It's not wise to upset a Wookiee.

So its always interesting to watch someone assume a new position of power.

At work, we have two departments: litigation and IP. An aisle separates us physically, but the division does not end there. The two departments have taken on distinct characteristics, from the people that work there to the way they do business. IP is like a Wookiee—big, loud, irate, messy fighters; Litigation is more like a Jedi—quiet, mindful, slow to anger, but deadly.

When I was hired, IP also hired three new interns. They unconsciously established a pecking order and at the bottom of the heap was a guy we will call Anakin a) to preserve his anonymity and 2) because the name is appropriate for the story I am trying to tell. Anakin was a nice guy, quiet, reserved, oblivious to the fact that he was destined to become a Wookiee. He was a nice change from the fuzz and carnage of IP.

Until this week. IP added another grunting to the pecking order, and Anakin began his quick decline to the Dark Side. It was subtle at first, mostly explaining to the new guy how important he was to the office. Then he would loudly say hi to every big-wig and muckity-muck that would walk down the neutral zone between departments: “Hey Dan, how's it going?” “Bob! What's up?” “Great weather we're having, Dave.” “Nakamoto-san, how's it hanging?” For most if not all of these people, the response is: “…………........................” with the sounds of crickets chirping in the background while the lawyer looks at Anakin to try to figure out who this kid is and why he is shouting at him. Now he talks boisterously of polymer compounds and Chinese Law, patents and inventors. His telephone conversations reverberate throughout the office, adding to the cacophony of all the other IP lawyers discussing every intimate detail of their personal lives on speaker phone. I'm worried that the next time I poke my head over my cube, I'm going to see him standing on his desk, wearing nothing but metal sash, pounding on his chest and yelling like Chewie.

I hope the new guy turns out to be more like Luke. He’s kind of cute and I would hate to see him turn into a big hairy beast.