As they say, you can't win for trying. We all get a comment like that and cannot help but scratch our head and wonder what disconnect happened. I write for a different reason and with a story and suggestion. When I was in practice (a small firm with two partners and one associate - me), whenever we had briefs due the partners would always ask the court for a Monday due date - they always came into the office on the weekends, so having the couple of extra days was barely a second thought to them. For me who was actually writing the brief it meant that no matter when I got them the brief, I would always be called into work on that weekend (a time that I typically did not go into work). I finally raised the issue and argued that if we asked for a Friday deadline for a brief, then we can all have the weekend to do as we please instead of being beholden to the work. It worked - no more Monday due dates! For this reason, as a teacher, I never give a Monday deadline. I tell the story and tell the students that if they need extra time (which I typically grant), it is their weekend that they are taking from themselves.
As they say, you can't win for trying. We all get a comment like that and cannot help but scratch our head and wonder what disconnect happened. I write for a different reason and with a story and suggestion. When I was in practice (a small firm with two partners and one associate - me), whenever we had briefs due the partners would always ask the court for a Monday due date - they always came into the office on the weekends, so having the couple of extra days was barely a second thought to them. For me who was actually writing the brief it meant that no matter when I got them the brief, I would always be called into work on that weekend (a time that I typically did not go into work). I finally raised the issue and argued that if we asked for a Friday deadline for a brief, then we can all have the weekend to do as we please instead of being beholden to the work. It worked - no more Monday due dates! For this reason, as a teacher, I never give a Monday deadline. I tell the story and tell the students that if they need extra time (which I typically grant), it is their weekend that they are taking from themselves.