Hi! First time poster.
I have been a paralegal at the same PI firm since 2023, started working in prelit, then moved into litigation. I am starting law school very soon (summer semester) and am planning on continuing to work at the firm while in school.
I work directly under 2 attorneys, both of whom have been very supportive of me going to school. Between both attorneys, I typically handle between 120-135 cases (which ngl, has been a lot at times)
I originally thought the plan was that I would be handing off one of my attorney’s cases to a different paralegal at the firm, and cutting my hours to be part time when classes start. For the last couple weeks, I have been preparing to hand over the cases. The communication through this has been practically non existent, and I was not aware what the plan would be until this morning. (Not out of the ordinary. I received very little training when I initially became a paralegal)
I let my boss know what my hours would be when classes start. I would be part time, so I would be making less than what I do as a full time employee. That was fine with me, but apparently, all the cases I thought would be handed over will still be my responsibility, but any new cases assigned to the attorney will be handled by the other paralegal.
Is this normal? My hours will be significantly reduced, but for all intents and purposes, I will still be working the same amount. I thought handling one attorney’s cases would be doable in school, but I feel like handling both attorneys’ cases in less time for less pay will be unsustainable at best. I am also terrified of messing up cases because of the time constraints. All in all, I am beginning to feel resentful that this was decided without my input.
Am I overreacting and stressing myself out for nothing? Should I ask to keep my regular salary if I will still be handling both?