Elderly lawyer refuses to retire

Apologies at the outset for the very long post. I have worked for a county prosecutor for ten and a half years. The entire time I've worked in this agency we have been the only two in the office. We have an odd relationship, neither of us people especially well and aren't social. We really don't talk at all. We don't talk like I don't know how many kids he has, but I know he and his wife are both on their second marriages and had a Brady bunch situation. I bet he couldn’t tell someone on the fly what my husband’s name is. I have only half-joked that if I suddenly went missing and the only person to ask was him no one would ever find me because he wouldn’t be able to give enough of a description beyond female, I think she might wear glasses, maybe kind of short. lol

He just celebrated his 76th birthday and his 50th year in the bar. When he hired me, he told me it was his last term. That was 2014, and he continues to run. As of now, he has about 2.5 years left on his current term. He needs to retire. His cognitive decline is significant. He has COPD and is usually gray because he isn't getting enough oxygen. I believe if he'd let the doctors put him on a tank he'd probably improve. Local attorneys have told our Judges that they know I am the one doing all the work and electronically signing his name. This isn't news to either Judge. I prepare every document that comes out of this office and turn it in to him for review.
I know beyond a doubt that he isn't reviewing most of it, just skims, makes sure it's signed, and gives it back to me. If it's a rare statute or something I’m unsure about, I'll stick a note on it to catch his eye to review it closer
for me. He'll decline more than he files if I give him the report/citation/etc. to review first. But if I type it all up, he says it’s good to go because he isn’t reading the reports.

My Judges say I'm safe from the practicing law without a license issue because I'm giving it all to him to review. I'm not filing anything with the court that he hasn't touched. The local attorneys joke how they will go to him and ask if there's an offer on a case and he'll always say no. So, they come back with "we can always
prepare for trial" and there will be an offer. He has not been in front of a jury in probably 6 years. They know if they catch him in the hall they can get a handshake deal because he doesn't know his caseload. If he doesn't get a phone call or email about a case, he doesn't look at it until he's in the courtroom. He can no longer provide a factual basis in court; he's just relying on the defense attorneys to stipulate to factual basis.

Someone reported him to the Council on Discipline, the Attorney General's office, and the state bar a
couple of years ago but all they did was send him a copy of the letter, ask for his response, and let it go. Historically the County Attorney in this county find their successors, and he's not looking. A couple of weeks ago we had a couple of attorneys report to the Judge that they smelled alcohol on him in court after lunch, he was throwing up in the bathroom off and on throughout the day and he was barely functional in court. They didn't tell me any of this until he'd left for the day so I let him drive himself home totally unaware. The Judge came to me after court, and after he'd left, and told me to call his wife because she thought he was going to have a stroke in the courtroom. His wife doesn't see anything wrong with him and actually said she doesn't see the things I see because she's around him all the time. She told me that it would kill him not to have somewhere to go every day. Without exaggeration, he comes in the morning and plays solitaire on his computer. Then he'll go through his inbox and hand it back to me on his way to lunch. He comes back from lunch and plays solitaire until 3, gives me the stuff out of his inbox, and leaves. Other than cigar breaks, that's it, that's his entire day. Unless he's napping at his desk, which always gets a comment from folks walking by. There's been reports to the County Sheriff about his driving, and it pains me the damage he's doing
to the office. This office has become a laughing stock in the community because disturbing the peace is his go-to offer to amend everything from DUIs to assaults. Including a Child Abuse/Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor case this week that was reduced to Disturbing the Peace(which still boggles my
mind). Or he will just dismiss a case for costs. A couple of years ago we had a teen girl who was sexually assaulted by a classmate at school, on camera. She had to change schools twice because the boy was stalking her. My attorney reduced it to disturbing the peace, a $100/fine + court costs, no probation, nothing else. The kid walked out of court free as a bird. That family moved out of the county after that and I can’t blame them. But he will die on the hill of something that has flimsy evidentiary value. If someone comes in or calls to
dispute their case and they get at all frustrated he literally yells "Well I'm not going to argue with you about it" throws up his hands and walks away, or hangs up on them. Leaving them standing at my desk dumbfounded.

I don't know where to go from here. The Judges know what's going on, but are hesitant to report him to
the Council themselves because of professional courtesy. I understand that, once upon a time he was an amazing attorney, but those days have long since passed. I would have thought that given the content of the letter the Council/AG/bar association got someone would have done something more than send a copy and ask what's your response. BTW, it was "frankly I'm shocked by this", I'm fine, court is fine. Everything is fine. I wasn't aware that so many attorneys knew how much of the work I was doing, though I had noticed how much nicer they were all being to me over the last few years. :) Pity helps with some things, I guess.

If his wife won't convince him to retire, and he won't retire on his own, and the people that are in charge of the attorneys won't help...where does one turn? I have two great fears about him: That he'll die in his chair, or someone will die/be seriously injured because of a decision he made.

in paralegalby Rienab75

97%

23d

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Am_I_the_Villan

Paralegal

23d

Solidarity. My atty is 80 and the last 4 months was hospitalized for heart failure. He surprisingly recovered and is now back to working.

He's not understanding why he's feeling badly and has no energy. Idk dude, maybe it's because you're ducking 80.

Rienab75

23d

RIGHT?! I have no intention of still pulling an 8 hour day doing anything but relaxing in my hammock with a good book at 76. When I told his wife he didn't need to be here all day, every day, she was shocked. I wanted to ask, what is it you think he's doing all day? Cause it isn't answering the phone or helping people at the front desk. If I'm away from my desk or out of the office the phone goes unanswered. I had to ban him from our email account because he'd check it in his office, delete what he'd read (without answering it), then empty the trash. Which makes it very hard for me to respond to emails went they're gone. I almost prefer the attorney I worked for that didn't know what email was, it would never occur to him to go in and start deleting things. I have no idea why he'd drive to the office to play solitaire all day. I freely admit I scream in my car, "Why are you already here?!" when he beats me to the office in the morning. Although last week I came in and he was already here but had fallen asleep in his chair, I was almost positive he was dead.

Am_I_the_Villan

Paralegal

23d

Ugh what a nightmare. I monitor my attys email but he's been known to email the two other partners instructions, sometimes with not nice things to say, and copy the client (unknowingly, cuz ya know he's 80!).

I freely admit I scream in my car, "Why are you already here?!" when he beats me to the office in the morning.

Omg lmfao that sucks so bad. I can totally see that too, I was there with my last firm (also an old attorney, retired by 70 tho) yelling why are you here.

last week I came in and he was already here but had fallen asleep in his chair, I was almost positive he was dead.

Ok but in all seriousness, you have to quit and find another job. If not soley for the reason of avoiding trauma when you do find him dead. Trauma therapy is expensive, like I went for two years twice a week and it cost me $6k total. Just sayin'.

I bet any of those attorneys you know, the younger ones, would take you in a heartbeat.

Rienab75

18d

We have a fascinating side-by-side with one of the defense attorneys that works this area. He's the same age as my boss but whip-smart. He is so sharp, and it is amazing to see them in the courtroom together. It's a perfect showing of the difference between caring for oneself and not. You'd think the defense attorney was 10-20 years younger it is so wildly different.