Friday, July 22, 2011

Who's The Boss?

From September 1985 to February 1988 I worked as a temporary paralegal at the law firm of Hogan & Hartson. My supervisor from September 1985 till the spring of 1987 was an individual named Sheryl Ferguson.   It was Sheryl Ferguson who created the Computer Applications Department at Hogan to which I was assigned.  She majored in psychology at Cornell University.  She was a hard-nosed manager of superior intelligence.

In late 1985 Hogan's then managing partner Bob Glen Odle sent a memo to all departmental managers at the firm advising that the firm's policy was that there were to be no departmental Christmas parties for employees.  The firm held a firm Christmas party at the Mayflower Hotel to which all employees were invited.  That was it: one firm party, no other parties.

In defiance of the managing partner's directive, Sheryl Ferguson arranged her own Christmas party for employees of the Computer Applications Department.  She even invited the managing partner -- and he came!  Sheryl Ferguson had a mind of her own.  Yes, Sheryl Ferguson was a woman after my own heart!

2 comments:

My Daily Struggles said...

I can still recall that Computer Applications Department employee John Firsching had just completed his orals for his Ph.D. in linguistics from Georgetown University. Talk about being underemployed!

If you're name is Firsching you can be underemployed. If your name denotes membership in another minority ethnic group, God help you if you're underemployed!!

My Daily Struggles said...

And they say I'm difficult to supervise?