BigLaw casualty - what the hell does one do with himself? Forum

[Johann]

Is getting a headhunter or working with a legal contracting firm worthwhile? I ask because I'm in sort of a similar position, but not BigLaw. I've been working out alot, and am ok with money for a year (I saved alot and have low living expenses) but it's just the stress of not working and my career being stalled that's killing me. When should people in our position start to freak out about not getting offers? I am interviewing with alot of govt places and they can take 3 months to make decisions.
My situation is that I am a essentially a second year from a small law firm (2 partners, 2 assoc in a small market, the partners split and I was supposed to go with one but he let me go the first month he was supposed to take over my salary). I left on bad terms because they insisted I tell people I resigned and I was not willing to do that without a severance package (they offered nothing). I've interviewed at some places and applied to others but I keep running into the issue of being too experienced for entry-level legal jobs and losing out to people with tax LLMS or 5-20 years of experience. I almost want to start doing solo work to keep from going crazy but am not sure if it makes sense to start that until I hear back from interviews. I'm also terrified that my former employer's unwillingess to act as anything other than a neutral reference will be very damning in this smaller market.

if you cant beat them, join them. seriously, to people who get laid off in here, a tax llm is a solid way to get a second crack at the market. i wouldnt use it right away, but if you are struggling for months and months, its better than being idle/taking backward career steps for a couple years or leaving law if you dont want to. it depends on your debt load what the 80k additional debt will mean, but worth a look into.

[s1m4]

^ another 80k??? At what point does it just make sense to take a pay cut rather than take out more loans? How long are you planning to stay in biglaw?

[Neff]

^ another 80k??? At what point does it just make sense to take a pay cut rather than take out more loans? How long are you planning to stay in biglaw?

Pay no attention to that guy. Judging by what he's said in various threads he really doesn't have a clue.

[Anonymous User]

OP Here - Still on the search. I have had a few leads. At what point does someone in my position have to give up on the idea of finding something that is right for him and instead just take whatever he/she can get? 1 week unemployed? 1 month unemployed?

[Anonymous User]

At what point does someone in my position have to give up on the idea of finding something that is right for him and instead just take whatever he/she can get? 1 week unemployed? 1 month unemployed?

Yea, I'd like to know this too. I'm the other poster and I really don't give a shit if I do BigLaw or not but I just don't want to get in the same position I was before, with a shitty firm where this is going to happen again. I'd honestly be fine with a 40% pay cut and/or government work as long as the place doesn't have a track record of laying off/scaring off all its associates after one year. But at what point do I just have to start doing something legal like doc review or solo practice if I want to stay in law?

[Anonymous User]

Is getting a headhunter or working with a legal contracting firm worthwhile? I ask because I'm in sort of a similar position, but not BigLaw. I've been working out alot, and am ok with money for a year (I saved alot and have low living expenses) but it's just the stress of not working and my career being stalled that's killing me. When should people in our position start to freak out about not getting offers? I am interviewing with alot of govt places and they can take 3 months to make decisions.
My situation is that I am a essentially a second year from a small law firm (2 partners, 2 assoc in a small market, the partners split and I was supposed to go with one but he let me go the first month he was supposed to take over my salary). I left on bad terms because they insisted I tell people I resigned and I was not willing to do that without a severance package (they offered nothing). I've interviewed at some places and applied to others but I keep running into the issue of being too experienced for entry-level legal jobs and losing out to people with tax LLMS or 5-20 years of experience. I almost want to start doing solo work to keep from going crazy but am not sure if it makes sense to start that until I hear back from interviews. I'm also terrified that my former employer's unwillingess to act as anything other than a neutral reference will be very damning in this smaller market.

My apologies for not responding to your post sooner. HH are usually smitten on candidates that are from top law schools, have biglaw experience, or have worked at a well known smaller firm in their desired geographic location. I can tell that as someone who technically just became unemployed I will be "ok" for about a month before I start to feel like a move will need to be made.

[Anonymous User]

yea, I've been out since the end of January basically and I'm actually totally ok financially but the longer the gap, the worse it looks. I'm at the point now where I can't actually say I left my firm last month and I'm wondering if it makes sense to do something like doc review/contract work to fill that employment gap. Does it look better to do contract work? Or how about going to work on a political campaign? I am just worried about this glaring gap (and the boredom and anxiety).