Lawyer Satisfaction Blog

I had the opportunity and the privilege yesterday to make a presentation entitled "Think Small: Learning About and Locating Positions in Small Law Firms" for the New York State Bar Association. About 30 who registered were "live" in the "studio" at the law office of Lauren Wachtler, the chair of the Committee on Lawyers in Transition. An additional 175 registered for the webcast

THE VIDEO OF THIS 110 MINUTE WORKSHOP IS NOW ACCESSIBLE ON-LINE HERE..

BEFORE YOU BEGIN, HOWEVER, READ BELOW!

IF YOU DECIDE TO VIEW IT, I SUGGEST YOU DO THE FOLLOWING:
1. PAUSE THE VIDEO AS IT BEGINS;
2, CLICK THE ATTACHMENT ICON AFTER "HANDOUT #1 SUGGESTED READING ";
3. DO THE READING AND THE EXERCISES; AND THEN.
4, WATCH THE VIDEO

I initially talk about how we got to this point (my 50th year in the legal profession) where the vast majority of the public are unable to obtain the services of a lawyer and the vast majority of lawyers are dissatisfied. (I quote from the recent American Bar Foundation "After the JD" press release indicating that 59% of the associates from what they refer to as the "top ten law schools" intend to leave their present large firm employers within 2 years and that those in firms of greater than 250 lawyers are less satisfied than their counterparts in smaller firms.)

I state my belief that the culprit are the law schools which funnel their students to BigLaw through on-campus interviewing and ignore those unable to be interviewed and, in the process, neglect the legal needs of the public by failing to teach skills, values and career planning and charging outrageous amounts for tuition, far greater than the worth of the services delivered. My experience in the last 25 years leads me to conclude that lawyers who are unhappy because they are unable to find employment or dissatisfied at the law firm the law school "placed" them in, will invariably suffer from a lack of self-confidence, self-respect and self-worth.

The second part of the program begins with making lawyers aware of one of the four fundamental values of the legal profession - the commitment of a lawyer to take a position consistent with his or her professional goals and personal values. I then suggest how to go about finding a position in a small firm pointing out that 66% of all lawyers in private practice are in firms of 5 or less lawyers. I advise that they choose and area of law, find out who does it, make contact with some to promote and market yourself, keep doing something and eventually accept a position likely to provide career satisfaction.

I also suggest that, as they implement this process, they might want to look at themselves as independent contractors and, rather than limiting themselves to jobs as employees, look for opportunities to work part-time for one lawyer, then one or two others until they are full time partners, associates or solos.

The program raised a number of issues. Whether or not you view the webinar, I invite you to comment and share what you think about these or any related topics: the legal needs of the public; the need for major restructuring of legal education; OCI and the funnel; dissatisfaction of lawyers in BigLaw; the lack of self-confidence of lawyers generally; the opportunities in small firms.

I HOPE YOU FIND THIS PROGRAM HELPS YOU IN YOUR SEARCH FOR CAREER SATISFACTION..

Ron Fox .

Many of you are aware of LawShucks which has become well known for keeping track of the number of lawyers and staff laid off from BigLaw. Recently someone began to post his/her thoughts under the title of The Laid Off Diary

As I read the articles, I recognized that the diarist, although likely not having the background and experience of a career planner, had distilled in the various articles the essence and fundamentals of the approach I employ in helping lawyers make a transition from dissatisfaction or unemployment to, hopefully, a satisfying position.

I took excerpts from many of the posts in the diary and, with the approval of Law Shucks and its diarist, present them here. I think you will find what follows worth reading.

EXCERPTS FROM THE LAID OFF DIARY

Apple
It's so easy to have taken the path we did. Major in some bullshit liberal arts degree, whack through the LSAT for a few hours, get into a good law school, study two weeks before each final for an OPEN BOOK final, be wined and dined for two summers, wear nice suits and have the little numbers in our bank account go up and up.... but through all of this, did most of us actually stop and think about what we WANT to do? what our GOAL is?

Falling Forward
We are all entrepreneurs of life in some sense trying to find the idea that is a home run... Sure, there are some formula one race car drivers that were groomed from the age of 4 or gymnasts whose parents sent them to gymnastics training at the age of 6 but not all of us had our paths laid out in front of us like that. Moreover, even laid out paths might end up like the roll over bar and be a bust even though it seemed like a golden fail proof idea. For some, BigLaw seemed like a pig-in-shit perfect path for them but at the end of the day, it might just be the shit without the pig (er...well, you get the idea). Sure, our endeavor into BigLaw was costly (student loans, time spent and brain cells killed studying for the bar, and self-esteem and dignity lost through working in BigLaw), but let's try to learn from this lesson, move on, and fall forward

Valuation Model
It's simple logic. If you sacrifice X for Y, make sure Y is more valuable than X. It might be that BigLaw is your dream job, it is what gets you going in the morning, and it is more important to you than family (I'd hate to be you). But if it's not, make sure you know that. Make sure during the valuation of your life and the things in it, your model correctly reflects the true value of your job. And don't just use the blue book value or the value that other people tell you it has, be honest with yourself and use the value that correctly reflects whether it is a mint condition Maybach 57 or a beat up rusty piece of shit with rips in the sticky nylon seats that smells oddly of cat piss and cotton candy.

Laying Seeds
But everything I'm doing now makes me think about these damn bean stalks. I've called every partner, senior associate, recruiter, or professional contact that I've made since I've been laid off. They've all tried to help and give me advice but nothing has come to fruition. I've been following leads, trying to branch out, making new contacts, etc. Sometimes when I see a job opportunity, I work myself up over it and get the feeling "this is the job! this is it! I'm made!" but I either don't get the job or it turns out to be b.s.

Benefit
I will admit that I was able to benefit from my time in the slammer doing hard legal labor, which consisted of 60-70 hours of busy boring and unchallenging work, and that I am much more competent than most people I meet. I won't claim that I'm more competent than my peers who worked in TinyLaw because they may have an expertise that I do not have because they worked in TinyLaw (e.g. a trial lawyer at a plaintiff's firm has much more trial experience than most BigLaw trial lawyer) but I do believe that I at least sound pretty damn sophisticated and it comes from 1) being able to talk out of my ass flawlessly, and 2) working on sophisticated deals in BigLaw.

Journey
When I first started writing to you, I did it because I was 1) fed up with BigLaw; 2) bored; 3) enjoy bitching and thought you'd like to hear about it; and 4) wanted to tell people about the "real" truth about BigLaw (or at least as I perceived it). But I've discovered that this has now become a diary of my journey and transformation as just another "lawyer" into... I'd like to cross over to business and do something creative but I have to admit, it's difficult not to just fall back into being a "lawyer" because that's what I know and that's how the world sees me. But now I have to break through that image and reinvent myself that is both in the legal world and in the business/entrepreneurial world. Will this diary be as moving as the Motorcycle Diaries? I don't presume to think I can move the world the same way Che has, but I hope I can at least shift my career and hopefully business people will stop thinking of us as boring losers. and besides, all I have is a scooter. The journey begins

Networking, Not Netwhoring
We know why networking is important-only 5-10% of jobs are advertised, it never hurts to have someone higher up pull strings for you, and blah blah blah But, it's HOW you network.

Let's Do Lunch
At associate development lunches at the firm, we were told to find a niche practice which most of the time resulted from happening upon an assignment that required us to do about 30 hours of mind numbing research on a boring or obscure part of the law and then being the "go to" person every time that issue came up. We were actually encouraged to seek out mind-numbing work and "fall" into that niche practice instead of CHOOSING a practice area or niche that made us tick. Not very encouraging. Shouldn't we first find out what makes us tick and then seek out a position or build one around what we are interested in? Are lawyers that afraid to go after what they want that they are willing to hang their hat on any random ass nail they happen to find sticking out of a wall and 30 years later, still hang on that same damn rusty nail?

Bid-ness Development
how am I getting all these CEOs and managing directors and founders to meet with me or invite me to lunch (and more than once) or coffee or to their offices or call me or give me a standing invite to lunch if I'm ever in their city? I can't teach you. Either you're social or you're not. Either your extroverted or you're not. Either you can sell yourself as someone interesting enough that someone will want to talk to you or you can't. Either you're creative on how to reach out to these people and get in front of them or you're not. But I can say that it gets easier as your Rolodex expands because then people start introducing you to their network.

Journalists of the legal media could be a force in correcting decades of law school misplacement.

I just read the most recent of the plethora of articles focusing on placement offices and what they are doing for law students during this unique "challenging" "chill" inducing situation where more and more large law firms are withdrawing from on-campus interviewing and not hiring students for summer and permanent positions.

I quickly recognized thirteen issues NOT considered in this article (to a great extent applicable to another such article.)

1, Isn't the use of the word "firm"misleading if it refers to the few firms (only 10%) with > 100 lawyers?

2. Who created the "box' that LS students have to think outside of and why?

3. Were the few firms able to enter the "box" providing positions desired by LS students.

4. Were the few firms able to enter the "box' providing positions through which students could serve legal needs of the public.

5. What are the goals, values & hopes of LS students?

6. What careers do LS students envision upon graduation?

7. What percentage of LS students want positions in regional firms, smaller firms, local firms, or government jobs,"

8. Are there summer paid positions for law students in "popular" cities in firms of < 6 lawyers? .

9. What is the process to go through to find these unadvertised positions?

10. What percentage of LS students want to go solo & not be employees?

11. Has the LS prepared the students to practice solo or in firms of < 6 lawyers?

12. When the economy improves, do LS expect to again funnel students back into the "box"?

13. Why is this concern one for the career staff? Why aren't the LSDeans and faculty being interviewed?

How many other examples can you find where the legal media ignored the fundamental issues and concerns of law students in the areas of career planning and professional development?

 

What has been a consistent ingredient of my 25 years advising lawyers is the continuing and lasting effect of the failure of legal education to prepare law students for the practice of law - a lack of self-confidence and its companion, a lack of self-worth.

 

That is one of the primary reasons that I have agreed to accept a position as a career resource for the lawyers/students enrolled in the Solo Practice University.  

 

A distinguished ABA committee composed of judges, lawyers and law professors in 1992 issued a scathing indictment of law school education since referred to as the "MacCrate Report" finding that law schools failed to teach eight of the ten fundamental skills needed to practice law competently and poorly taught the other two.

 

Law schools were also criticized for not instilling in students the four fundamental values of the legal profession, including the obligation to provide competent representation. (The law schools' failure to prepare its students to do so seems to me to be a violation of this value.)

 

"If professional competence is the goal, the fact is troubling that so many young lawyers are seen as lacking the required sills and values at the time the lawyer assumes full responsibility for handling a client's legal affairs.  Much remains to be done to improve the preparation of new lawyers for practice." MacCrate p. 266

 

The law schools must have pressured the ABA to bury the extensive recommendations of the MacCrate Report since little has been heard about it since the mid-90's.

 

As a consequence, many selective law schools continued to fail to prepare their students to practice law and to funnel them to BigLaw (contrary to the career desires of most) with the faulty assurance they will be trained there. (A more likely motivation of the law schools was dreams of huge salaries used first to repay loans and then by huge donations to the schools). In doing so, the law schools pressured the students to violate another value of the profession - the obligation of lawyers to take positions consistent with their professional goals and personal values.

 

Another significant factor was the law schools' failure to make students aware of their options, including the reality that more than two-thirds of all lawyers practiced in firms of five or less lawyers with half of all private practitioners being solos.

 

As a result, over the last 25 years, many graduates, when they became dissatisfied, having little training or knowledge of their options or how to plan a career, felt trapped and paralyzed. Some stayed. Others made a rash jump to another dissatisfying job. For those laid off, the search was often nothing less than chaotic.

 

Those fortunate (?) enough not to have been placed by the on-campus interviewing funnel entered the legal community without adequate preparation to represent clients. With hard work and much effort, some found mentors, took courses and became highly competent and successful practitioners.

 

But many within and outside BigLaw have not fared as well.

 

"One frequently heard plaint is that law schools in preparing students for practice give greater attention to the needs of those lawyers entering practices in which they will serve the business community than to the needs of those entering practices in which they will provide legal services to individual clients.  The transition from law school into individual practice or relatively unsupervised positions in small offices, both public and private, presents problems which the law schools and the organized bar must address." MacCrate p.47

 

When I read about the Solo Practice University, it appealed to me. Here might be a place where those who feel trapped in BigLaw might be able to learn a broad range of skills (and values) not conveniently offered by separate CLE programs and begin to acquire sufficient confidence to consider making a transition to solo practice or a small firm. In addition, how much more valuable and timely might Solo Practice University be for those who have no choice to stay because of having been laid off or been given notice that it will happen soon.

 

The same could also be said for those already in small firms or on their own looking for a more comfortable and satisfying place within the legal community.  Skills training could help them grow their practice in areas they never would previously have considered.

 

What I hope to be able to add is advice and guidance about how to go about using the skills gained.  Career planning requires deciding, among many options, in what setting the lawyer wants to practice- who he or she wants to represent in what kinds of cases.  When that decision is made, some who want to eventually want to go solo may want to start out by associating and working with or for current practitioners. To find a suitable position, they will want to learn how to promote and market themselves.

 

I am looking forward to a long and rewarding association with Solo Practice University. I encourage you to review the material on its site and consider participating as either a student or as a member of the faculty.

I recently read an on-line article from a London newspaper that Baker & McKenzie cut six New York associates in an office of 140 lawyers including 60 partners as part of a range of cost-cutting measures introduced in response to market conditions. The article used the English term saying the firm had announced "redundancies", a definition for which is "having lost your job because the employer no longer needs you."

Baker & McKenzie, of course, is not alone. Layoffs of associates have been announced at Foley Hoag in Boston, Parker Poe in Charlotte and Blank Rome in Philadelphia and seem likely at Kirkland and Ellis in Chicago.

Somehow being "redundant" seems to say it with more of a kick in the pants than simply being laid off.  

Imagine becoming redundant?

You went to a law school that's hard to get into and did so well in your interviews during the beginning of your second year that you got a summer position at one of these firms. While there in the summer, you worked hard (or not) and were fortunate enough to get an offer to join the firm upon graduation.

You have been there for what - 3 years - and you are now "redundant"? Who says? How was that decision made? Were you on the committee that decided that six associates should be cut? Were you on the committee that decided that YOU should be cut?

Was there any discussion in the firm about having all partners and associates in the "law firm "family" take a small hit so that your position could be saved?

Were you given an opportunity to have training in another area of law and move to another department or office?

Is there an associates' union at the firm - one that has the right to bargain on all issues related to work conditions for associates including pay, hours, abusive partners, and becoming redundant? Are you aware of an associates' union at any other firm?

What were you told about your being redundant? Were you told that it had anything to do with your job performance? If so, was that inconsistent with your prior reviews?

Did you take clinical courses during law school? Are you prepared to go into private practice on your own or in a firm of less than 5 lawyers? Have you ever worked at such a firm? Do you know the range of legal options you have?

Since few openings are advertised or are known by headhunters, do you know how to go about making a decision about what you want to do and how to market yourself in order to find such a position?

Having advised and provided career planning for lawyers for 25 years, I can safely say that the worst effect of being laid off is beginning to believe the "redundant" label and deciding that no one needs you.

Rest assured, you have options and you ARE needed!!