The decade in review…for associates

If you’ve been paying attention, it’s been a wild ten years on the law firm associate front. Back when I practiced law, I know I didn’t pay much attention to all the goings-on at law firms in terms of salary wars and bonuses. As a recruiter, however, an almost global knowledge of law firms and their compensation is a job requirement.

If you’ve spent the last ten years billing, you might check out this interesting read. Leigh Jones from the National Law Journal has this fascinating profile of the ups and downs experienced by associates in the first ten years of this century. Could we rewind to 2007? Please?

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Is the market improving? And when is a good time to speak with a recruiter?

The market is very slowly improving. When we start receiving job orders from law firms for associates in certain practice areas we generally take that as a good sign. These practice areas include corporate, trademark, and tax. We first see the changes in the East Coast, and then it spreads throughout the country’s major markets. 2010 will be better than 2009 but not as good as 2008. If you are thinking of moving to a new firm, my recommendation is to stay put BUT speak with a recruiter to see what is realistic. I generally recommend people stay at their current firm if there is nothing pushing them out and wait for another year to resume a job search. But, if you stay in touch with a trusted and honest recruiter, then you will be aware of what is happening in the market and of any unusually good job opportunities.

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Collecting Your Thoughts

I get a lot of calls from job seekers. For obvious reasons, there have been more calls from lawyers who are truly struggling with the market than I’m used to in a good economy. Though we are seeing the signs of recovery, no one who is in the market can afford to start getting sloppy in the way that they conduct themselves as they search for a job. Specifically, I get a lot of calls from folks who sound, well, panicked. You may *be* panicked, but take whatever time you need to collect your thoughts.

For example, I get voicemails where people forget to identify themselves. I get long rambling messages. I talk to people who sound out of breath because they saw a job they thought looked interesting and ran out of their office to call me from the street so they wouldn’t be found out. My personal pet peeve is a five minute message where someone talks a long stream of consciousness, and then speeds through their phone number so I have to listen to the message 3 more times to be able to decipher their contact information.

I’m not someone to stand on formality, but i do feel like more and more lawyers out there are sounding quite frenzied. A gentleman called me a couple of weeks ago and was very literally yelling about the fact that he had contacted other recruiters and they weren’t getting back to him. I understand why he’s frustrated, but yelling to a complete stranger isn’t really a job search strategy, is it?

I suggest that before you pick up the phone to pursue a job or a search, take 30 seconds to collect yourself and very briefly think through what it is you want to convey. It’s ok to feel desperate or frustrated or anxious about your job search, but don’t let that infect your presentation. I heard a judge give some amazing speech to lawyers recently. The gist of it was to be honest, be funny, and be brief. Amen.

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Fear of Job Loss

According to a new study, nearly 30 percent of all large firm associates fear losing their jobs. While this may be a bit higher than it might have been several years ago, I imagine that this statistic is par for the course. Large law firms are not known for doing a lot of hand holding; and in both good and bad times, associates often tell us that they do not get enough feedback and are therefore worried about their tenure.

But what if work really is slowing down? Are you really at risk of being fired? Take a look at an article my colleague Carey Bertolet wrote on the subject.

Furthermore, how should you spend your time when there is “nothing to do?” Here is a partial list of suggestions:

• Write an article.
• Ask partners if they need help.
• Volunteer to put together CLE materials for a partner who is speaking at a conference.
• Join a bar association committee and volunteer for a high profile role.
• Check in with clients just to say hi. Invite them to lunch or coffee if they are local and use the time for relationship building.
• Attend CLE courses yourself.
• Meet classmates for lunch.

And if you really believe you are at risk of losing your job, start networking and job hunting. At the very worst you will gain more perspective on your current situation and learn something about the legal marketplace.

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