only thing I can think of is that one time I said no to a project because I had a better gig already lined up that was several months rather than the 1-2 months they were offerring. I hope some of the new enterprises that are seeking to eliminate the agencies work out. Take all this irrational behavior out of the mix. Let us compete based on ability rather than some crazy agency.
Re Resume
Don't stick anything regarding doc review on a resume for a permanent job. Do volunteer work. Do side practice. Do whatever. But do not list this as your source of experience. It will harm your resume and your chances.
Lexolution is an irrational and crazy agency. If you don't suck up to loser Krowitz, dickhead (burn me fuckin alive in the greasy crowded chicken coop) osman, or fat Nora (who rode into her scum sucking exploiting position on the coattails of her daddy), you will be blacklisted by these assholes and replaced by a 3rd world nigerian who can't even speak english. How these unethical slime balls are able to serve as middlemen who get to determine who is able to work and put food on the table shows how utterly ghetto and irredeemable this "profession" is.
2:34- what are the 'new enterprises' getting rid of agencies? How do I find them and get projects from them instead?
DiscoverReady is the biggest shitshow this side of the universe. They have been "promising" the beginning of a project already for a month with constant 2 day updates. I have invested days and days of going to their office and talking to those jerkoffs and they keep on playing the bait and switch. Evil, evil people.
Does anyone know if Old Navy is hiring? I'm a 67 year old, unlicensed JD, my doc review skills are ok but my eyes cant read that well anymore and I have arthritis which makes it painful to click click click..oh well I havent eaten in a few days and havent paid my rent in months can someone help me out?????
3:52 sounds like Lifer.
What do you need, oldie?
Have you applied for unemployment benefits? Do you have kids?
SLAVESHIP BOB, WHERE ARE YOU?
Whoa, what a day at the beach I had!! After reading all this I had to chill out - I don't know if I am going to return to temping. I have had enough of ugly broads bossing me around.
1:51, why would you volutarily work for free? Sounds like you've earned the right to get paid for your time. Why cheapen yourself? Have a little pride and don't volunteer to let a firm take advantage of you.
Free labor = slave labor.
By the way, that one chick at Lexpollutions needs to get her moustache waxed. What a eyesore!!
Thanks for your response, 4:10 PM! All I really need right now is food, haven't eaten in days and its hard to work..dont have any kids but take care of my elderly parent (both in their 90s) and let me tell you changing diapers isnt a pleasant task, yikes! oh well let me know if you hear of any gigs comin up, i cant click that fast anymore but i'll try (also am willing to fill stockboy/barista positions) love that temp life!
1:51
I call BS on the "Ivy Leaguer" add.
I think it's someone's idea of a joke or some crazy recruiter idea. Why would you place an add looking for work in the want ads?
Also,
"Easy to find a permanent job???? On what planet?"
It took me all of two months of actually looking and interviewing. Maybe it's hard if you use a recruiter, but if you send out a bunch of resumes (without your years of temp expertise) and network some, you'll find something. You're going to have to soften your salary requirements, but since making money as a temp is BS at the moment, what do you have to lose?
That wasn't me, but I know the feeling. Carrots kept my eyes sharp. So did the lunch break ganj all us temps partake in.
GO JUDGE SOTES!!!
GO JUDGE SOTES!!!
GO JUDGE SOTES!!!
SHOW 'EM WHAT A WISE LATINA CAN DO!!!
Did you know that Nora Plesent's father is a big partner with Hogan in DC? That's why Hogan likes to use Lexolution. When i worked at Hogan in DC, the partners tried to ban the use of other agencies in order to give Nora's new agency business.
6:16 is right. You idiots are stuck in temp hell because you think you're too good for permanent jobs at so-called "shit salaries."
You have no sense of how to build a career because you can't get past the fact that the high-paying Biglaw dream jobs don't exist any more. Do you not get the irony of being too good for a permanent "shit" job - so instead you do shit temping month after month after month?
Take the low-paying permanent job, get some experience, get to know people in the field, and work your way up to something better or go out on your own. You're not going to get the six-figure jobs right out of law school any more, but you can at least get away from the dead-end crap you're doing now.
Oh, shut the fuck up.
http://www.hhlaw.com/splesent/
in person, he is a nice, genial guy, but his affiliation with the incredibly corrupt Hevesi (see recent NY State pension fund scandal) may tell you more about his character...Nora, on the other hand, is an extemely unpleasent person, but luckily we did not hav to deal with her on a regular basis. by and large my experiences at Hogan Hartson were okay, as was my relationship with Lexolution. However, I am glad I am out of the racket because it seems like the "race to the bottom" is accelerating at breakneck speed.
How does it feel having to hand over half your slave wages to daddy's little princess?
my lovely little hump
So you have a job? Congratulations and shut up.
Post a Comment