{"id":2403,"date":"2026-06-18T08:36:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T08:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2403"},"modified":"2026-06-18T08:36:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T08:36:52","slug":"miss-manners-they-ask-me-to-make-copies-like-im-not-an-attorney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2403","title":{"rendered":"Miss Manners: They ask me to make copies like I&#8217;m not an attorney"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>DEAR MISS MANNERS<\/strong>: I am a 25-year-old-lawyer who worked as a law clerk for a year before passing the bar exam.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2402\">Dear Abby: I hide my resentment, but it has fueled my deathbed plan<\/a><\/p>\n<p>When I accompany the partner to hearings where a client is present, I invariably get asked whether I am still in law school or how I like being a paralegal.<\/p>\n<p>What is the appropriate response? Also, when I am in the office, sometimes potential clients will walk in and ask me to make copies for them (assuming the secretary is not there). I usually do this graciously, but I am wondering if there is something I can say to establish the fact that I am an attorney.<\/p>\n<p><strong>GENTLE READER:<\/strong> That you were willing to make the copies for the client shows your heart was in the right place \u2014 which Miss Manners agrees is no small thing after three years of law school and a year of court.<\/p>\n<p>But unfortunately, she has to say that your head was not. If you think the partner, having observed either of these interactions with clients, was going to shout, \u201cPromote that person immediately \u2014 we need more people who put the client first!\u201d you would have been wrong.<\/p>\n<p>What he or she was really thinking was, \u201cIf that person cannot even explain to a client that they are not the secretary or a paralegal, how are they going to stand up to an angry judge?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The correct thing to say to the client at the office is, \u201cHow do you do? I\u2019m So-and-so, an attorney here at the firm. But let me find you a secretary who can help you.\u201d The answer to the client at the hearing is, \u201cI am really enjoying being an associate here at the firm.\u201d Then give a reason why the work you are doing for the firm is even more interesting than your clerkship \u2014 throwing in the name of the judge you worked for.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2401\">\u2018The Real L Word\u2019 star Francine Beppu\u2019s cause of death revealed<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Business manners are different than social manners, and most lawyers are used to being contradicted without taking offense. They may even recognize the courage it took for you to speak up.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>DEAR MISS MANNERS<\/strong>: I am a female homeowner who lives in a two-story house. Mostly the living area is upstairs, after a 15-step staircase with a small landing before the turn.<\/p>\n<p>If someone comes to my house who has never been, or a worker to do a repair or something, do I lead the way up the stairs or am I the one who follows, looking at the other person\u2019s butt? Does it make a difference if the newcomer is male or female?<\/p>\n<p><strong>GENTLE READER<\/strong>: Etiquette is neutral on who leads, unless the passage is challenging, in which case you would want to go first to act as guide.<\/p>\n<p>As to what there is to see along the way, Miss Manners hopes that whoever follows will have the common courtesy, if not the common sense, to follow at a modest distance and with eyes elsewhere \u2014 no ifs, ands, buts or butts.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, gentlereader@missmanners.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2399\">Pittsburg residents voice frustration over approved data center<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Miss Manners: How do I politely establish my credentials? Plus: Am I supposed to lead my guest up the stairs or follow?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":90,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Miss Manners: They ask me to make copies like I&#8217;m not an attorney - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2403\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Miss Manners: They ask me to make copies like I&#8217;m not an attorney - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Miss Manners: How do I politely establish my credentials? 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