Mass layoffs hit the legal community in the past few months with massive firings announce at virtually every major law firm in the AmLaw100 and some really astounding numbers coming out of firms like Orrick, O'Melveny, Latham, Cadwalader and Holland and Knight and others too numerous to count. Some lawyers are using the crisis (see my post on Not Wasting A Crisis) to start their own firms but it seems clear to me that there is no way that the "down market" is going to be able to absorb all the displaced professionals. Which is worse, losing your cushy job at a big name firm or finding yourself competing for smarmy divorce work with 100s of other former big firm attorneys, not to mention the experts who have been doing it for the last 5 years while you were busy with Indentures and Offering Supplements.
What's an erstwhile big firm attorney to do in a market that is suddenly awash in erstwhile big firm attorneys?
1) Cut your overhead. To beyond the bare bones. Ordinarily I am an optimist, and I am an optimist about you too, but this is no time to be timid. If you can sell your house, sell it. Prepare your student loan lender for some bad news. I hate to say it, but the private schools may be short a few students next term. Vacations?!? Ha ha ha ha. I am not so much focused on day to day expenses (like groceries or Happy Meals) but it is absolutely essential that you get realistic about your own personal credit crisis. Evaluate your debt load and don't be afraid or ashamed to go so far as personal bankruptcy. A laid off attorney in a bad market just isn't going to be able to carry the debt load that he did in better times.
2) Consider alternative fields. Your law degree and your big firm experience are great assets. They are just not liquid assets in today's market. Where demand does exist, health and post-secondary education, and will exist, infrastructure construction, alternative energy and early childhood education, is where you want to be. And not necessarily as a lawyer. Do you have any skills, talents or other resources that can be put to use in these fields, or supporting people who are employed in these fields? Think about all the ways you could support doctors and other health care professionals. Can you start a business that serves colleges or college students? I would suggest that we all start thinking today about services outside the law where our talents will be welcome.
3) Consider alternative locations. A lot of laid off lawyers are where a lot of lawyers are; i.e., in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Charlotte, Chicago, etc. These are the most expensive places in the country to live. (Washington D.C. is up there in both number of lawyers and cost of living, but DC is probably going to be the center of the economic universe and a reasonably good for legal talent, at least in terms of holding a position, for the next few years.) Meanwhile the cost of living in the less go-go economies of the mid-west is emminently reasonable. If you came off the farm to go to Harvard (a la The Paper Chase) and now find yourself dumped by Cadwalader, maybe you could relocate back to the country and set up your own outsourcing operation. With lower overhead, and similar experience you have a competitive advantage and you don't have to move to India to get it.
4) Downsize your expectations. When you think about it, erstwhile big firm lawyers are in the top 5% of the top 1% on the planet economically speaking. A crisis to us looks like a holiday to the vast majority of the planet. I realize that doesn't help you deal with a spouse who was accustomed to your mid six-figure contribution to the annual household budget. Or with a father who always wanted you to follow in the family tradition. But the facts are nobody reading this is going to starve today or sleep outside tonight. Most of us are doing just fine right now. We may have to make some unpleasant choices in the future, perhaps in the near future, but even at that chances are very, very good that we will enjoy basic nutrition and shelter throughout our natural lives. In other words, practice being grateful for what you have. Then build on that to make your live the one you want.
What's an erstwhile big firm attorney to do in a market that is suddenly awash in erstwhile big firm attorneys?
1) Cut your overhead. To beyond the bare bones. Ordinarily I am an optimist, and I am an optimist about you too, but this is no time to be timid. If you can sell your house, sell it. Prepare your student loan lender for some bad news. I hate to say it, but the private schools may be short a few students next term. Vacations?!? Ha ha ha ha. I am not so much focused on day to day expenses (like groceries or Happy Meals) but it is absolutely essential that you get realistic about your own personal credit crisis. Evaluate your debt load and don't be afraid or ashamed to go so far as personal bankruptcy. A laid off attorney in a bad market just isn't going to be able to carry the debt load that he did in better times.
2) Consider alternative fields. Your law degree and your big firm experience are great assets. They are just not liquid assets in today's market. Where demand does exist, health and post-secondary education, and will exist, infrastructure construction, alternative energy and early childhood education, is where you want to be. And not necessarily as a lawyer. Do you have any skills, talents or other resources that can be put to use in these fields, or supporting people who are employed in these fields? Think about all the ways you could support doctors and other health care professionals. Can you start a business that serves colleges or college students? I would suggest that we all start thinking today about services outside the law where our talents will be welcome.
3) Consider alternative locations. A lot of laid off lawyers are where a lot of lawyers are; i.e., in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Charlotte, Chicago, etc. These are the most expensive places in the country to live. (Washington D.C. is up there in both number of lawyers and cost of living, but DC is probably going to be the center of the economic universe and a reasonably good for legal talent, at least in terms of holding a position, for the next few years.) Meanwhile the cost of living in the less go-go economies of the mid-west is emminently reasonable. If you came off the farm to go to Harvard (a la The Paper Chase) and now find yourself dumped by Cadwalader, maybe you could relocate back to the country and set up your own outsourcing operation. With lower overhead, and similar experience you have a competitive advantage and you don't have to move to India to get it.
4) Downsize your expectations. When you think about it, erstwhile big firm lawyers are in the top 5% of the top 1% on the planet economically speaking. A crisis to us looks like a holiday to the vast majority of the planet. I realize that doesn't help you deal with a spouse who was accustomed to your mid six-figure contribution to the annual household budget. Or with a father who always wanted you to follow in the family tradition. But the facts are nobody reading this is going to starve today or sleep outside tonight. Most of us are doing just fine right now. We may have to make some unpleasant choices in the future, perhaps in the near future, but even at that chances are very, very good that we will enjoy basic nutrition and shelter throughout our natural lives. In other words, practice being grateful for what you have. Then build on that to make your live the one you want.
Great story above. I am finding that many attorneys are now seeking alternative methods in saving money and practicing law. I know several attorneys who have moved there offices into their own homes and utilized paralegals to work collaboratively with them outside of their physical offices.
ReplyDeleteAnother way to help cut your costs is cutting costs of physical employees to help with paralegal and secretarial work. Consider using a virtual paralegal, who only charges for actual time worked and can perform just about all feats a physical in-office paralegal can perform. Visit www.thevirtualparalegal.com to read more about how a law office can save time and money by utilizing a virtual paralegal.
Dawn M. Draper