Bah, drama at work yesterday

[troutman]

Anyway, if anybody out there meets the criterion of "fluent in both English and Spanish, familiar with legal work, and looking for a job in upstate SC" -- pm me. Seriously.

 

No, I am not just putting this out on this forum, but instead wherever I can think of.

 

I really wish you good luck on finding a replacement. Not trying to stir up any sh**!

 

De Nada. Yo hablo espanol un poquito.

 

Translation: " don't worry, tis nothing. I speak spanish just a little bit" I intended to continue with "but not nearly enough to deal with these clients" but don't know enough Spanish to say that in Spanish.

 

 

:ebert:

 

Have a great weekend!

[Dread Pirate Robert]

Anyway, if anybody out there meets the criterion of "fluent in both English and Spanish, familiar with legal work, and looking for a job in upstate SC" -- pm me. Seriously.

 

No, I am not just putting this out on this forum, but instead wherever I can think of.

 

I really wish you good luck on finding a replacement. Not trying to stir up any sh**!

 

De Nada. Yo hablo espanol un poquito.

 

Translation: " don't worry, tis nothing. I speak spanish just a little bit" I intended to continue with "but not nearly enough to deal with these clients" but don't know enough Spanish to say that in Spanish.

 

 

:ebert:

 

Have a great weekend!

 

You too!

[Maverick]

I was out of the office at the time, but heard all about it later.

 

My bilingual (english/spanish) paralegal got fired by Big Boss in a sudden event when Big Boss learned he had inquired to a rival law firm about possible employment there, in the not unreasonable pursuit of seeing if he could get a higher paying position elsewhere. If he had applied to any other firm except that particular one, it would not have been a problem. But it just so happens that the one he inquired into was one headed by a lawyer with a history of a great deal of animosity between him and Big Boss (the extent of which said paralegal was unaware of), and when Big Boss learned that, he saw red and immediately summoned said paralegal to his office and, without giving him any chance to explain, summarily dismissed him with an icy "your services are no longer needed at this firm" and "now get the hell out".

 

Nobody bothered to inform me of that. The first I heard of it was last night when said paralegal called me to say he enjoyed working with me and was glad he had gotten to know me and how he learned a lot from me. We talked for awhile, and I told him to stay in touch, that he was not only a co-worker but a personal friend, and that I would be happy to write a good recommendation for him if he needed one.

 

Now I am stuck with many cases where the clients speak only Spanish, which I don't speak. OMG. Anybody speak fluent English and Spanish, familiar with legal work, and looking for a job in upstate SC?

 

Ah well, human drama . . .

 

Such a lie!

 

No one enjoys working with you. And certainly no one is glad to have met you.

 

[Chicken hawk]

It may be a blessing for your friend. More opportunities. To bad it has to end this way tho. How long you been with this company Closer to the heart?

[Dread Pirate Robert]

It may be a blessing for your friend. More opportunities. To bad it has to end this way tho. How long you been with this company Closer to the heart?

 

4+ years

[Mara]

First and foremost the clients need to learn to speak ENGLISH!

 

Well, they might "need" to do that, but the fact remains that they don't speak english at this moment in time.

 

Then they need to go elsewhere.

 

Regardless of that opinion, the fact remains that they are here currently and have legal cases here currently.

 

And they may be trying to learn English, but haven't yet reached the point where they can hold a coherent conversation concerning matters of great importance. Such as, for example, legal issues. One should not assume that lack of fluency = disinterest in learning English.

[satchmothesnowdog]

Big boss is a piece of shit.T

 

his is yet another reason I am self employed

[Aikenrooster]

First and foremost the clients need to learn to speak ENGLISH!

 

Well, they might "need" to do that, but the fact remains that they don't speak english at this moment in time.

 

Then they need to go elsewhere.

 

Regardless of that opinion, the fact remains that they are here currently and have legal cases here currently.

 

And they may be trying to learn English, but haven't yet reached the point where they can hold a coherent conversation concerning matters of great importance. Such as, for example, legal issues. One should not assume that lack of fluency = disinterest in learning English.

Yeah, even if you can read and speak "book" spanish, that doesn't mean you're going to be able to explain highly technical jargon to an uneducated seasonal worker(not being insensitive here, just descriptive) in their language, using their slang, and do it at full conversational speed. Heck, it would be hard enough for CTTH to explain this stuff to the average uneducated American.

 

Gees, have a liitle empathy troutman.

[Rod in Toronto]

Interesting topic...sorry about your colleague. Your boss acted like a jerk, but if I was to find any positive sides to this story, I can offer this: your boss was quite open about the reasons why he fired your friend. The corporate world is ruled more by personal preferences, acquaintances and affinities than most of us perceives or admits. I've been in situations in companies where myself or a colleague got band performance reviews or weren't promoted, and the bosses would come up with all sorts of lame excuses, leaving you tortured about the issue for months...again, at least your boss was 100% honest about the issue.

 

 

On the second topic, I'm Brazilian and lived in an English speaking country. As good as my English may be, there were times and themes I really struggled to keep up with. Arguing in your mother language is one thing, but in another one, you have a disadvantage from the get go.

[Aikenrooster]

Interesting topic...sorry about your colleague. Your boss acted like a jerk, but if I was to find any positive sides to this story, I can offer this: your boss was quite open about the reasons why he fired your friend. The corporate world is ruled more by personal preferences, acquaintances and affinities than most of us perceives or admits. I've been in situations in companies where myself or a colleague got band performance reviews or weren't promoted, and the bosses would come up with all sorts of lame excuses, leaving you tortured about the issue for months...again, at least your boss was 100% honest about the issue.

 

 

On the second topic, I'm Brazilian and lived in an English speaking country. As good as my English may be, there were times and themes I really struggled to keep up with. Arguing in your mother language is one thing, but in another one, you have a disadvantage from the get go.

Here in the southern US, it's really hard for Latino speakers to understand us, as we native speakers already have a bad accent, and most people use a lot of slang. Then, instead of slowing down, trying to use simple words, draw pictures, use hand signals, and really try and communicate, everyone starts to talk louder, overannunciate, and get angry, like that really helps. It's basically, like of empathy towards another's plight.

 

I always try to imagine if I were in China or Russia. What is the best thing that I can do to help this person really understand?

Edited May 30, 2015 by Ayn Rand

[Rod in Toronto]

I think talking slowly and trying to explain it in a different way are helpful. Raising the voice and appear annoyed only make things worse.

[Ancient Ways]

First and foremost the clients need to learn to speak ENGLISH!

 

Well, they might "need" to do that, but the fact remains that they don't speak english at this moment in time.

 

Then they need to go elsewhere.

 

Regardless of that opinion, the fact remains that they are here currently and have legal cases here currently.

 

And they may be trying to learn English, but haven't yet reached the point where they can hold a coherent conversation concerning matters of great importance. Such as, for example, legal issues. One should not assume that lack of fluency = disinterest in learning English.

Yeah, even if you can read and speak "book" spanish, that doesn't mean you're going to be able to explain highly technical jargon to an uneducated seasonal worker(not being insensitive here, just descriptive) in their language, using their slang, and do it at full conversational speed. Heck, it would be hard enough for CTTH to explain this stuff to the average uneducated American.

 

Gees, have a liitle empathy troutman.

One of the last remaining popular forms of discrimination is this language discrimination. We live in a large interconnected world and it is not possible to learn every possible language you might need. Plus, who's to say they aren't learning but are more comfortable in their native language. As someone that learned Spanish as an adult I can tell you I will never be as comfortable in Spanish as I am in English. While I'm sorry trout mans friend was in an accident I'm not sure language had much to do with it.

[Tony R]

First and foremost the clients need to learn to speak ENGLISH!

When you are in business you cater to your clients. You don't make demands on them.

 

Its not a demand,

 

It is and should be a requirement.

 

You trying to get this thread moved to SOCN?

 

Not at all,

 

In fact I was just thinking this. I will leave it at that. I had a really good friend that was in a car accident and the person who hit her could not speak english when he was caught. If I were in another country I would learn the languge plain and simple. Thats all I am saying here.

 

You are a tool.

 

Most English speakers from US and UK make no effort to learn the local lingo when moving to a non-English speaking country. Instead they live near other English speaking ex-pats and frequent bars and restaurants run by other English-speaking ex-pats.

[Aikenrooster]

First and foremost the clients need to learn to speak ENGLISH!

 

Well, they might "need" to do that, but the fact remains that they don't speak english at this moment in time.

 

Then they need to go elsewhere.

 

Regardless of that opinion, the fact remains that they are here currently and have legal cases here currently.

 

And they may be trying to learn English, but haven't yet reached the point where they can hold a coherent conversation concerning matters of great importance. Such as, for example, legal issues. One should not assume that lack of fluency = disinterest in learning English.

Yeah, even if you can read and speak "book" spanish, that doesn't mean you're going to be able to explain highly technical jargon to an uneducated seasonal worker(not being insensitive here, just descriptive) in their language, using their slang, and do it at full conversational speed. Heck, it would be hard enough for CTTH to explain this stuff to the average uneducated American.

 

Gees, have a liitle empathy troutman.

One of the last remaining popular forms of discrimination is this language discrimination. We live in a large interconnected world and it is not possible to learn every possible language you might need. Plus, who's to say they aren't learning but are more comfortable in their native language. As someone that learned Spanish as an adult I can tell you I will never be as comfortable in Spanish as I am in English. While I'm sorry trout mans friend was in an accident I'm not sure language had much to do with it.

I was involved in an accident where some of the members of the other party didn't speak English. They were also the most frightened. I really felt bad for them, especially the female driver who was driving, who didn't have a license, and was driving because her husband had been drinking. It was late at night, she was unlicensed, and I'm driving a tractor trailer and it could have been very tragic, except that I was light loaded and I was able to slam on the brakes and only tap them before stopping. They still spun and hit the embankment.

 

Hell, I had MORE empathy for the wife and her child, who I knew were very shook up and couldn't even speak the language and probably scared about not being legal citizens and so forth. I don't see how one can get mad at another human being because they speak a different language or they have a different skin color and so forth and so on.

[Principled Man]

Oddly, my employer is the exact opposite of the one in question here. A huge corporation, top level Fortune 500, and yet, the management staff at my place is deathly afraid of firing anyone. The 4-5 troublemakers and loonies who make everyone else's day miserable have virtually unlimited leeway to do whatever they want. When they do get sent to the office, the meek and passive management staff simply has a chat with all parties to "keep the peace"......and then the wrongerdoers go right back to work.....free to resume their misconduct. :facepalm: