Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Washington, as a city, is soft. Everyone down there postures like they’re living out some Machiavellian fantasy camp, but it’s just a toxic melange of spoiled brats and rank incompetents. While the country relies upon its officials to keep the government open, these people can’t stop bitching about the “profound discrimination” they face whenever they go to a Chili’s or lamenting that they can’t find anyone willing to swipe right for a right-wing thug. Even the lawyers in DC can’t help but whine about everything.
Which is why the tempest in a teapot brewing over Senator Amy Klobuchar’s treatment of her staff is the height of ludicrous.
The run-up to Klobuchar’s expected presidential campaign launch on Sunday was sidetracked by former aides, speaking anonymously for fear of retribution, who described a toxic office environment including demeaning emails, thrown office supplies and requests for staff to perform personal chores for the senator. It’s a sharp departure from the public brand that Klobuchar has built to get to this moment: a pragmatic, aw-shucks Minnesotan who gets things done and wins her state by landslide margins.
I’m so sorry the job of running a country wasn’t the non-stop party the staff expected coming off their legacy Harvard appointments.
Klobuchar grew up as a lawyer practicing at Dorsey & Whitney and Gray Plant Mooty in Minnesota for almost a decade before running for public office. Big firms and big firms, folks. It’s the football of professional America — a culture of yelling and bravado that keeps passing itself on to the next generation, documented health crises be damned.
This isn’t to say the culture of bullying in Biglaw is a good thing. Left unchecked it can demolish morale and there’s not a ton to suggest that fear actually brings the best out of workers — free pizza seems does a better job. Plus, the fundamentally brotastic culture that Biglaw abuse engenders can easily spill over into sexual harassment — even if at the top the culture flows from a woman.
It’s just not something to pout about and the only aspect of this story that should be raising questions about her presidential aspirations is whether she can hire an Interior Secretary who won’t start crying under their desk.
It may be a tough culture, it may not be for everybody, but if it’s not something you can hack, then get out. People bail on Biglaw every day. Others stick around and try their hand at reforming the workplace or lending their support to the terrorized staff. Klobuchar should be a better boss. Hopefully someday that will change and she’ll learn to inspire with a little more carrot and a little less scathing indictment. Harry Reid apparently privately intervened to help improve staff conditions in Klobuchar’s office, and that’s an entirely appropriate way of dealing with a situation like this.
But the only level of narcissism that tops someone who thinks they need to create a culture of fear to get the best from their staff is the narcissism that believes your work woes deserve to be aired in public on the weekend your old boss announces a presidential bid.
Klobuchar’s opening pitch sidetracked by staff horror stories [Politico]
Earlier: When You’ve Broken Over Five (5) Staplers By Throwing Them at Paralegals, It’s Time To Get Help
Why Are D.C. Lawyers Such Frigging Babies?
The Bullying In Biglaw Is Off The Charts — And Managing Partners Are Too Scared To Stop It
Klobuchar Staffers Complain Like Whiny Biglaw Associates curated from Above the Law
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