Law firm hires outside applicant after promising paralegal position to legal assistant for 4 years: 'Calling out tomorrow and have 2 interviews lined up'

Brad Dickson • Managing Editor

Oct 11, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

Getting rejected or passed over for a promotion that you've been promised for years is always going to leave a bad taste in your mouth. You might believe the words of your employer when they tell you that your efforts will one day lead you to a higher role. And, yet, every time the opportunity presents itself to promote you, they go with someone else, and you're faced with that, no matter what their intentions might have initially been, they're dangling a carrot on a stick out in front of you that they're never going to let you catch.

The reality is that for what you're paid, you're too valuable right where you're at, and not only would they have to pay you more to promote you, but they'd be losing their most reliable workhorse, too.

That's what this legal assistant shared experiencing when, for four years, they had been promised that they'd be moved into the role of a paralegal, despite continuously glowing reviews, they were repeatedly passed over and left waiting for the promotion they had been promised. When the latest paralegal was hired, it was done without even posting the role; they only discovered that the firm had hired someone when another attorney needed to move desks to make room for the new hire. Frustrated, the legal assistant shared their experience with this online community, voicing their frustration and sharing how they immediately lined up two interviews for which they would be calling out of work to attend.