Board of Veterans Appeals (Attorney Advisor)
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
Management is actively hostile toward people who complain, so many people were not willing to sign the document knowing that their names would be public. It is a very toxic work environment. If you get a good judge you will be okay, but you won't be happy. It's a pretty terrible job. If you have spent any time practicing law, this job is not for you. You are more like a factory worker than a lawyer, with an extremely high production requirement, and bosses who couldn't care less about what the stresses of the job are, and what is going on in the world. For example, during Covid, they are giving a LOT of lip service to being nice and understanding, but they are making no concrete steps to prove this, despite the fact that there are things they can do for people to make their lives easier. Many of the lawyers I know have practiced in firms and in other gov positions. yes, out in the private world you need to work hard and bill hours, which doesn't exist at the BVA, but the reality is most people are working 50 plus hours a week and it is still a production based job. You're just another cog in the wheel. If you're not producing, for whatever reason, they toss you to the side and replace you with someone else. It is a toxic inhumane and unsustainable work environment. Good luck! |
Anonymous
+1 Those who have not worked at the Board will not understand how terrible the working conditions are at the Board. Yes, the legal profession is unforgiving and involves long working hours; however, I have never ever in my life seen or experienced a working environment where management and judges will actively work in unison to destroy an employee. Management will fire anyone who complains, and when I say complain, I mean that very broadly. I know several attorneys at the Board who were fired or forced to resign just for requesting reassignment to a new judge. |
Anonymous
|
Repost due to typos.
Those who have not worked at the Board will not understand how terrible the working conditions are at the Board. Yes, the legal profession is unforgiving and involves long working hours; however, I have never ever in my life seen or experienced a working environment like the Board where management and judges will actively work in unison to destroy an employee. Management will fire anyone who complains, and when I say complain, I mean that very broadly. I know several attorneys at the Board who were fired or forced to resign just for requesting reassignment to a new judge. |
Anonymous
|
Oh my. I have considered applying to this job before to leave my sucky staff attorney position but I'm not that desperate (yet). This job sounds like my nightmare -- reviewing over 1,000 pages and writing a decently reasoned decision all in one day? Or not reviewing them and then feeling guilty when you deny?
No thanks. I'll stick with the devil I know, where the associates know less than I do and the some of the partners treat me like I just crawled out from under a rock but the pay is decent and I know what the hell I'm doing. |
Anonymous
| So, I was extended a TO last week. I was to submit my OF306 and Fingerprints by today, which I have done. I have to complete eQIP by 6.27.20, but they have not sent me the log-in credentials. Does that mean they are likely going to rescind my offer? I did have a couple of terminations in the last three years that I disclosed on my OF306 (one for cause for criticizing my colleague and the other was just at-will b/c not a god fit for me). I really want to work here. I love research and writing. I don't like being in court or arguing anymore. |
Anonymous
(I should mention, these other positions were local county government, nothing federal.) |
Anonymous
|
Your terminations won’t be a problem because the Board needs warm bodies to fill seats - the turnover rate there is tremendous.. Do you know what you are getting yourself into? Here’s a survey of nearly 400 Board attorneys.
https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track/?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A4dc55b1b-80ed-4b2c-9e0a-155be961d998&pageNum=1 By the way, you won’t be doing any legal research. You will be expected to review 3.5 cases a week. For each case, you will need to review 2,000 to 10,000 pages of evidence and write a 10-20 page decision. The job is no walk in the park and management regularly fires attorneys or forces them to resign. Read the survey. Do you want another termination on your record, this time from a federal agency? |
Anonymous
Thanks. I have reviewed everything (and I mean everything!). I am not concerned for someone like me (an introvert). I like writing! I am single. I have a ton of time. I routinely worked 40+ hours a week. I was a county prosecutor and law clerk (10 years), and the only part I liked was reading, thinking, and writing. I hated meeting people, talking with witnesses, doing jury trials, etc.... I loved appellate work. Med recs are no big deal to me. I dealt with them all the time as a prosecutor, and reviewed them all the time as a law clerk. You just need to figure out what relates to the issues. Not every page matters. But, I understand everyone's concerns. |
Anonymous
|
Okay, but I bet you have never worked in an environment like the Board. Management views anyone who complains, even someone who requests a new supervisor, as a threat. Based on your work history, it appears that you like to argue with colleagues. If you argue with your judge or supervisor, you will likely be fired.
No one begins work at the Board expecting to be fired. To the contrary, most people probably think they will excel. Unfortunately, that is not the case for many people. Based on your experiences, I’m guessing you are probably an older individual. The Board has a poor record of retaining older attorneys, particularly at the junior level. You have a lot of experience under your belt. Why do you want to take a GS-11 position at one of the worst agencies in the federal government? There are much better positions out there. |
Anonymous
I welcome and appreciate all input. You are right, I am older, mid 30s. I have done a lot, but not what I wanted. I fell into the county-prosecution role back when the economy collapsed in 08, 09, 10, and I excelled at it, but I did not care for it. I have never made a ton of money. The GS11 is good for me. I was never drawn to biglaw, and biglaw did not want me because I went to a middle-tier school and was only top 20%. And, of course, and I have learned from my termination for criticizing my colleague. While there might be other positions out there, this is the opportunity open to me right now. And it beats unemployment for me. I don't enjoy arguing with colleagues. I made a comment to a friend, which she stupidly relayed to another colleague, who then relayed it to management because he was a tattletale. So, I just learned to keep my mouth shut. |
Anonymous
| And, as someone with “a couple of terminations in the past three years, what makes you think that the Board, which is quick to fire attorneys and does so regularly, will decide to retain you past your two year probationary period? Given your history, I’d say the odds are quite high that you will be fired with 12 months of your start date. |
Anonymous
| If you do accept a job at the Board, as a fellow introvert, I will caution you that introverts are viewed as easy targets primarily because they don’t stand up for themselves and don’t have many allies at work. |
Anonymous
All I can say to this is that I hope it does not turn out like that. But, I need to get the job first. haha. |
Anonymous
Thanks. Good to know. |
Anonymous
| I heard there is remote work at the Board. That sounds like a great perk. It might be worth the abuse for the flexibility. |