What I learned from New Jersey (and other holiday fairy tales)

After a too-long trip plane ride back to New York, all that was left at 9:30 p.m. last night was a quick trip from Newark to Brooklyn.  Only a few minutes into the ride, we were brought to a halt on a bridge in the aftermath of a 4 car accident.  Along with hundreds of other (I assume) weary holiday travelers, we sat, engine off, watching helplessly as police officers and firemen milled about the scene.  It was clear after a few minutes that there were a couple of people involved in the accident who were loaded onto ambulances–luckily nothing looked too serious.  Everyone sat in their cars.  No honking, no yelling, everyone sat patiently.

It’s as though everyone knew that the situation was outside their control.

At just over an hour in, the entire crowd reached a tipping point.  It became apparent that the people involved in the accident were long since taken care of, and none of the officers had since made any attempt to clear a lane for traffic, or to even acknowledge the now HUNDREDS of headlights lining up for miles.  No one on the scene moved with a spring in their step, it became incredibly frustrating.  The honking started.  Two gentlemen in a van in front of me started yelling for the police to “let us the *bleep* out of here.”

It was an interesting lesson, though, in how we manage the realities of what we can control, and what we can’t.  Sometimes, the situation we find ourselves in is just something we can to deal with.  I found myself thinking about the market and those lawyers who feel that the situation they find themselves in (less work, or more grave, out of a job).  There are obstacles that we have to accept, and losing patience doesn’t help that.  Getting mad and angry at everyone around isn’t any kind of solution.

But, just as my crowd of fellow bridge-sitters did, when it’s time to start thinking about solutions to the problem, the level of frustration in the face of inaction is overwhelming and incredibly frustrating.  As obstacles like those the market is facing continue longer than we were expecting to have to manage them, how do you keep your head on straight?  Are you the type to jump out of your car and yell at everyone you can get your hands on?  Do you lean on your horn?  Or do you watch for all of the signs of progress you can find, so you’re prepared with your engine on when the traffic starts to move?

What I learned from my dog trainer.

Or, more specifically, my dog’s dog trainer.

My beloved canine companion hasn’t been acting so beloved lately. It took me a while for my own internal lightbulb to go off about my dog’s behavior. He’s always been pretty well-behaved, so I processed all of his bad behavior in that context. “Huh,” i thought, when he barked at my friends innocently trying to come in the door and take off their coats “that’s weird. He’s normally so lovely when friends come over.” Surely my dog who has never needed a trainer wasn’t doing anything that would require one now.

Finally, when he growled at a sweet old lady, I called in a professional.

The first thing she did when she sat down was to ask about whether anything has changed in our life and household. She didn’t focus on his behavior, she focused on his environment. And there have been changes in our lives. A new, bigger house. Renovations. Morecoming and going through his previously quiet domain. She almost didn’t even have to do anything else. It became clear that while we weren’t changing how we were acting towards our dog–there were plenty of other dynamics encouraging his escalating behavior.

The great news is that there is nothing wrong with our little monster. He’s not sick, he’s not mean. But now we have to think about how to adjust and reinforce his behaviors to make him more comfortable and confident as our lives change and adjust.

It reminded me of a lawyer I’ve been talking to who was lamenting having to take a continuing education course in his area of the law. Undoubtedly quite accomplished in his field, this lawyer is resisting further training, because he’s never needed it before. While that’s certainly true, his comfort with his expertise has closed this lawyer offto opportunities to better himself professionally. Sure, this is a brilliant guy who knows a great deal. But he’s ignoring the fact that the world is always changing around him, and he’s resisting seeing the gravity of those changes.

Take it from my dog. We always have to ask ourselves whether we’re watching the changes in our professional environment, and learning from them.

Goodbye Thelen

There is something rather sad about the dissolution of Thelen Reid Brown Raysman this week. It’s not so much the demise of a good firm as it is the evaporation of part of my past. Graduating from law school in the late 90s (and focusing on IP law), Brown Raysman was one of the hot shot, new media practices in NYC. Dynamic, entrepreneurial, and at the cusp of evolving Internet law, the firm offered something really different to Manhattan legal practice — in addition to its decidedly West Coast feel. While I never practiced law there, I always enjoyed seeing it from afar (the firm operated out of the building behind my firm). It was almost like something “magical” to wish for later on in life (whether real or not). Moreover, when other IT/IP firms like Brobeck Phleger tanked, Brown Raysman held on in NYC, and I kept hoping it would keep holding on.

Today’s announcement of Thelen’s dissolution reinforces, however, the idea that nothing is forever in today’s market. It also forces me remember that a “firm” doesn’t make the magic. It’s people do. Brown Raysman’s folks will move on from Thelen’s walls, join other firms, and take their brand of practice somewhere else. I suppose little bits of the new media magic will be scattered around New York, at other firms, and to other cities. Maybe this isn’t so bad. As a practitioner of IP law, maybe this is a good thing. So, while I’m feeling sad that something important from my early days of practice is gone, I suppose there is an upside to all of this. Maybe it is time to move on — for all of us.

I told this to a friend of mine who was laid off today from another firm. She was talking about how good things were — what a good group it was — and how nothing can compare. Maybe that’s true, but maybe for some of those who are getting laid off, it might be time to move on. Take your magic elsewhere. I do believe that something good will come from all of this reshaping of national law firms. We just have to look for it and realize that we are part of it.

Show, don’t tell

In reviewing hundreds of resumes a week, I have developed a couple of pet peeves. People who know me know my distaste for an ‘interests’ category on a resume that brags of hobbies that include reading, travel, and fine dining. (As an aside, I too love reading, travel, and fine dining. Dining of the not-fine variety, as well). In a nutshell, I don’t think that anyone should take up valuable space in a resume in a way that doesn’t really define and distinguish who you are. Reading, while a noble past-time, just doesn’t set you apart.

My new pet peeve is these qualitative narrative resumes. Somebody is spreading the word that a resume that contains a lot of adjectives is the way to go. Often, it contains a sentence at the top that might read “Results-oriented attorney with 15 years of experience in sophisticated practice.” I respectfully disagree that these descriptors add value. A resume might tell us that you are hardworking, that you are detail oriented, that you are bright. This isn’t really a resume, though, it’s just fluff (even when its true). Describe what you do–what you have done. This is what will define your ability to take on a new role. Law firms want to see the substance of the work you’ve performed–they do not, in my experience, respond to descriptions of the ‘intangibles’ that you bring to the table. At least not when set out in a resume format.

Instead of a line that tells us that you are someone who ‘enjoys responsibility’, why not attach a deal sheet that describes your tasks as the lead associate on a transaction? I think you’ll see a better response. If you MUST tell us that you are experienced, or conscientious, at least make sure that there is substance in the resume that supports that. I can’t tell you how many cover letters I’ve read extolling the virtues of the author’s ‘attention to detail’ that had one or more typos.

Sometimes *those* resumes really make the rounds, but not in a good way.

Will travel, have job…

I was talking to a firm who has laid off some of their ranks in the last year or so. The firm is keeping close tabs on the outplacement of the affected attorneys, and confirmed my hunch that New York experience will have the most cache outside of New York. The associates that are willing to consider jobs in other geographic regions seem to be having the most success landing on their feet. Something for lawyers to continue to consider in these difficult circumstances.

Don’t Show Me the Money?

I was talking to a former candidate of mine the other day–he had joined his current firm just at the tail end of the salary wars last year. He was strongly of the opinion (at the time) that New York firms should have raised associate salaries above where they are now to compensate for the cost of living adjustment.

He doesn’t think that now.

Of course, salaries will go up again, although no one knows when that might be. The uncertainty of today’s market will reverse over time, and once again, associates will be scanning the blogs for news of market salaries hikes and special bonuses. But for now, the market is sobering us up, and I hope that we’ll all remain conscious that there are reactions for every action. Today, my friend is busy and is becoming a truly fantastic lawyer. He’s grateful for his experience, and doesn’t worry so much about his cost of living. What a difference a year makes.

The Last Lecture

It seems that most people have learned about Professor Randy Pausch’s “Last Lecture,” delivered at Carnegie Mellon in September of 2007. Clips of his moving lecture have traveled from in-box to in-box, and a book by the same name was published earlier this year.

Randy Pausch lost his battle with pancreatic cancer last Friday.

My Mom gave me her copy of the book, which I’ve read and passed on to a friend. I’m a jaded New Yorker, so I typically don’t go for too much sentiment, but the energy and courage Professor Pausch brought to the past year of his life is impossible to deny. He had a lot of life lessons to leave (principally intended for his children), and as word spread, to a much larger international audience.

For me, his passing deserves some contemplation. With all of the static that seems to be swirling around us lately, from growing unemployment and continued economic uncertainty to a divided political landscape, have we done all that we intended to do in our lives? Instead of becoming mired down in the negative, what is it can we accomplish today?

Oh did I say Greenpeace? I meant Federalist Society

There is some evidence that the Justice Department has been screening resumes for its prestigious recruitment program on the basis of political bias. An inspector general report (as detailed in the New York Times on June 25th, 2008, “Report Sees Illegal Hiring Practices at Justice Dept.”) concludes that during the Bush administration, the DOJ turned away qualified applicants with liberal leaning backgrounds and interests in favor of their more conservative (and sometimes less qualified) competition.

Left or right, I’ve not heard anyone condoning the government’s actions in this particular matter. Certainly, for the Department of Justice in particular, it should be about the most qualified lawyers getting these jobs without respect to their political point of view. Having said that, can we ever truly leave our bias at the door? A resume that is pointedly political will necessarily evoke a response from its audience. And, as a lawyer in the lateral market, it’s sometimes difficult to anticipate how your world view is going to be perceived by a potential employer.

I hate to tell a lawyer to sanitize their resume. Removing something you feel passionately about from the four corners of your resume feels a little like ‘selling out’, doesn’t it? Obviously, if you spent a summer on the campaign trail it’s a part of your professional background and your work history, and you have to include it. But what if you volunteer at Planned Parenthood? Or lobby your school system to teach intelligent design?

It’s important to recognize that people will form perceptions of you based on your background and what causes you support. Reviewing a resume is a subjective analysis–the reviewer brings their own bias to the table. I suppose the magnitude of this bias depends in part on what you do and where you live. It makes me wonder whether it ever makes sense to temper one’s resume to keep the emphasis on skills and achievements and away from those activities that might reveal our place on the political spectrum. Has anyone removed something from their resume to minimize their political leanings?

Sudoku is a japanese puzzle…

loosely translated as “only single numbers allowed,” at least if you believe an August, 2005 article about the craze, published by the New York Times. Will Shortz’ article entitled “A Few Words About Sudoku, Which Has None” described the increasingly popularity of the game.

Catching on, indeed. CNN reports today (http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/10/sudoku.jury.ap/index.html) that a mistrial was declared when it was discovered that some of the jurors had been playing sudoku during the trial. The trial, which had gone for 66 days before the discovery, cost the government in the neighborhood of $950,000 (US).

I’m torn. I love sudoku, but I’ve been in front of juries. It’s hard to know whether you are convincing a jury–keeping them focused is a whole different hurdle. And the lawyers and judge’s staff who now have to start from scratch? That’s the kind of massive frustration that only a good mind numbing game of sudoku could soothe…

Is Your Paycheck Making You Nervous?

IP Law 360 examined why we are seeing more layoffs in law firms recently, in an article titled “Lawyers Fear Layoffs” and published on Friday, May 30th (subscription required). When I was interviewed, I suggested that lawyers should be aware of the link between high associate salaries and the probability that more law firms will announce layoffs in the wake of a market compensation increase. I personally feel that the last so-called salary wars in early 2007 were so aggressive that a scaling back in personnel isn’t surprising, although it is certainly unfortunate.

Others in the article said that recent layoffs can be linked only to the lack of demand for legal services in particular practice areas. There is no denying the impact of the credit crisis on the market at large and law firms specifically. Do you think that associates’ increased salaries play any part in the current belt-tightening environment?