The American Lawyer generally releases the results of the AmLaw100 survey in late Spring. This year, the publication has elected to place the data on-line as it becomes available. Sounds like a sensible approach in an electronic world. It is also a smart way for the editors to get firms to cough up the data more quickly (no one wants to be left off of a list).
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I am a fourth-year lawyer who is considering working overseas or possibly in Australia. What are the kinds of challenges that North American attorneys need to consider when trying to find employment as a lawyer in these countries?
Area of Practice
In recent times, the increasing amount of privatization and the ease of capital transfer globally have driven much of the demand for American lawyers overseas. Many foreign companies are obtaining capital in ways that require a great deal of familiarity with the American legal system.
Accordingly, the areas of practice that have attracted foreign law firms’ interest in American lawyers overseas are project finance, M&A, debt/equity, capital markets, and generalized securities and derivate work. Given the differences in law between the Australian and American system of jurisprudence, it is very difficult for non-transactional lawyers, i.e., litigators and regulatory attorneys, to have success with firms in Australia. Note that overseas law firms or American law firms with offices overseas are seeking American attorneys with strong academic records, degrees from top American law schools, and solid transactional experience with a major recognized American law firm.
Qualification
While Australia and America share the same foundation in common law and democracy, qualification requirements differ greatly between the two countries. Similar to a bar examination in the various states in the United States, most countries have certain qualification requirements for those practicing law. How one gains qualification to practice law in a given country varies substantially from one country to another. Australia’s qualification requirements are unique. There is no bar examination in Australia. In Australia, a regulating authority approves undergraduate courses of study, and graduates of those programs are entitled to undertake practical training and can then be admitted as lawyers. Hence, the first thing you must do is find out what are the qualification requirements to practice law in Australia and see if you meet those requirements.
In addition, most firms in Australia, Asia, and Europe require certain years of Post Qualification Experience, or “PQE”, for lateral lawyers, meaning that they expect you to have worked as a qualified lawyer in the subject country for a said period of time before they would consider hiring you. Thus, even if you have the requisite experience, PQE might limit the chances of you obtaining a position in Australia. Certainly, only in rare circumstances would a native Australian law firm be interested in a US lawyer with no Australian qualifications. On the other hand, US law firms with offices in overseas tend to be more willing to consider non-PQE candidates. However, whether a given foreign office of an American firm may have a need for American attorneys is a product of the type of work performed by the firm. Just because a firm is based in the United States does not mean that it has a need for American attorneys.
Risk
In the past years, we have spoken to several American attorneys practicing overseas, and each appears to feel that they are having a good experience. However, it is important to note that relocating overseas is a difficult decision and can be very risky. When a country is prospering, lawyers with experience in a needed practice area can be in high demand, but work in an economically volatile or depressed region can dry up very quickly and American lawyers may be the first to be forced to seek out new positions. Additionally, the average salary for Australian firms (including the Australian offices of US firms) generally is lesser than the salaries in, for instance, New York City. Accordingly, any attorney relocating overseas should approach their search carefully.
Immigration
Issuance of a visa to work in Australia is solely a decision of the relevant Australian government authority. Immigration is one issue that places you in a disadvantage over an equally qualified and credentialed Australian lawyer. But immigration issues have been overcome numerous times by the candidates we have placed overseas. Of course, if a firm is interested in hiring you, they would sponsor you to obtain the necessary visa.
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Hot practice areas typically differ quite dramatically from state to state. However, there are consistencies which are generally always present in most geographical areas. These consistencies are generally applicable across most time periods in most geographic areas. While this sort of question I would love to “write a book” about, for purposes of brevity I will be brief and highlight only one or two areas that are very busy generally in major geographic areas.
As a general rule, the most in demand practice area at all points in time is always litigation. Litigation is always occurring and this is the case at almost all points in time—regardless of the economy. One way I have always explained this to my candidates is that when the economy is good people have money to hire attorneys and sue and when the economy is bad people sue people to get money they lost when the economy was good. In all my years in this profession I have never seen litigation slow down. Law firms are always seeking litigators at most points in time and the demand is pretty incessant. Litigation is virtually always the busiest and “hottest” practice area in the following markets:
-MOST NON URBAN AREAS OF THE UNITED STATES
-MOST CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES BELOW 2,000,000 PEOPLE
-TEXAS (THE ENTIRE STATE)
-SEATTLE
-PORTLAND
-DETROIT
-CLEVELAND
-NEWARK
-CHICAGO
-WISCONSIN
-SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (LOS ANGELES, ORANGE COUNTY, SAN DIEGO)
-MINNEAPOLIS
There are some small exceptions to these rules: (1) Minneapolis has a very active intellectual property and patent prosecution base and these practice areas are generally quite active there; (2) Chicago has strong intellectual property, real estate and corporate demands but these are quite steady (except for real estate recently); (3) Newark has a very consistent base of corporate work but litigation still dominates.
In fact, in most cities of the United States litigation simply dominates the hiring and is always “hot?” in some respects because there is always considerable demand for litigators. Beneath litigators in terms of demands is then generally corporate and other departments such as insurance, intellectual property, tax and so forth. For example, despite its reputation as the center of governmental activity in the United States, the most active practice area in the Washington, DC region is most generally not government contracts or some other government sounding practice area. The most active practice area is generally litigation—I mention Washington, DC because it is “litigation with a twist” compared to other markets.
Litigation is an active practice area in the Washington, DC area and is generally very active at most points in time. An important fact to understand about litigation is that attorneys who work in the litigation field can research, write about and interpret a great deal of policy and other information–and not just marching into court as litigators in smaller markets might do.
Below is a discussion of a few areas that continually have a good deal of activity in practice areas other than litigation.
NEW YORK CITY
New York City typically has the majority of work in the financial field due the heavy concentration of banks and other financial institutions in this market. Accordingly, at most points in time the corporate practice area would be considered the “hot” practice area here. While this differs from time to time this is generally consistent.
After the dot com bust and September 11th, for example, there was noticeably less corporate work generally in New York City than previously. The corporate work has subsequently “fallen off the face of the earth” with the recent financial meltdown. Corporate work in New York seems to go in boom and bust cycles.
Nothwithstanding, as a proportion of work nationally compared to other practice areas New York stayed very busy. In addition, there is always a lot of corporate work in New York because there is so much financial work there—regardless of the state of the economy. New York City also continually has lots of work in the tax and insurance fields. In terms of hiring the most attorneys the main and largest practice area is always corporate because it interrelates with so many other fields. A law student desiring to work in New York would be best suited pursuing corporate work.
FLORIDA
Real estate has traditionally been the area where there is the most activity in Florida. This has now died as well. Across most points in time there has been a strong demand for talented real estate attorneys in Florida. This is likely due to lots of speculative construction and the fact that seniors and others seem to be moving to this state in great droves. There is also a strong demand for litigators in Florida, however, this demand is always fairly constant and never has reached the fever pitch that the demand for real estate attorneys seems to be consistently at.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Due to its proximity to Silicon Valley, the hottest practice area at all points in time in Northern California tends to be intellectual property litigation and also patent prosecution. As the United States increasingly moves towards an information economy, companies put an increasing emphasis on insuring they are doing everything possible to protect their intellectual property assets. Over the last several years the intellectual property-related practice areas have never really abated in terms of how busy they have been.
CHARLOTTE
Charlotte has been getting a very busy banking and corporate practice over the past several years and corporate and banking work has become increasingly important in this region. This has also died recently, however, with the implosion in the financial sector. I believe that Charlotte is in trouble.
LAS VEGAS
Las Vegas at one point simply could not hire real estate attorneys fast enough. Despite its desert location this area had been demanding an increasingly large amount of real estate attorneys for several years. Even with the weakening of the housing market in Las Vegas and unsold condominiums and cancelled projects, the demand for attorneys in Las Vegas in the real estate practice area has been slightly active. It is dying off very fast, however. Expect litigation to continue to pick up.
Conclusions
During the fallout from the dotcom boom in 2001 and in the next ensuing couple of years the importance of practice areas geographically become critically obvious. Because law firms, corporation and other are all businesses, they shed attorneys in practice areas that were nonproductive just as fast as they could and absorbed attorneys in practice areas that made money just as fast as they could.
This same pattern has repeated itself in 2009.
The discussion above highlights practice areas which have stood the test of time consistently in these geographic regions over the past several years. It is extremely important to understand that practice areas that stand the test of time are likely to always have jobs in these regions and those that do not may be part of boom and bust cycles.
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Being a good legal recruiter is very difficult work. If you take the average graduating class at a law school of say 500 people, I would estimate that 70% of the graduates could be outstanding lawyers if they apply themselves. Conversely, I would estimate that 99% of the people who graduate from law school could not be good legal recruiters (i.e., 1% or 5 of the 500 people could potentially be good legal recruiters).
A good legal recruiter needs
to have persuasive skills,
to be likeable,
to have a good pedigree in most cases to understand the nuances of top level firms, needs to to have an outstanding work ethic,
to be entrepreneurial,
to be a risk taker,
to be diligent about learning information about the market,
to be good at understanding people,
to have a high level of concentration,
to like people,
to have a natural inclination to be in the legal profession,
to be tough skinned, and
to be intuitive.
These qualities (and these are only a few) are the qualities which distinguish good recruiters in my opinion from poor ones. But it goes far, far from this. A good legal recruiter needs to be genuinely excited—deep down—about their job and have a 100% commitment to what they are doing. Nothing less. This is fundamentally important and no recruiter can be without this.
The best legal recruiter out there will get out of bed each morning so excited about the job they are doing they cannot wait get to work. The best legal recruiter out there will spend their weekends excited for the coming week so they can get back to work. The best legal recruiter will probably also not be able to control themselves from not working and will find themselves logging on during the weekend. A final point is that the best legal recruiter is excited about the people their candidates and interested in their lives. They are interested in the employers they are working for and the people in the employers. The best legal recruiters may be so excited about what they do that they cannot help but get overly excited about the legal industry just by reading about it—they see opportunities everywhere they turn for their candidates.
Genuine, deep down and natural commitment is incredibly important. Because attorneys are so naturally conditioned to believe that practicing law is the only thing an attorney should be doing, there is a perception of sorts that anytime an attorney steps out of the practice of law there must be something wrong with them. I would submit to you that this is often true—yes, there is often something wrong with the people who leave the practice of law.
People who leave the practice of law often do so because
they have a poor work ethic and do not want to work as hard,
they cannot get along with others,
they cannot concentrate for long periods of time,
they have drug or alcohol problems,
they have no interest in the legal profession,
they do not know what they want to do,
they want to spend more time with their family,
they want to be “independent” from a working environment.
You name it—there are a lot of negative reasons people leave the practice of law. Some people have horrible legal pedigrees and simply cannot get hired once they leave. Others have a myriad of personal reasons for leaving and cannot find a job after losing their job for one reason or another. Personally, I do not care why people leave the practice of law—this is their business—but I want to be clear about one thing: I sure as hell would never want to hire a legal recruiter who is leaving the practice of law for any other reason than that they know they are suited for legal recruiting. This is the only reason they should be leaving.
When I hire the right legal recruiter at BCG Attorney Search who knows they should be recruiting and wants to recruit because they get excited about it something miraculous happens. The recruiter changes peoples lives and enriches the law firms they are working for. More people get better jobs, people find jobs that make them happier, lawyers end up working where they should be working. Tons of great things happen. I am proud of this. As the CEO of a legal recruiting firm I run a recruiting firm that is not motivated by profit from hiring tons of legal recruiters but by having the absolute best legal recruiters possible. It is no easy task making sure only the right people are part of our team. In fact, we even run psychological tests on all prospective recruiters to make sure they are cut out for the work.
When a legal recruiter enters the profession or recruits for the wrong reasons then you will not be benefited. What is true for many professions is no less true for legal recruiting: There are a lot of people in the profession that should not be there.
Many people believe that the best legal recruiter is the one who went to the best law school or worked at the best firm. In my experience, the opposite is more often than not true. It does not matter where your recruiter went to school or where they worked when it comes down to their ability to get excited about you, understand you and be in love with their job and what they are doing. This is what everyone needs when they are being represented by a legal recruiter. Certainly the intelligence of your recruiter is important but what is most important is a recruiter whose heart and soul are in the work and they know they are doing exactly what they should be doing with their career and life. Most likely this recruiter will tell you from the heart how their life was changed by becoming a legal recruiter, they knew it was the profession for them and they cannot get enough of it. Find a recruiter like this and they will change your life to.
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Working with a legal recruiter is the smartest decision a good attorney can make. Legal recruiters typically operate in the “upper eschelons” of the legal profession and for people who are suited for their services legal recruiters are the absolute best career resources. Legal recruiters can identify the best opportunities for you; will counsel you on your move; will provide you inside information about the various employers you are investigating; will draw out your strength and present them to employers in a convincing way; will provide a “valuable prescreening” function for the employers and just by their virtue of representing you provide you with a good entrée’ to the employer. In fact, many of the largest and most selective law firms rarely look at candidates unless they come from a preferred legal recruiter. For example, numerous candidates I have represented at BCG Attorney Search may have not even received a response when they approached a firm on their own before coming to our firm. A good legal recruiter can make that much of a difference.
There is a catch to using a legal recruiter, however. The main and largest catch is a good legal recruiter cannot and will not work with everyone. In fact, the best legal recruiters will only work with people who are stars. One analogy I like to make is that there are a lot of people out there who play sports but only a very small percentage of people who have sports agents. The same thing applies to using a legal recruiter. I estimate the number is less than one percent of all attorneys out there who should be using a legal recruiter for their job search.
There are a few rules you need to be aware of when considering whether or not to work with a legal recruiter. These are the main rules I would recommend most attorneys follow.
1. A Good Legal Recruiter Never Works With Law Students
Legal recruiters are hired only to find experienced attorneys. There are literally tens of thousands of law students who blanket firms with their resumes each year. Firms (even small ones) generally need no outside assistance to find recent law school graduates to hire. It is very easy for law firms, corporations and others to hire law students.
An important rule to remember about the use of recruiters is this: They are used only to hire people who have immediately transferable skills. Transferable skills are picked up by actually working inside a law firm or corporation and being aggressively supervised and having work looked over on a daily basis and having a consistent supply of work. This is much different than the theoretical grounding and other sorts of information that someone picks up in a law school. Many law students are very enthusiastic about their prospects, former jobs they may have held before law school and more. None of these translates into an organization that will want to use a recruiter to fill the job.
Recruiters charge fees to hiring organizations. Because they charge fees their work is largely covered by the supply and demand. This very simple law states that people will only pay for something when they have to. Rest assured, law firms do not need to pay for law students. In all of my years of recruiting I have never seen a law firm or any other organization use a recruiter to hire a law student.
The caution here is that this does occurs. Recruiters will experiment and occasionally try and represent a law student. They should not be doing so.
2. A Good Legal Recruiter Only Works With Attorneys With Rare Qualifications Who Are in High Demand
This is a loaded statement and does require some explanation. Here are the basics so you know if you fit in this group:
(a) If you have between 1 and 5 years of experience and are working at a top law firm you are likely a good candidate to use a legal recruiter.
How do you know if you are working at a “top law firm”? A top law firm is one where most of the attorneys went to top law schools and where most of the attorneys know they are the cream of the crop. Here, the attorneys are generally representing significant corporations in significant matters—whether it be real estate, corporate law, intellectual property, or litigation. If you are working at a top law firm you generally will know it. These law firms are typically among the largest 200 or so in the country and recruit at top 20 law schools regularly. “If you have to ask” is a good analogy for these sorts of firms. There are some exceptions to this. There are often small patent boutiques; small real estate boutiques and other sorts of firms that may not be large but nevertheless are considered excellent shops.
The reason law firms require you generally have between 1 and 5 years of experience is due to the fact it is in this period that you are not a major contender for partnership and your billing rate is still attractive to clients. First, if a law firms hires someone with more than 5 years of experience they will likely be competition for partnership in the firm. This can upset the balance of power among associates who have competed for partnership for years. None of this is to say firms do not hire people beyond this level; however, it is rare.
Second, as someone gets more advanced in their years their billing rate increases. As their billing rate increase it becomes more expensive for them to be given work instead of lesser experienced associates. For example, someone with 8 years of experience who is an associate will likely be doing work at a billing rate compatible with a partner. The client paying the bill would rather have a partner doing the work at a similar billing rate. In addition, the partner would likely also rather do this work themselves and get credit for it rather than farming it out to an associate.
Finally, until you have at least one year of experience you really do not know what you are doing. Remember: The law of supply and demand governs the use of recruiters. There are plenty of attorneys who do not know what they are doing and employers are looking for those who do.
(b)If you are a partner with a lot of portable business you are likely a good candidate to use a legal recruiter.
Law firms are businesses and make most of their decisions based on business calculations. If you have a lot of portable business as a partner that will likely be good if you are seeking a position in a law firm. Your billing rate should also be compatible with the new employer. Most partners will have a good idea if they are marketable to another firm and generally do not need to ask it is appropriate for them to be using a recruiter.
(c)There are always “in fashion” practice areas that may make you in demand.
During the real estate book in 2004-2005 real estate attorneys were in demand. Before that in the dot com boom corporate attorneys were in demand. At other times patent prosecutors have been in exceptional demand. That fact is there are always economic cycles that are acting out which make one sort of attorneys far more in demand than another. The way to know if you are in special demand is generally to listen to your phone. If your phone is ringing with lots of solicitations from legal recruiters your practice area is probably in demand. You will generally know if your practice area is in demand.
(d)“Rare qualifications” can mean different things in different times and places.
I put this section last because every attorneys out there believes they are special. Everyone is special but whether they are special enough to use a legal recruiter is another matter entirely. Going to a top law school and not working a prestigious firm after law school may make you “rare” in the right market and marketable. Having a certain language may make you rare in the right market. The fact is: You never know what “rare” is. By “rare” it must be quite rare as a general rule.
If you are a part of the group who should be using a legal recruiter then you should be using a legal recruiter. If you fit into the group above then by all means use a legal recruiter. A good legal recruiter could literally change your life and do so dramatically by ushering you into an outstanding employment situation.
Like all good things a good legal recruiter generally is very organized and also brings a bit of “art” to their work and will generally have a very highly developed way of working. There are very, very few good legal recruiters. Being a good legal recruiter means different things to many people. Being a good legal recruiter is not easy—it is hard. Just like you should “know” if you have the qualifications to use a legal recruiter, you should also “know” a good legal recruiter when you speak with one.
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Are you like me? Did you expect the New Year to signal an end to the layoffs? Were you excited to see all the new job openings that January usually brings for attorneys? Typically, law firms hire more in January and February than any other time of the year.
Instead, we’ve seen more layoffs. Today, I saw an article concerning layoffs at a reputed U.K. firm. Yesterday, I saw news that support staff had been drastically cut at a national law firm. Contract attorneys in New York are reported to be working for scale (I exaggerate, but only slightly). This week it was reported that several firms in Texas have frozen associate salaries for 2009 (what a difference a year makes). And every day I hear from attorneys who have either been laid off or fear that they will be laid off very soon.
However, last week, I was buoyed by a miracle that came out of New York. A city so used to bad news that some have described its climate as similar to post 9/11. But last Thursday in New York, I saw the greatness of mankind and the kindness of strangers. Did you see it too? New York really needed some good news. I needed it too.
Today my phones are quiet. And I’m glad. I think everyone needs a day to forget the recent past and look forward to the future.
For it is a special day. A momentous day in history, no matter your political leanings. A day for change. A day for hope. So let’s take a day and forget the economy, take a deep breath, and celebrate!
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I was included in the following email string a couple of years ago ago that was probably circulated to tens of thousands of attorneys. I will quote it below in full since it is so instructive:
From: ###
Sent: Friday, February 03, 2006 9:23 p.m.
To: @@@
Subject: Thank you
Dear Attorney ###,
At this time, I am writing to inform you that I will not be accepting your offer.
After careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that the pay you are offering would neither fulfill me nor support the lifestyle I am living in light of the work I would be doing for you. I have decided instead to work for myself, and reap 100% of the benefits that I sow.
Thank you for the interviews.
###, Esq.
—–Original Message—–
From: ###
To: ###
Sent: Monday, February 06, 2006 12:15 p.m.
Subject: RE: Thank you
### –
Given that you had two interviews, were offered and accepted the job (indeed, you had a definite start date), I am surprised that you chose an e-mail and a 9:30 p.m. voicemail message to convey this information to me. It smacks of immaturity and is quite unprofessional. Indeed, I did rely upon your acceptance by ordering stationary and business cards with your name, reformatting a computer and setting up both internal and external e-mails for you here at the office. While I do not quarrel with your reasoning, I am extremely disappointed in the way this played out. I sincerely wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.
#
—–Original Message—–
From: ###
Sent: Monday, February 06, 2006 4:01 p.m.
To: ###
Subject: Re: Thank you
A real lawyer would have put the contract into writing and not exercised any such reliance until he did so.
Again, thank you.
—–Original Message—–
From: ###
To: ###
Sent: Monday, February 06, 2006 4:18 p.m.
Subject: RE: Thank you
Thank you for the refresher course on contracts. This is not a bar exam question. You need to realize that this is a very small legal community, especially the criminal defense bar. Do you really want to start pissing off more experienced lawyers at this early stage of your career?
—–Original Message—–
From: ##
To: ###
Sent: Monday, February 06, 2006 4:28 p.m.
Subject: Re: Thank you
bla bla bla
I have thought about this email numerous times since I received it and believe it is very useful for framing any discussion regarding how to turn down an offer. Invariably, most attorneys and law students find themselves in a position where they receive an offer from an employer and decide-for a variety of reasons-to turn down the offer. When you receive an offer you are going to turn down there are several things you need to remember.
First, regardless of what city you are in the legal community is small. Even in a city as large as New York you are likely to come across attorneys in your practice area again and again throughout your career. You will run into them at bar events. You will encounter them in the course of your practice. Some of these attorneys may join a firm or company you are with in the future. Numerous, numerous encounters will happen. You always want to have good public relations on your side.
If you burn bridges or anger people when turning down an offer they will resent this and they will get back at you in some way most likely. You need to be very, very careful. No one is omnipotent.
Second, if you received an offer there was most likely some sort of connection between you and the employer-something clicked right. You received an offer because someone liked you and believed that you could do a good job with the firm. You need to embrace and treat people who believe in you well. Not doing this is a huge mistake. The most important people to you in your career are the people who have believed in you. Do not forget this.
I remember hearing a very famous and successful lawyer address a group of people one time in the past. I would estimate that this particular attorney had a book of business in excess of $10,000,000 and the attorney was very impressive personally and professionally on numerous levels. This attorney stated that the biggest mistake he made in his career was not being better friends with people in law school and not getting closer to attorneys he met when he was younger. I thought a lot about this and realized that one of the biggest mistakes that people make is not getting closer and having a better relationship with people. You never know who can help you along the way to success throughout your career.
Third, you may need a job from the firm you turned an offer down from in the future. The marketability of an attorney in a given practice area and firm can change at the speed of light. One day corporate is the hottest practice area and the next it is the worst practice area and attorneys are forced to change careers it is so slow. You simply never know and need to be very, very careful. Do not overestimate yourself.
Throughout my career as a legal recruiter I have seen many an attorney receive an offer and turn it down for a larger firm, a higher paying job-you name it-and then several months later lose a job or decide that the job is not what they want. You need to understand that where you are today in terms of your marketability may not be where you are tomorrow. Regardless of where you went to law school, what firm you are currently at-you name it-that can all change in an instant. Do not forget this.
Fourth, if you conduct yourself well the employer may come back with a counter offer. I have seen associates offered partner positions by the same firm after turning down an offer. I have seen salaries increased and all sorts of other great things happen. You do not need to give specific reasons for turning down the offer-but you need to remember that if you conduct yourself with class you do not know what sort of good things may happen. Be very, very alert that what is a negative thing you are doing could turn out to be a real positive if handled well. You just never know.
This brings me to the answer to the question. When you turn down an offer you need to make the party you are turning down the offer from think it is the hardest decision you have ever made. You want them on your side. You want turning down the offer to be a positive experience for you and the party you are turning down the offer from. You want the person you are turning down the offer from to be your advocate in the future-you need them on your side regardless of what you may believe at this moment. Create a positive aurora around you and your career and use the offer as an opportunity to do this.
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Change is in the air. While millions of Americans are looking with hope to the new President, Obama’s inauguration tomorrow is a great reminder that being able to adapt to change is a critical component of career success.
In the practice of law, this is particularly important because as a group, lawyers are not alway good at accepting change. This may come in part from the fact that lawyers spend their days helping their clients to avoid risk.
But like it or not, change is coming to the legal profession and what was yesterday’s hot practice area can easily become today’s moribund practice group (think collateralized debt obligations). What was once a highly profitable way to staff a case (e.g. placing a team of high priced associates on a large document review project) may no longer be viable in a world economy.
Adapting to change is easier said than done. Humans are not well wired for change and as a group, lawyers are particularly bad at accepting new ways of doing things (though there are of course some exceptions).
On the other hand, if your practice group is particularly slow, it is certainly possible to change practice areas, particularly if you are looking to leave a slow practice group to join a busy practice group. Just read the last post on this blog for more info on that subject.
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In a lot of respects, the path attorneys take to joining a particular practice area is nothing short of insane. Most attorneys interview for summer associate jobs, take the best summer job they can get, and join a particular firm without much thought to what practice area they will be in. Given that people spend a significant amount of their lifetime at work, enjoying the work they do is especially vital, and the process attorneys undertake to choose a practice area seems nonsensical in a lot of respects. It not surprising then that many attorneys call virtually all of our offices on a daily basis seeking to switch practice areas.
It is difficult to switch practice areas, but it can be done. Your ability to switch practice areas will depend upon your academic background, the length of time you have practiced, the law firm you are with, the condition of the legal job market, the market demand of the practice area you want to leave and enter, your geographic location and, perhaps, pure luck. However, the most important aspect involving the switching of practice areas revolves around the question of who you are specifically.
An important aspect to remember in all of this discussion is that switching practice areas should not be a decision taken lightly. What type of work you should be practicing should be more a function of where you feel your skill set and interest lie more than anything. Additionally, simply switching firms to join a new practice area may not always be appropriate either. For example, you may be able to switch practice areas within the confines of your own firm. If this is possible, you should not enlist the aid of a recruiter.
How Do Attorneys Choose Practice Areas?
Many attorneys initially choose one practice area over another by default: simply, it is the best job they get after some search during law school. Sometimes, the condition of the legal market forces them to choose a particular practice area. For example, because of the weak market condition in the early 1990’s, most law students were forced to choose litigation instead of corporate or transactional areas of the law. Others decide based on their perceived stability of their chosen practice area and the strong demand shown in the marketplace for attorneys in a practice area.
For those law students who did very well in law school, how they select their chosen practice area may be different. Prior to the bar results being announced, most of these recent graduates would have chosen their area of practice. Most would have expressed a desire to enter a particular area during or after their second-year summer clerkship, and would pursue those firms that would allow them to practice in their chosen area. In addition, compensation or the chance to later obtain an in-house position may be the driving force in choosing a practice area. Yet others admire someone practicing certain type of law, and think it is glamorous and prestigious, and decide to follow that person’s footsteps in choosing a practice area.
In whatever manner a recent graduate chooses a particular area of practice, once that lawyer begins practicing law, partners, other associates, clients and people in general begin building expectations and, in their mind, categorize the lawyer as a litigation, corporate or patent expert.
Unfortunately, these expectations become even more intense as the years pass, and, obviously, make it all the more difficult to switch practice areas. If you have been a real estate transactional attorney for 8 years with no litigation experience, despite the fact that you went to Harvard and did very well there, you would find it difficult to land a job in a major law firm doing securities litigation.
A colossal change in practice area, as described above, would be possible if there is a tremendous demand for lawyers in the desired practice area and/or the lawyer has solid credentials. For example, assuming the lawyer described above has a technical degree, firms may be interested in him if he chooses to become a patent attorney. Of course, in most cases, he would have to take a cut in his salary and may be required to adjust his partnership track position within the firm.
Who Wants to Switch?
1. Litigators. Litigators are the most likely candidates to want to switch to another practice area. In most instances, litigators want to switch practice areas to become corporate attorneys. In the 2000 calendar year, we had more litigators calling us who wanted to switch to corporate than we had litigators calling us to switch firms within the litigation field. We have little doubt that many of these attorneys were drawn to the corporate field by the idea that if they practiced corporate law they would have the opportunity to work in an Internet company and retire at the age of thirty with healthy stock options. While this happened probably only 1 in 1000 times for attorneys who went to work for Internet companies, the fact is that it did happen to some attorneys. We have all heard the stories about the successes and excesses, and they are all good stories. Early retirement, however, should not be a prime motivation for switching practice areas.
Some litigators, moreover, are initially mesmerized by courtroom drama, or perhaps by the personalities of famous trial lawyers such as David Boies, F. Lee Bailey, Jerry Spence, or Johnny Cochran. However, after practicing for some period of time, they become frustrated with having to review stacks of documents or engaging in petty procedural law & motion matters, and quickly realize that they would rather build than destroy. Many attorneys who switch from corporate to litigation also do so because they do not like the constant conflict and adversarial environment involved in a litigation practice
Similarly, many law students may have misunderstood what makes good litigators when they made the decision to join a particular practice group. Litigators are not necessarily the Type A personality, who lacks social graces, are innately aggressive, and exhibit no empathy to their adversaries. Most successful litigators are, instead, cordial and professional in their interaction with their counterparts, and are great writers and strategists who can think quickly on their feet. Arguably, Daniel Goleman, the author of Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, was right that successful people, for our purpose litigators, possess self-awareness, altruism, personal motivation, empathy, and the ability to understand and relate to the emotions of others and are able to overlook and ignore adversaries who exhibit gigantic egos, are unprofessional or act rudely. According to Goleman:
“At best IQ contributes about 20% to the factors that determine life success, which leaves 80% to other forces…No one can yet say exactly how much of the variability from person to person in life’s course it accounts for. But what data exist suggest it can be as powerful, and at times more powerful, than IQ.” (Goleman, Daniel (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. New York: Bantam Books. )
If you have the qualities of successful people described by Goleman, you probably have the building blocks of being a talented litigator.
2. Corporate Attorneys. The desire to switch practice area is not unique to litigators. Corporate and transactional lawyers realize that they are not “doing deals” as often as they would like, or realize that they spend too much time with volumes of legal jargon and not enough time schoomzing with dealmakers. As legal recruiters, the pattern of calls we receive is quite amusing. For example, during the first half of the Year 2001, as corporate attorneys were being laid off or corporate work was very slow in numerous large American law firms, we started getting calls from corporate attorneys wanting to switch to litigation. In the Year 2000, when the corporate market was doing exceptionally well, we did not receive any calls from corporate attorneys wanting to switch to litigation. One thing about litigation is that there are people who are more suited to it than corporate work. Litigators tend to have very good verbal and writing abilities and enjoy the human sides of conflict. Conversely, corporate attorneys tend to enjoy the unemotional but controllable aspects of the work they do and the exposure to high profile deals. Corporate attorneys often have an interest in business as well.
In the wake of the tremendous demand for young corporate attorneys from 1998 through the Year 2000, many attorneys may have gone into the corporate field who were actually more suited to litigation. Accordingly, there may be justifications now for many of the attorneys who initially chose corporate as a practice group to switch to litigation.
Why do you want to switch?
Attorneys who chose to switch practice areas for the “right reasons” most often do so because they realize they are not suited for the particular practice area they are in. It is imperative that you thoroughly evaluate the reasons why you want to switch practice areas. Why do you want to switch? Was it listening to your friends boast about the mega merger deals they worked on, or the salary they command because of the incredible demand for lawyers in their practice area? Or, was it your perceived glamour of courtroom drama, or watching countless hours of Ally McBeal?
Have you though about whether you are seeking to change practice area because you are unhappy with your current firm? In such circumstances, changing firms may ultimately be the right choice instead. Perhaps you need a vacation after working for 30 days straight in closing a huge deal.
Whatever the reason, you need to be honest with yourself and identify the reason you are seeking change in your practice area, and make sure that your reason are thoroughly explored and are compelling. You do not want to find yourself in the similar predicament in a year or two after you have switched practice areas.
Critical Analysis
You have to critically analyze yourself to determine if you have the personality traits and qualities to practice in the area you desire. If you are an introvert, who does not enjoy a confrontational and adversarial work environment, you should not consider switching your practice area to become a litigator. Are you detailed oriented? Do you enjoy working mostly on your own, or with others? Do you have an inquisitive nature? Are you good with numbers? Do you enjoy complex matters? Do relish winning, rather than seeking a win-win resolution?
Besides analyzing your personality traits, you must also take stock of your credentials, both of your academic and experience background. Remember that firms are pedigree hounds! Having an impressive academic background opens a lot of doors, including getting a firm to notice you even if you want to switch practice areas. Another attribute is major law firm experience. A Latham & Watkins corporate associate or a Kirkland & Ellis litigation associate would get much more favorable reception than one who toiled for an unknown firm in North Dakota (this is not to say North Dakota does not have great firms).
How To Make The Change?
Once you have identified the reasons you are seeking to change your practice area and are convinced that the reasons are compelling, and have done the requisite critical self analysis as well as of your academic and experience credentials, you should plan how to proceed to make the desired change.
If you have been a solid associate, and your firm thinks highly of you, then you should approach your current firm and ask to switch your practice area. You should first speak with trusted confidants within the firm, hopefully partners or senior associates, before surprising the managing partner or the head of the practice group. In addition, find out if there is a need for an associate in the desired practice area within the firm. If there is such a need, naturally your task is much easier.
Also, you should explore whether changing your firm would enable you to reach your desired goal. If you have superior credentials, have serious commitment to changing your practice area, and there is a demand in the marketplace for such lawyers, you will probably be successful in changing your practice area. In making the preparation for switching your practice area, think about attending a seminar or taking a class to familiarize yourself with your desired practice area. This would show the firms initiative on your part, and it would demonstrate to the firms that you are serious and committed, and have thoroughly explored the practice area you want to enter.
Conclusion
It is true that people’s emotional well-being is strongly tied to their work. This is not surprising because a significant portion of our waking hours is spent going to work, actually working or thinking about our work. If one is unhappy with his line of work, a feeling of discontentment, melancholy and sadness, including perhaps depression, most likely permeates in his social and professional life.
Of course, it is entirely normal to feel unhappy with your job occasionally, and the reasons for the unhappiness may not be related to your practice area. But if it is connected to your practice area, it behooves you to explore the reasons. Besides determining why you want to switch your practice area, you should critically analyze your skill sets and personality traits, as well as academic and professional credentials, prior to embarking on the process to change your practice area.
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Most attorneys do not give sufficient thought to planning their legal careers. Sure, when they graduate from law school, they seek out the best jobs they can get. They practice for a couple of years, then at some point probably decide to seek new jobs. Yet sometimes even after working for a few years, and possibly even after multiple job changes, these attorneys still don’t know where they really want to be in their legal careers. If they do know, then they don’t know how to actually get there. Because of this, countless attorneys continue to follow unfulfilling career paths, and as a result many end up leaving the practice of law completely. Many of these attorneys could have built successful and rewarding legal careers, had they only been more aware of how to plan such a career.
Legal recruiters often are valuable assets to attorneys who are trying to find fulfilling career paths. Good legal recruiters are experts in the legal market. Their clients rely on them for advice on every issue that might affect their careers. Furthermore, their clients count on them to locate not just any jobs, but jobs that are perfect fits for each client’s own individual career goals.
Good legal recruiters do not merely know about the general legal market; rather, they forge close relationships with both law firms and candidates. They must grasp what each firm is looking for in potential hires, and must know about everything from firm culture to specialized practice groups. Additionally, they must identify what each candidate really is looking for in his or her career, and must know enough details about each candidate to (a) discern which employer would be the best fit for that candidate, and (b) successfully present the candidate to that particular firm. In short, good legal recruiters need to know where their clients truly want to go their legal careers, and how they can get there.
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