Why does the attorney's name go on work I actually did?
You draft it. You catch the errors. You know the statute better than the person whose signature closes the file. Then another name goes on top, and yours goes nowhere. You feel it every time. So does everyone on your team who does this work. That resentment is not vanity. It is your mind correctly reporting a mismatch between effort and credit. Do not talk yourself out of it. But do not stop at feeling it, either — feeling it changes nothing about the next document you prepare. What you can control is not the signature line. It's the price you and your pod ask in exchange for the work that signature depends on. Pay. Title. Authority. A say in which clients you serve. Name the price together. Then ask for it, out loud, as a group.
Your anger is not the problem — it is accurate information. The name on the document was never a measure of who did the work; it measures who carries the liability. You cannot change whose name the law requires. You can choose what you demand in return, and from whom.
What changes unlock by starting
- A written list of what your pod actually produces, with your names attached.
- One specific, agreed ask instead of scattered private complaints.
- A date on the calendar when that ask gets made.
- Less resentment sitting idle, because it now has a job to do.