I'm The Boss

Valentine’s Day again, but without Madame Shanghai, another topic is more appropriate.  So here goes…

From Monday through Friday I wake up and go to work.   As an attorney, that might well mean going to court, or if no court is scheduled, then going to the office, which is 15 minutes away.  I have an office manager and a secretary, both of whom are Vietnamese and somewhat headstrong.   My sole associate, an older attorney, retired last fall, leaving me the only attorney left in the office.

I can come and go as I please and take whatever time off I want, though I prefer to keep that to a minimum.   As my posts indicate, I like concerts, but even on weekdays these are at night.   In all my years of practice, I’ve had ONE occasion where court wound up lasting until nighttime.   Even all-day festivals tend to be scheduled for weekends, so that’s a hobby which, as a practical matter, does not conflict with my work schedule.

Working for myself means not having to please an arbitrary and capricious boss or being concerned about having my job abruptly terminated.  Virginia, like most states, is an at-will employment state, meaning workers can be let go for practically any reason.   It also means they’re free to leave without notice, but generally the employee needs the job more than the boss needs the employee, so as a practical matter that’s a policy which favors the company.

I can come in dressed casually, though having to go to court means wearing a suit and tie.   Creditor’s hearings (341) for bankruptcy cases seem to have a relaxed standard, as they’re in front of a trustee and not a judge, so many lawyers attend these in dockers and loafers; I prefer to wear a suit and tie.

I like to believe that I treat my employees fairly.  With very few exceptions, they’re almost always Vietnamese females, some more attractive and/or provocative than others.  Even though I’m single I keep my hands to myself and leave them alone.   In any case, hiring, firing and discipline come down to my office manager.   We call the current secretary “princess”, as not only is her family back in Vietnam wealthy – counterintuitively, there are some rich people in communist countries – but she herself actually does act (somewhat, sometimes) like a princess.   Naturally, she forbids us to call her princess.

Up until May 2019 I was visiting yet another headstrong Asian woman, this one from Shanghai and very proud of it; she lived in Fort Lee, New Jersey, which is on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge – the NYC side is 175 Street, Manhattan.  That meant three day weekends, though clearly my court schedule took preference over trips to see her.  Sadly, though I gained admission to the NY bar, I failed to secure employment there.  

So I continue my life down here – as the boss.