Learning how to market yourself as an experienced attorney to potential employers, once you have handpicked the right firms, is easier for some than for others. The key, as we discussed in Chapter 4, is to know what you're looking for before you begin the process and to take the time to perform law firm due diligence before you start making phone calls and mailing your resume to potential employers.
Performing due diligence at this stage should be much easier as an experienced attorney, even if you have limited legal work experience, simply because you have more contacts in the industry. Once you've selected your geographic market, contact your peers and acquaintances. Find out which firms can offer you what you are looking for. Which firms have the clients you want to work for? Which firms offer sane lifestyles for their attorneys? Of all of your friends and acquaintances, which ones really enjoy their work? Take time to ask these types of questions and find the answers, off the record, before you jump into the job market.
USING LEGAL SEARCH FIRMS
Many experienced attorneys depend on legal search firms or "headhunters," as they are often affectionately known, to help them locate new positions. If you have worked in a law firm for very long, you probably have received cold calls from legal search consultants looking for attorneys to fill positions in other law firms. I'm sure that there are thousands of satisfied attorneys who have obtained positions with the assistance of a headhunter. But, there is more to this animal than what first meets the eye. You should understand how legal search consultants work. Knowledge is vital, especially when dealing with an industry that thrives on recruiting legal talent from one firm and offering it to another for a fee.
Search Firm Databases
Established legal search firms possess large databases of information on attorneys in law firms in a particular market or markets. An established firm knows who does what in which firm, and they are familiar with the "culture" of particular firms. They obtain this information by researching and working with firms and their attorneys, often over a period of many years. When they receive a job order from a firm for a specific position, they often already know where that talent exists. Once they identify where the talent is, they begin making cold calls to attorneys, attempting to find someone who may be willing to consider the position. Or they may have attorneys in their databases just waiting to locate the right opportunity. As scary as it may sound, they often know a lot about you before they make that phone call. But you should also be flattered that, in a tight job market, someone else may be interested in your talents and abilities.
Economic belt tightening, you might anticipate that law firms have discontinued this practice, for monetary reasons alone. Surprisingly, this is not the case. Almost every law firm I interviewed still uses legal search firms to fill lateral positions. Obviously, some firms utilize legal head-hunters more than others, but there are still many legal search firms making huge salaries at the expense of law firms.
- Sometimes firms have too many positions to fill at once. Some firms are still experiencing huge rates of growth. Even an experienced recruiting professional can't always do all the work. Often you'll find legal search consultants helping out in such cases.
- Some firms don't have recruiting staffs. Small or medium-sized firms may not have the available manpower to fill lateral positions. So they call in the experts for help when they need it.
There are circumstances in which it may make sense for you to utilize the services of a legal search firm from the very beginning:
- When your workload is so demanding that you have little available time to look for a new position. If you find yourself so involved in work that you have zero time to prepare resumes, research employers, and make phone calls during working hours, then using a headhunter may make good sense. But don't use your heavy workload as an excuse to turn your job hunt over to a search firm if you really can manage to do it yourself.
- If you're relocating to an area you're not familiar with. Relocating to a new, unfamiliar area can be difficult, especially if you are unable to spend time there researching the market and networking. A good head-hunter knows the market and can help educate you on what you can expect in terms of job availability and salary levels. This may be your best resource under these circumstances.
- If you have no contacts in the market you want to enter. Networking is an essential component of any job search. If you have absolutely zero contacts in a market, then using a headhunter may make sense.
- If your credentials are so incredible that any firm would be willing to hire you, regardless of whether they have to pay a headhunter's fee. We'd all like to be in this predicament. Unfortunately, this rule applies only to a very small percentage of the attorney population. For example, if you graduated from Yale, clerked for an appellate court judge and then the Supreme Court, and worked for two years in a major New York firm, then you can write your ticket to any destination.
While there are circumstances in which it makes good sense to utilize the services of a legal search consultant, there are situations in which it probably makes better sense for you to search for a new position on your own:
- If you're already familiar with the legal job market. If you are planning to relocate to an area in which you already know the legal job market or if you're searching for another position in the market in which you are already working, then using a headhunter probably doesn't make good sense. As an example, one associate and her attorney husband decided to relocate to a city in the Southeast. She had a good friend who had previous contacts in the legal market there and was willing to make some phone calls on their behalf. They already had what it takes to start the ball rolling in their job search and had little need for the services of a legal search firm. I also believe that their search was easier, since neither had a headhunter fee attached to them. They were able to locate good legal positions very quickly on their own.
- If you've been out of law school for less than one year. It makes law firms angry to see new associates who have just gone through the on-campus recruiting process using headhunters. Why would a firm pay a $25,000 fee for an almost entry-level candidate when they can hire someone six or nine months more junior for nothing?
- If you've recently completed a judicial clerkship and possess no full-time work experience in a law firm. The same thought process applies here. Firms don't want to pay huge headhunter fees for entry-level or almost entry-level experience, especially when there are other candidates with similar credentials on the block without headhunter fees attached to them.
- If your new market is tough to crack and there is an abundance of candidates available. Keep the forces of supply and demand in mind at all times. If the market is already saturated with candidates at your level and firms don't have to pay headhunter fees, they won't. You may not realize how tight your market is until you get in it, so do a little research early on to find out. Contact your law school placement office for assistance, or make a few cold calls to headhunters in the area for information. Remember that firms won't pay headhunter fees if they don't have to.
- If you're making a career change of any kind. Law firms are willing to pay headhunter fees only for candidates who exactly fill their needs. If you are an environmental litigator wanting to become a corporate finance attorney, it's extremely unlikely that a law firm will be interested in paying a headhunter fee to retrain you. If your goal is to take a different path in your law firm career, you should brush up on your networking skills.
- If there's a gap in your work history due to a sabbatical or a period of unemployment or if you're currently unemployed. Law firms probably aren't willing to pay headhunter fees for candidates they perceive to be risks. While today it's not unusual to find candidates who have followed different paths-taken sabbaticals or time off to pursue other interests or to travel, for example-you may have a difficult time convincing a law firm that you are worth paying a fee for if you have done something out of the ordinary or if you have had a difficult time finding a job after being laid off or terminated. And if you're currently without a job, you will probably have a tough time as well. The adage "It's easier to get a job if you already have one" is true.
Law firms are tough places to work, and it's increasingly common in today's economic climate to find yourself laid off or even terminated for numerous reasons. While no one ever wants to be in this unfortunate position, it's not the end of the world, and many people manage to successfully pick up the pieces and move their legal careers forward despite these temporary setbacks. But how do you present yourself positively to other potential employers once you've been fired or laid off? What do firms view as acceptable risks in lateral candidates in such situations, and what are the danger signs that make firms avoid certain lateral candidates, no matter what?
Get Letters of Recommendation Before You Leave
Regardless of your plight, always get several letters of recommendation from the most recent employer. Ask at least one partner to write a. formal letter of recommendation on your behalf before you leave. If you can, get several recommendation letters from various attorneys you worked with in different practice areas. Letters of recommendation eliminate the need to check every reference, and multiple letters of recommendation may indicate that you are a valuable asset to many people and multiple practice areas, which may help broaden your appeal.
Be Consistent in Your Story Line
Before you begin your job search, establish a story line regarding your current situation, and stick with it. If you've been fired, construct, within the realm of reality, a valid reason for your predicament. And unless you've done something really awful to get fired, just tell the truth. If you had a personality conflict with your partner supervisor, if you just didn't fit in, or if you were doing work you really didn't like, just explain what happened.
If you did something that you're truly ashamed of or that will absolutely keep you from getting a job, that's another story. You don't always have to tell the entire world that you were fired, but you do have to establish a reason for being on the job market and consistently stick with it. Then make sure that whomever you use for references understands your reasons for changing jobs and gives the right story to potential employers. An inconsistent story line raises an immediate red flag. If a firm has even a slight suspicion that something fishy is going on, your chances for employment will be abolished immediately.
Never Act Desperate
Always put on a positive, happy face throughout the interview process, and never act desperate for a job. Your acting skills will come in handy again if you are, in fact, in a desperate situation. But too many job seekers don't realize that they come across as downcast. Act as though you have multiple choices, even if you don't, without being smug or arrogant.
You can accomplish this by indicating that you have several irons in the fire, are on second or even third interviews at more than one place. And never tell a firm that you will accept the position if it's offered to you. That makes you seem desperate, and it takes away any bargaining power that you have during the salary negotiation process. A despondent or desperate unemployed attorney stands out in a crowd and says "hands off." Trust me.
Keep an Office and Telephone Number at Your Previous Firm
If your former law firm or employer will allow, maintain an office in the firm, with a phone number with voice mail or a secretary, for as long as possible. No matter what your current circumstances, this simply paints a better picture to potential employers. Many law firms are generous toward departing attorneys, often granting them ample time to look for a new position. And often, unless you are being fired for gross misconduct, firms will allow you to use phone and secretarial services for ninety days or so. It's unlikely that this benefit will remain open-ended.
If potential employers are able to call you at your office, they may think you are still on the payroll there, even if you aren't. If your firm has, in fact, given you a generous amount of time to locate a new position, this practice can be very helpful. You'd be surprised at the number of attorneys who have managed to find new positions soon after they'd been dismissed, without the firm that just hired them knowing about the dismissal. While there is some deception in this practice, I'm sure you'll agree that it's easier to get a job if you already have one. Just make sure that you don't blatantly lie to a potential employer about your situation. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.
Utilize Outplacement Resources
If your firm offers outplacement assistance as a benefit, take full advantage of it as long as possible. Outplacement firms are well versed in helping people overcome the negative connotations associated with being laid off or terminated. They are experts on teaching you how to turn negative situations into positive ones, which, as you may discover, isn't an easy task. And you may need counseling to keep your emotions intact during this stressful period. Many outplacement firms provide you with offices, telephone coverage, resume preparation, job leads, and skill development workshops. You might want to consider engaging an outplacement professional on your own if your firm does not offer you this benefit.
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