Oct. 21, 2009 – Law school was to be the logical extension of my undergraduate academic shelter from the real world. Eventually, I hoped to become an environmental lawyer and save Mother Earth. However the arrival of my newborn son in my first year contradicted those career expectations. Needing any opportunity to make ends meet, I took a job delivering more than 400 newspapers every night between 2 and 4 a.m. seven days a week. Of course, in my 8 a.m. evidence class, Judge Robert Jones was not impressed that a paper route could be an excuse for lack of adequate case preparation.
Finding your needle in the haystack of opportunity
Many lawyers face contradictions in their career expectations. Law firms across the country have let go nearly 3,000 associates since 2008. In Wisconsin, more than 50 percent of 2009 law school graduates left school without jobs. Despite these challenging times, every lawyer has the ability to find an opportunity. Aggressive networking, thorough research, and communicating with confidence and optimism will make you stand out.
My first opportunity came from a friend. I convinced the partners of a small law firm that I was the perfect law student to crank out volumes of litigation and transactional paperwork. The only environmental file I ever saw was a client who wanted to build condos in the dunes of a protected national seashore.
Going solo
A growing number of lawyers who cannot find jobs with established firms are starting their own practices. However, operating a solo or small law firm is a risky business. Most young lawyers fresh out of law school have never drafted a civil complaint or answer, discovery requests or responses. Even an experienced lawyer has to have strong entrepreneurial instincts. Before making the decision, be diligent. Your personal income will depend directly on your ability to get clients and generate enough revenue to cover expenses. There are numerous resources available from the State Bar for those who want to evaluate this option.
Back to the future with technology
Lawyers today have a greater array of technology available to them than ever before. The ABA’s 2009 Legal Technology Survey Report found that 43 percent of respondents maintain a presence in an online community or social network, almost triple the number responding to the 2008 survey.
However, traditional principles of client development are still relevant. You must be visible to your target market, build credibility, get results, and provide extraordinary service. Technology gives lawyers new marketing opportunities. Use the Web to distribute knowledge of interest to your target markets, making you the “go to person. While finding a job still requires persistence, self-promotion, and a personal referral, technology allows you to refine information about referral sources in the networks you already have and add new network sources.
The 21stcentury generation gap
Lawyers and their firms often appear slow to change. However, lawyers were actually some of the first to use email and mobile phone technology, because it helped their practice and improved client service. Consider the traditional large inhouse library, almost eclipsed now by searchable databases such as Lexis, Westlaw, and Fastcase.
According to Jay M. Jaffe, president of Jaffe Associates, “The legal work environment is going to become more virtual. Why? Because it can, and because it makes economic sense to move to a virtual environment with the resultant savings in both real estate and personnel expenses. Smart law firms will be much more flexible then they are today and will be able to expand and contract based strictly on client demand and workflow.” As an example, Virtual Law Partners, founded in 2008, is a Web-based law firm that provides legal services at rates lower than conventional firms and enables lawyers to work from home.
Life/work balance
In 1829, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story declared that “the law is a jealous mistress.” Almost 180 years later, lawyers continue to struggle with the demands of work and family. The money and status that motivated the baby boomer leaders at many law firms are less important for many younger lawyers. Many law firm partners believe these lawyers lack motivation. In reality, new age lawyers are serious about their careers and work hard. However, many do not see partnership as the reward that it once was. Instead, they juggle many priorities and are more focused on creating a life/work balance. Their values reflect an old truism, “There’s not much point in earning a living if you can’t live the living you’re earning.”
Where are we going?
Thomas Kuhn's paradigm shift theory says that once a system has answered all the questions it can and then created a number of questions it cannot answer, a shift occurs and a new system emerges designed to answer these new questions. A lawyer’s main paradigm of precedence looks back, which can blind that lawyer to the future. If the old system still works, change can be uncomfortable. However, lawyers would do well to heed Alvin Toffler’s observation in his book, Third Wave: "Change is the process by which the future invades our lives. The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
Resources
• State Bar of Wisconsin resources (benefits and services)
• State Bar of Wisconsin 2008 Economics of Practice Survey
• “Is it Time to Hang Out Your Own Shingle?” Wisconsin Lawyer, July 2009
• Solo by Choice: How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be, Carolyn Elefant, www.MyShingle.com
• 50 Web Resources for the Suddenly Solo Lawyer, Jim Calloway and Allison Shields
• Flying Solo: A Survival Guide for the Solo and Small Firm Lawyer, K. William Gibson and Reid F. Trautz
•Lawyer resources in a down economy (WisBar.org)
• Michael Moore’s previous articles: In transition? Don’t let it bring you down; Effective networking and the lesson of the pot belly stove; Social networking means 33 million for lunch; The elevator speech: Who are you and why should I care?; How do you get more clients? Use the Narrow Focused Request
Michael Moore, Lewis and Clark 1983, is a professional coach for lawyers and the founder of Moore’s Law, Milwaukee. He specializes in marketing, client development, and leadership coaching for attorneys at all levels of experience. Moore also advises law firms on strategic planning and resource optimization. He has more than 25 years’ experience in private practice, as a general counsel, in law firm management, and in legal recruiting. For more information, visit www.moores-law.com.
