It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was writing about how Biglaw firms were essentially hiring any warm body who could bill hours. Well, times have changed. Now the headlines are about law firm layoffs. If you’re one of those casualties, here are a few dos and don’ts that will maintain your sanity while moving you closer to finding your next job.
Jump to:
- Do’s
- Do Take a Big Breath
- Do Line Up Your Support System. You Will Need It.
- Do Act Persistently and Patiently in Lateral Associate Hiring
- Don’ts
- Don’t Be Angry
- Don’t Lose Your Confidence
- Don’t Panic! Stealth Layoffs Are Manageable
- A Final Bit of Advice If You’ve Lost Your Job in a Law Firm
- Additional Law Firm Layoff Advice and Resources
Do’s
Do Take a Big Breath
I’m not going to lie. Being a casualty of law firm layoffs — or losing a job for any reason — sucks big-time. But keep your perspective. The world is not coming to an end. Count your blessings. You still have plenty of things to be grateful for, including health, family, friends and a good education. Keep reminding yourself.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Now may be the perfect time to switch practice areas, move to a firm that’s sized better for you, go in-house, work for the government, or even get out of law.
Do Line Up Your Support System. You Will Need It.
Being unemployed and searching for a job will be stressful. Expect it. It will feel like you’re on an emotional rollercoaster. Remember the family and friends you are grateful for. Don’t hesitate to lean on them. After all, that’s what family and friends are for.
Remember also to take care of yourself. If possible, do something every day that you enjoy. Take a walk, work out, read a chapter in a trashy novel or get a massage. You get the point. While looking for a job is a full-time job, don’t overdo it.
Do Act Persistently and Patiently in Lateral Associate Hiring
Looking for a job can get very discouraging. Don’t give up. Be persistent. Along with that, practice patience. Your previous jobs were probably not handed to you on a silver platter. It took effort and time. This go-around will likely not be any different.
Don’ts
Don’t Be Angry
Don’t let your anger toward your past employer get the best of you. Feel free to seethe for a few days or perhaps even a week. You earned it. But after that, it will drain you. It’s time to let go — two ways to do it. Forgive or forget. Do what you think will work best.
Don’t Lose Your Confidence
Repeat after me: “I am still a good lawyer.”
Don’t let being unemployed destroy your confidence. You were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, a victim of the law firm layoff cycle. Bad economy. Bad boss. Wrong practice area. Whatever. It happens to everyone, even the best attorneys. You need to sound confident when you network and interview. No one wants to hire someone who has second thoughts about their abilities.
Don’t Panic! Stealth Layoffs Are Manageable
Perhaps the biggest mistake I’ve seen over the years is the urge to reach out to anyone and everyone and network as soon as possible. Your head has a lot to work through. It’s not going to happen overnight. You want to be at your best when meeting people, and you’ll make a better first impression when you’ve had some time to process your situation.
Further, depending on the circumstances, and especially if your termination was performance-related, you need time to craft your best brief explanation of why you are looking for a job. Of course, never lie and rewrite history. But some stories simply sound better than others and usually flow more naturally with repetition and the benefit of time.
A Final Bit of Advice If You’ve Lost Your Job in a Law Firm
If the truth be told, yours truly has been in your place. To this day, I will never forget the comment by my then-boss, the general counsel, when he asked me what I planned to do. I don’t recall what I told him, but I vividly remember his response almost word for word. “Roy, sometimes we do our best work when looking over the cliff’s edge”.
Given the current economic climate, experts predict that there may be more layoffs in the legal industry in the coming months.
You know what? He was right. Follow these dos and don’ts, and you, too, will see that you can do your best while looking for your next job. And when you find it, you may realize that it is a better fit that you might never have discovered — until you were forced to look. Good luck!
Job-Hunting Resources
- Biglaw Investor’s Recruiter Concierge
- LawClerk freelance and contract lawyer platform
- UpCounsel contract attorney platform
- Five Tips for Job-Seeking Lawyers
Additional Law Firm Layoff Advice and Resources
Economic Uncertainty and the Legal Industry
Economic uncertainty is casting a long shadow over the legal industry and law firm layoffs are the result. When the economy tanks the demand for legal services especially in areas like corporate transactions and M&A declines. Fewer deals and smaller transactions for law firms to work on means less revenue for them.
In response to this economic turmoil law firms are being more cautious in their hiring practices. The once busy lateral associate market has slowed to a crawl. Law firms are adjusting to the reduced demand for legal services and rethinking their hiring strategies in these uncertain times.
Lower Revenues and Copycat Layoffs
As revenues decline law firms have to cut costs and unfortunately layoffs are at the top of the list. A trend in this scenario is the rise of “copycat layoffs” where firms follow their competitors in reducing their workforce. This is often referred to as “stealth layoffs” where firms mask economic based reductions as performance issues to avoid bad press.
Fewer billable hours means less revenue for law firms and they have to cut costs and often that means layoffs.
Law Firm Layoff Tracker: Types, Numbers and Locations
Navigating the law firm layoff landscape can be overwhelming but the law firm layoff tracker helps you stay informed. This resource categorizes layoffs into “open” and “stealth” types. Open layoffs are those publicly announced by the firm and stealth layoffs are those masked as performance based terminations.
The tracker also provides information on the location of layoffs – single office, multiple offices or firmwide. And severance packages which can vary greatly in duration and coverage. Some firms offer a few weeks of severance, others a few months and health insurance for a specified period.
Plus the tracker has Vault rankings which rate firms on prestige, diversity, quality of life and overall work environment. This is helpful in understanding the bigger picture of layoffs and making informed decisions about your next career move.
Stay on top of the law firm layoff tracker and get a better sense of what’s going on in the legal industry.
Image © iStockPhoto.com.
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