Go Ahead and Hate Me for My Optimism…

I am an optimist. It’s in my blood. No matter how bad things get, they have to get better eventually. It’s just how the world works. I am sure many people who have heard my never-ending optimism would like to stomp on my head. Frankly, I irritate myself sometimes with the things that I say. But in the end, I believe that optimism will take you far in life. Take a candidate with whom I recently met. She is as talented as they come, with a resume to match. But she was a senior associate, with no business, in a transactional practice that has been dead-as-dead-gets since the recession first hit. Not surprisingly, she was laid off from her Am Law 10 firm, despite being there for over five years.

Depressing? Hell, yes. But what’s worse is that she is a single Mom. No partner/boyfriend/spouse to pick up the slack during her unemployment, and no shoulder on which to cry.

When we first met, she was devastated. Anyone in her position would be. As we talked, I drew out of her that while she liked her most recent law firm position, there were countless other positions that might be a better fit for someone like her – both inside and outside law firms. At first she was resistant, and she even shed some tears during our meeting, but as I helped her to see the endless possibilities out there, she seemed to perk up. But it wasn’t until I told her that I believed (which I do) that there is a “100% chance that you will get another job” that she breathed a sigh of relief. I quickly qualified that statement by making sure she knew that I could not guarantee that I was going to be the one to find this job, or that it would pay as well, be in her chosen specialty or even be in the legal profession. But the fact remains that each and every one of us is employable, and as the recession begins to fade, the opportunities for talented attorneys are going to increase. It’s just how the world works.

While it may not actually get her a new job, I am confident that my optimistic outlook on her employment future helped to infuse new energy into her search. And for that reason alone, I will continue to irritate myself with my optimistic view of life.

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Unemployed? STAY BUSY.

A year ago, if someone had told me that the vast majority of associate-level candidates I would see during 2009 were going to be unemployed, I would have laughed (or cried). But it’s true. Unemployment is a reality for associates in all areas of law and at all levels. Lately, I have seen these associates fall into two categories: those who believe that staying busy in their substantive area of law will benefit their marketability to firms, and those who think now is the time to become one with the couch and rekindle their love affair with soap operas.

To most of you, I hope this is an obvious statement: the attorneys in the first category are going to get jobs long before those in the latter category. It feels almost ridiculous to have to say something that obvious. But I have my reasons. For example, I recently spoke to a candidate who called me about a new job posting on the BCG Attorney Search website. He has absolutely fantastic academic credentials and law firm experience, but in 2006 he left his last firm to obtain an additional graduate degree, and while doing so the market crashed. Consequently, he has been out of the law firm world for almost three years (two while in school and a year since graduation). Naturally, one of the first questions I asked him was to explain what he had been doing since earning his graduate degree a year ago. Imagine my surprise when he replied “not much.” I followed that up with “Have you been keeping up with the ever-changing rules and regulations of your practice area?” “Ah, not really,” he mumbled. “What about attending CLE classes?” I asked. “Um, that’s a good idea. Hadn’t thought about that.” (Really? Is that possible?) “Volunteering or doing contract work?” His reply: “nope.” You get my point. The guy had been doing nothing to help explain the growing gap on his resume (other than search the web for a permanent job).

As a recruiter, this makes my job infinitely more difficult. The first question a firm is going to ask me when I submit this candidate’s resume is to explain what he has been doing for the last year. Make no mistake, the majority of firms I work with are not turned off by a candidate who has been laid off from his firm, but they do want to know that the candidate is motivated to keep up with his legal knowledge and skills. Think about it. If you were the hiring partner at a firm, wouldn’t you prefer to interview the candidate who has been taking CLE classes, volunteering at a legal aid clinic, seeking out contract work where available and networking with former colleagues and friends all while contemporaneously looking for a permanent job over the candidate that has just been looking for work for the last year? Firms are not stupid. They know that while a job search is very time consuming, it does leave time for other activities. And in this economy, no matter your credentials, if you are not out there doing extracurricular activities, the guy sitting next to you (who has equally impressive credentials) is– and he is going to get the job over you.

So, get out there. I guarantee that it will help you land a solid job.

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Offer received from firm. Should you ask for moving expenses too?

I have always given a word of caution to lawyers in regards to negotiating the terms of an offer. Although your request may be perfectly reasonable, any time you attempt to negotiate the terms of an offer- you are at risk of the offer being retracted. Since this market is a tough one and there is a lot of stellar legal talent currently out on the market- you may not want to quibble with the firm over a small detail like moving expenses.

In a different market, it might have made sense to negotiate this point. In this market, where there are plenty of unemployed attorneys who would welcome any job offer- you may want to take the safe route and just accept the firm’s current package. If you decide to negotiate any points of your offer, please proceed with caution.

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