Thoughts on employment from a practicing attorney
Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 12:25 am
Hello: I don't normally post here, but I do enjoy the JDU / TLS battle from time to time. I came across this place from a solosez list serve, well, I hope I can say things that are helpful.
First, the bad news. Reality check: 90% of you are not going to start off in a mega law firm. Deal with it. That's life. It's not the end of the world, though. BIGLAW is not the land of milk and honey, and it's not the only way to succeed. A close friend of mine just left BIGLAW after two years to be a public defender. He was top of his class from a T5 and saw the writing on the wall. Clients are jumping ship from BIGLAW. Associates aren't billing enough hours. Clients realize they can hire a few small boutique firms at $200 an hour, without paying 3 junior associates prepare a memo on the federal rules of civil procedure, and get the same representation. Technology has evolved to the point where smaller law firms can do everything BIGLAW can. Thanks to Adobe PDF 9 and a scanner, a solo can bate stamp and process 10,000 documents with ease. Law libraries are available at your fingertips. Local rules are available online. The BIGLAW model is dying, and in some respects, you should be pleased that you aren't a part of a model that isn't working anymore.
Along those lines: There are very few law firms that will pay you $75k - $100k right out of law school. Why is this? Because you have no book of business and you have no experience. Most of your research will be very good because it's what you were taught to do in law school. Most of your practical experience will be very bad -- taking depositions, talking with other lawyers, answering discovery requests, bate stamping, etc. Because of that, most of your work will need to be revised and supervised but someone more senior. Why should a client foot the bill for that? Why would a client stay with a law firm where they are expected to subsidize your learning experience? The mid-sized firms that pay $75 - $100k a year usually hire (a) former BIGLAW; (b) lawyers who have profitable practices; or (c) lawyers with a good deal of practical experience. NOT young lawyers with no book and no experience. There are many experienced lawyers who are willing to work for a steady $75k - $100k paycheck and health benefits. Some lawyers just want to lawyer and not worry about business. Some extremely talented experienced lawyers. If your expectations are to make $2k - $3k as a summer or 2L, they're probably unrealistic. A $75k - $100k salary is realistic, I think, for someone with about 5 years experience in practice in a sophisticated area of law.
If you want to make it in law, first you have to be willing to struggle for a few years. If you expect to make $75k right out of the gate that isn't going to happen for most of you. However, if you're willing to make $40k a year for a few years and struggle, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Take any job you can to get experience. I don't recommend doc review, however, since the money is better than most entry level job litigation positions. Because of that, many doc reviewers never leave. Ask solos and small firms if you can clerk while in school. You never know when an associate is going to leave and a position will become available. Getting your foot in the door at a firm doing anything is helpful.
Second, long term, you have to learn how to make your practice profitable. I recommend that you read "How to Start and Grow a Law Practice." Even if you have NO intention of ever going solo, your career is going to be about your ability to be profitable. Every young lawyer should, at the very least, understand how a law firm operates. Carolyn Elefant's "Flying Solo" is also good. Winning at Trial by D. Shayne Read is a great book you should read. A lot of BIGLAW partners started out in small firms or as solos. They secured a few great clients, developed a profitable practice, and then decided to merge with BIGLAW. Others like the freedom of having their own practice. Bottom line is, people that make lots of money in law develop profitable practices. They don't just go to school, get a JD, and expect to make a big paycheck by virtue of a JD and law license. Some if you will never be able to do this, and you might spend the next 5 - 10 years struggling. That's the reality -- some of you will develop a client base ad a profitable practice. Others of you will never get the business end of it, never develop clients, and you'll be bouncing around in small firms making $40k a year with no benefits. Profitable practices are mostly practice management skills, some experience, and your ability to generate business -- relationships.
Now, the good news. Recession creates opportunity. Ask yourself this: are the practice areas you're interested in profitable? Are they in growing industries? Is work in that industry realistic for you? For example, think of video stores. How would you like to be a lawyer who represents video stores? That industry is dying. In contrast, consider lawyers who represent companies that maintain REO / bank owned properties. There is so much work in maintaining bank assets right now that it's incredible; foreclosures create all kinds of litigation between subcontractors, former homeowners, etc. Thanks to the failed BIGLAW model and technological advancements, smaller shops can poach clients that would have otherwise gone BIGLAW. While bankruptcy is on the rise, do you think clients who can't afford to pay their bills can pay their lawyers? Litigation will always be profitable because in good times, businesses can afford lawyers. In bad times, no one wants to pay. Constitutional law was fun and interesting in law school, but what type of clients have constitutional law needs (outside, of course, the criminal defense context)?
Law is a saturated market, so your ability to succeed will be based entirely on your relationships. Why are clients selecting you to be their lawyer? Why will they continue to retain you? 10% of lawyers are incredibly smart. 10% of lawyers shouldn't be practicing. The rest of us fall in that 80% category, which is smart enough to pass the bar but the rule against perpetuities is just too much thinking. What separates you is your ability to develop and maintain relationships -- not your knowledge of the evolution of the strict scrutiny test -- and your ability to turn those relationships into profit. Example: a Union says "We need to retain a law firm to do all of our labor law stuff." If you know someone at that firm, you can say "Hey, we offer all that stuff." If the relationship is strong enough, and you push it, they'll probably consider you. If you have good clients, rest assured a law firm won't care WHERE you went to law school. (even Cooley!). Conversely, if you have no book, it doesn't matter if you went to Harvard a few years down the line. Try and develop a client base as soon as you can. Even if it just means keeping in touch with people who are business owners or otherwise involved in an industry that uses legal counsel. Your ability to generate a profit (bring good clients) is paramount. This way you can either open your own shop or you can go work somewhere in exchange for a salary and benefits.
So, my advice to you: make sure you know the basics of how a law practice runs. If you want to go to school, get a fancy degree, graduate, and then make $75k a year by virtue of having a law degree, this isn't the right profession. Law is, for the most part, eat what you kill. You will either succeed as a business person or you won't. Be willing to struggle in order to learn the basics. Develop a client base and a practice that is profitable by developing your network. (I do not mean going to "networking events". I mean keeping in touch with people who are in positions to send you legal work -- including other lawyers). Your approach to law should be that you're a licensed professional trying to develop a profitable practice. Join a listserve like solosez to see what the practice of law is actually like for most lawyers (NOT JDU).
Hope that helps. The market is definitely tough, no doubt about it. However, MANY (most) grads had unrealistic expectations about law and no desire to run a business. When I graduated, a very successful attorney said to me "The problem with young lawyers is there is just too much of a disconnect from the business aspect of law. They don't get that."
Best of luck.
First, the bad news. Reality check: 90% of you are not going to start off in a mega law firm. Deal with it. That's life. It's not the end of the world, though. BIGLAW is not the land of milk and honey, and it's not the only way to succeed. A close friend of mine just left BIGLAW after two years to be a public defender. He was top of his class from a T5 and saw the writing on the wall. Clients are jumping ship from BIGLAW. Associates aren't billing enough hours. Clients realize they can hire a few small boutique firms at $200 an hour, without paying 3 junior associates prepare a memo on the federal rules of civil procedure, and get the same representation. Technology has evolved to the point where smaller law firms can do everything BIGLAW can. Thanks to Adobe PDF 9 and a scanner, a solo can bate stamp and process 10,000 documents with ease. Law libraries are available at your fingertips. Local rules are available online. The BIGLAW model is dying, and in some respects, you should be pleased that you aren't a part of a model that isn't working anymore.
Along those lines: There are very few law firms that will pay you $75k - $100k right out of law school. Why is this? Because you have no book of business and you have no experience. Most of your research will be very good because it's what you were taught to do in law school. Most of your practical experience will be very bad -- taking depositions, talking with other lawyers, answering discovery requests, bate stamping, etc. Because of that, most of your work will need to be revised and supervised but someone more senior. Why should a client foot the bill for that? Why would a client stay with a law firm where they are expected to subsidize your learning experience? The mid-sized firms that pay $75 - $100k a year usually hire (a) former BIGLAW; (b) lawyers who have profitable practices; or (c) lawyers with a good deal of practical experience. NOT young lawyers with no book and no experience. There are many experienced lawyers who are willing to work for a steady $75k - $100k paycheck and health benefits. Some lawyers just want to lawyer and not worry about business. Some extremely talented experienced lawyers. If your expectations are to make $2k - $3k as a summer or 2L, they're probably unrealistic. A $75k - $100k salary is realistic, I think, for someone with about 5 years experience in practice in a sophisticated area of law.
If you want to make it in law, first you have to be willing to struggle for a few years. If you expect to make $75k right out of the gate that isn't going to happen for most of you. However, if you're willing to make $40k a year for a few years and struggle, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Take any job you can to get experience. I don't recommend doc review, however, since the money is better than most entry level job litigation positions. Because of that, many doc reviewers never leave. Ask solos and small firms if you can clerk while in school. You never know when an associate is going to leave and a position will become available. Getting your foot in the door at a firm doing anything is helpful.
Second, long term, you have to learn how to make your practice profitable. I recommend that you read "How to Start and Grow a Law Practice." Even if you have NO intention of ever going solo, your career is going to be about your ability to be profitable. Every young lawyer should, at the very least, understand how a law firm operates. Carolyn Elefant's "Flying Solo" is also good. Winning at Trial by D. Shayne Read is a great book you should read. A lot of BIGLAW partners started out in small firms or as solos. They secured a few great clients, developed a profitable practice, and then decided to merge with BIGLAW. Others like the freedom of having their own practice. Bottom line is, people that make lots of money in law develop profitable practices. They don't just go to school, get a JD, and expect to make a big paycheck by virtue of a JD and law license. Some if you will never be able to do this, and you might spend the next 5 - 10 years struggling. That's the reality -- some of you will develop a client base ad a profitable practice. Others of you will never get the business end of it, never develop clients, and you'll be bouncing around in small firms making $40k a year with no benefits. Profitable practices are mostly practice management skills, some experience, and your ability to generate business -- relationships.
Now, the good news. Recession creates opportunity. Ask yourself this: are the practice areas you're interested in profitable? Are they in growing industries? Is work in that industry realistic for you? For example, think of video stores. How would you like to be a lawyer who represents video stores? That industry is dying. In contrast, consider lawyers who represent companies that maintain REO / bank owned properties. There is so much work in maintaining bank assets right now that it's incredible; foreclosures create all kinds of litigation between subcontractors, former homeowners, etc. Thanks to the failed BIGLAW model and technological advancements, smaller shops can poach clients that would have otherwise gone BIGLAW. While bankruptcy is on the rise, do you think clients who can't afford to pay their bills can pay their lawyers? Litigation will always be profitable because in good times, businesses can afford lawyers. In bad times, no one wants to pay. Constitutional law was fun and interesting in law school, but what type of clients have constitutional law needs (outside, of course, the criminal defense context)?
Law is a saturated market, so your ability to succeed will be based entirely on your relationships. Why are clients selecting you to be their lawyer? Why will they continue to retain you? 10% of lawyers are incredibly smart. 10% of lawyers shouldn't be practicing. The rest of us fall in that 80% category, which is smart enough to pass the bar but the rule against perpetuities is just too much thinking. What separates you is your ability to develop and maintain relationships -- not your knowledge of the evolution of the strict scrutiny test -- and your ability to turn those relationships into profit. Example: a Union says "We need to retain a law firm to do all of our labor law stuff." If you know someone at that firm, you can say "Hey, we offer all that stuff." If the relationship is strong enough, and you push it, they'll probably consider you. If you have good clients, rest assured a law firm won't care WHERE you went to law school. (even Cooley!). Conversely, if you have no book, it doesn't matter if you went to Harvard a few years down the line. Try and develop a client base as soon as you can. Even if it just means keeping in touch with people who are business owners or otherwise involved in an industry that uses legal counsel. Your ability to generate a profit (bring good clients) is paramount. This way you can either open your own shop or you can go work somewhere in exchange for a salary and benefits.
So, my advice to you: make sure you know the basics of how a law practice runs. If you want to go to school, get a fancy degree, graduate, and then make $75k a year by virtue of having a law degree, this isn't the right profession. Law is, for the most part, eat what you kill. You will either succeed as a business person or you won't. Be willing to struggle in order to learn the basics. Develop a client base and a practice that is profitable by developing your network. (I do not mean going to "networking events". I mean keeping in touch with people who are in positions to send you legal work -- including other lawyers). Your approach to law should be that you're a licensed professional trying to develop a profitable practice. Join a listserve like solosez to see what the practice of law is actually like for most lawyers (NOT JDU).
Hope that helps. The market is definitely tough, no doubt about it. However, MANY (most) grads had unrealistic expectations about law and no desire to run a business. When I graduated, a very successful attorney said to me "The problem with young lawyers is there is just too much of a disconnect from the business aspect of law. They don't get that."
Best of luck.
