Desperate Attorney Needs Better Job

October 16, 2006 5:16 PM

Basically, my question is this: I have no big firm experience and I can't play up my government service, am I really truly unemployable at a mid-sized (10-50 attorney) firm in a large American legal market?

My career is tanking and I don't know what to do. My inability to manage interpersonal dynamics left me on the wrong side of a government practice political power play and I lost my dream appellate litigation job with almost no warning. I managed to land somewhat on my feet and get hired in a private practice within three months, but it's a very bad fit; I'm not developing any new skills and I can't seem to land any new interviews. What am I missing?

I do have two good references from the old firm, as well as one personal reference, and the gap on my resume coincides with a three month vacation, so I don't think that my resume screams "let go from prior position" but I don't know why I'm not able to get any positive feedback when I apply with firms or recruiters.

I went to a top tier law school on one coast (with an editor position on law review) and then moved back to another after a clerkship. It did take me over two years to find a job when I first moved back, during which time I practiced pro bono in a legal clinic. I didn't distinguish myself particularly in the government practice, but I was asked to serve on special committees and present at a conference and I did win a couple cases.

I wasn't exactly fired, but I was told I should find a new job soon, which I did, but I'm afraid I jumped too quickly at the first offer. (I did not suspend my job search when I started work) It's 20k below market, and the wrong environment (minimal support staff, no mentoring, and a practice area I don't like). I am becoming increasingly desperate, particularly because I have had no positive feedback in the last six months of my job search. Recuiters have told me flat-out they have nothing appropriate for me.

I suspect that a large part of what is holding me back is a lack of professional connections. I am a member of two local bar associations (and work on the moot court committee of one of them) as well as a member of the National Association of Women Lawyers (although, as yet, I have had no success joining any of their committees). I am obviously not working any of that correctly because it has not led to any leads. Is there anyway to recover from a slow start as an attorney? Am I really stuck in private practice--which I am really ill-suited to and don't particularly like?

[e-mail], if any one thinks a one-on-one dialogue is more productive.

posted by anonymous to work & money (10 comments total)

There are a lot of myths, in the legal profession, about how early decisions and successes dictate your success down the road. If you listen to these myths, you may believe that you've doomed yourself to failure by your lackluster performance at, and effective firing from, your government job.

I think you're wrong in thinking your "slow start" will limit your success. First of all, your goal -- to be an attorney at a mid-sized firm -- isn't that lofty. There are a million good mid-sized firms in large legal markets. They're hungry for good talent. Those firms don't have the craving for blue-chip credentials that the huge national firms have.

Think about it. Even if you were fired or pushed out of your government job, the fact that you held the job will look prestigious on the firm's website and other promotional materials. (I'm assuming it was a federal position?) Nobody will know you were fired. You seem to write well, which is a huge plus. You were on law review at a top law school. You've got a hell of a lot going for you.

My worry is that your "inability to manage interpersonal dynamics" is going to be your Achilles heel. I think you need to get with a good legal placement agency, let them help you through this process.

You might try reading Ann Israel's column about law placement for ideas about how to approach your career dilemma. (I find her obsession with prestigious law schools, big salaries, and large firm practice to be off-putting, but her column may still have some good, general advice on marketing yourself to potential employers).
posted by jayder at 5:47 PM on October 16, 2006

I think part of your problem may be in your second MI sentence - your inability to manage interpersonal dynamics. Your interviewers and recruiters may be picking up on that. What if you took a class or read a good book on interpersonal relationships? Pick up a few good tips and really integrate them into your life.

What about the clerkship you had after law school? Will the judge you worked with set you up with some connections?
posted by MeetMegan at 5:49 PM on October 16, 2006

I'm trying to reconstruct your resume:

* Top-tier law school (?)
* Clerkship
* Two years legal clinic
* X years of appellate government practice at a firm (?)
* Three month vacation
* Down-market private practice, recently (?) started

That's a circular-file resume for a law firm: too many red flags. No matter what number fills in X, it looks bad: if X is small, it looks like you're flaky; if X is big, it looks like you didn't make the cut for partner, and no one wants the rejects. By choosing your current position, you signalled to the market that you were desperate for work; by looking for work now, you're signalling (fairly or unfairly) that you're erratic and might quit your next job within a year also.

Or perhaps there's another entry where there was a firm, then there was government service? It's definitely even harder to get a fifth post-clerkship job in the legal field than it is to get a fourth.

I'm skeptical that your law school is top-tier; a law review editor at a top-tier law school with a clerkship doesn't have trouble finding a top-tier job. But perhaps your interview problems predate your current situation.

There are many missing pieces here: the problem may be the resume, the problem may be the interpersonal skills you mention, it may be something you're not mentioning. My advice, based on the incomplete information I have, is that you need to jumpstart your career by doing something radical. If you can afford it, volunteer for a prominent political campaign, and make connections that way. Consider relocating cities: if you don't have any connections in your current city, you're not losing anything, and having an excuse ("I moved for a boyfriend/husband/sick family member/because all my friends from college were in City X") somewhat erases the stigma of switching jobs so often.

Did you have a mentor at your old firm? What is she or he telling you? What about the judge you clerked for? What are your references telling you? Do your references have clients who might need attorneys? Do any of your old clients like you enough to hire you or give you ideas? I once got a reference from an opposing counsel--anyone respect you enough to help you there? How are your law review buddies doing? A friend of mine from law school once provided a huge boost when a bad marriage took my career down the wrong cul-de-sac.
posted by commander_cool at 5:53 PM on October 16, 2006 [1 favorite]

Your problem is summed up in your title. You should not be desperate. You're making a living, and at "$20k below market," not a bad living either. Being a lawyer is a job and the only reason why most people do it is because it's a good way for them to support their families. And that's not the attitude of crappy, struggling-to-get-along lawyers -- it's the attitude of good lawyers who take the same pride in their craft as any other skilled worker.

Here's my suggestion: buckle down at your current job. Learn the law cold: the statutes, the regulations, the cases, the hornbooks, the law review articles. Get to know your clients' business inside and out. Go the extra mile every time; work 70 minutes for every 60 you bill. Forget about recruiters, delete your resume from your hard drive. Don't struggle to join committees that (apparently) don't want to have you; become an expert in your field and every committee will be asking you to join.

And, seriously, if you have interpersonal problems, what a good choice of profession you've made. I can't think of anywhere else where there are more high-six-figure earners too shy, maladroit, or obnoxious to socialize their way out of a paper bag. But they're damn good lawyers, and for that their clients and partners will forgive a heck of a lot.
posted by MattD at 6:24 PM on October 16, 2006 [2 favorites]

Just as an aside, I disagree with MattD -- if you're unhappy in your position and feel that you need to seek out better employ, then by all means do it. And I don't know what lawyers he's talking to, but the vast majority of lawyers I know aren't shy, maladroit obnoxious gits who can't socialize. Ignore the "you make good money, shut up and be happy" people, which I think you're going to find some of on JudgeMeFi.

If anything, take a step back and reconnoiter. I'd actually suggest a therapist/counselor/shrink -- when I went through a major career upheaval, I went back to the therapist I saw when I was a teenager and she put some things into perspective for me and got me so I could figure out what I was really after. Therapists aren't just good for parental issues or relationship crises - they can help with career stuff, too.

Commander Cool is right that there's something missing in your description of the situation here. I'd also second the moving cities suggestion.
posted by incessant at 11:33 PM on October 16, 2006

As a larger piece of advice generalizable to lawyers who aren't the poster, it's almost invariably a mistake in the law to take a job offer solely to solve a short-term problem (how do I stop being unhappy at my current job?) instead of as a step to a longer-term goal (how do I get to where I want to be ten years from now?). Every change on your resume that you can't spin as a step forward is a severe demerit, because of the adverse inference that you weren't good enough to take the step forward.

Your next job is going to have to be something that you're going to want to stick with and succeed at, because without spectacularly shining in your next job, it's going to be even harder to find yet another job (the fifth? sixth?) down the road. Many of the problems you face now are because you twice took jobs to solve short-term problems.
posted by commander_cool at 5:24 AM on October 17, 2006

Also, if you went to a great law school, they probably have a great career services office, with someone specifically designated to help alums transition from one job to another. If you haven't already, contact that person and ahve him/her analyze your situation, give you advice about promising possibilities, tell you if there are any law school connections at the mid-sized firms in your area.

(And do keep looking - you should be able to find something you don't hate so much.)
posted by Amizu at 6:33 AM on October 17, 2006

Contact your law school's career office. They (are supposed to anyway) provide services to alumni as well as current students. Making you employable increases the school's stats and makes them look better. I'm specifically thinking that you should go in for a mock interview. Your self-confidence seems to be all over the floor and you need to find out how to get your shit together before you can find a permanent position somewhere. Good luck.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 6:44 AM on October 17, 2006

In my (second-hand) experience, appellate lit boutiques first and foremost care about research and writing ability. If you have really good self-edited writing samples you are probably marketable, esp with a good school and a clerkship. Perhaps moving to the opposite coast will help you out, getting into a new market. I'm assuming you're on the east now. LA is the only town with a significant appellate presence on the west coast, but there are two appellate boutiques (each about 30 attys) in LA and a lot of big firms with appellate lit groups.

Also, appellate firms tend to be filled with nerds with few if any social skills, so your "inability to manage interpersonal dynamics" might play well.
posted by johngumbo at 9:44 AM on October 17, 2006

Interpersonal skills are paramount. You need to have clients, colleagues, judges and adversaries who know and like you. The more people you know, the better your network will be.

Until you learn to meet people easily and make a good first impression, you're stuck. Working your way out of current behavior problems could mean special forms of short-term therapy such as Interpersonal Therapy, or joining Toastmasters, or learning to look everyone in the eye and becoming a good listener.

Go to bar association meetings and join committees. Chat up everyone you meet. Get each person's business card and enter it into your Outlook contacts list. Call up one contact a day to ask a question, tell a story or talk about mutual interests.

Go to lunch with a contact or someone at your firm every day, to get to know each other and trade war stories. Practice making and holding eye contact.

Join the Rotary Club or the local Democratic/Republican Club. Get yourself known and respected among smart people. You'll make friends and colleagues.

What life area (other than law) are you interested in? For example, if you like music or painting, go to Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. If you read novels, join the library board. If you're in a sailing club, and they don't have outside counsel, let the officers know you're a lawyer and are willing to work on legal matters for them. Everyone you work for is a network member and a potential client.

Contact big-firm lawyers in your city who are members or officers of the National Association of Women Lawyers, as well as your state's Women's Bar Association. At least one of them should be willing to look at your resume and give pointers on the job search.

The object is to become known and liked. You don't build your network for the sake of getting business or to find out about jobs. You do it to find people with whom you have something in common. Once that happens, people will think of you when opportunities come along.
posted by KRS at 11:48 AM on October 17, 2006