The Limitless Lawyer

Laid-off in Mid-Career, it is never too late for getting help from your alma mater

Rah, Rah, Résumé!
NY Times article that highlights the increasing number of career services offices that are reaching out to help not only recent graduates who are trying to find jobs but more seasoned professionals as well.

One of the great offerings at some schools is a host of webinars for those who don't want to make face-to-face appearances at their old stomping grounds. So call your alma mater today if you are looking for a job or looking to connect with alumni who may be working in fields in which you have an interest.

What does it take to get a job around here?

In December 2008, The Wall Street Journal enlisted eight unemployed M.B.A.s to write about their job hunts on a blog called Laid Off And Looking. Four of the original and three additions have landed full-time jobs.

What did it take? C-o-m-p-r-o-m-i-s-e-s!
...including...
Big pay cuts
Relocation
Entry-level positions in new industries

Read more here.

How do you want to be known?

photo by claudiogennari

...intellectually?
...creatively?
...spiritually?
...professionally?
...emotionally?
...intimately?
...socially?
...physically?

Only humans are forced to grapple with such decisions. Yet sometimes we knowingly do things that directly contradict with how we want to be known. If you want to be known as courageous, running from conflict, problems or life is not going to get you what you say you want. So now what?

New Lawyer Survey Results - Just In! (Margie Boone)

Margie Boone Career Guidance Manager (Formerly Career Services Ass't Director for Top 10 law school.)

1. Why did you go to law school? Nothing else to do 2. Boyfriend at time took the LSATs and it seemed like a good idea 3. Took the LSATs and then thought "why not apply?" 4. Applied and got in. 5. How can you say no?

2. When did you first think about leaving the practice of law or decide to quit law school?

Before I ever went to law school I was looking for a way out of law. Nevertheless, I was a successful lawyer (and found it quite satisfying) for 8 years.

3. What thought, experience or event first inspired your current career choice?

The fact that I didn't know what I wanted to do with my law degree.

4. What was the very first action you took when you decided to switch careers?

Informational interviews

5. What resources (people, books, money) assisted you most during your transition?

Having a husband who worked at a large firm and could support my transition from practice to working at a law school which cut my salary by more than 1/2. He basically subsidized my training.

6. How did you handle fear and/or uncertainty during your transition?

Knowing that I could always go back to practicing law.

7. What skills from law school or your legal career have proven most useful in your new career?

Knowing how a private practice law firm operates. Being familiar with the language of law. Understanding the complexities of making career decisions.

8. What advice would you give to someone trying to make the leap from law into your field?

Work in a career services office at a law school. If you cannot do that, get involved in recruiting at your law firm.

9. Any final words of wisdom? How has living your passion impacted your life?
I love my job and feel very very lucky to have found something that I enjoy and that keeps me connnected with the legal world and that (currently) pays me well.

When all else fails...

Start Snitchin': Ratting out Lawyers (not to the police, to me!)

Tracking down former lawyers is a difficult task. It appears that many of us who leave the profession do so when we feel we've reached the end of our rope. It's as if lawyers have entered into a witness protection program - taking on completely new identities and never telling people in their new lives what they once were.

Bu there are a number of current lawyers and law students who flail about because they don't fit in amongst traditional practitioners and find it difficult to fit in amongst the general public as I wrote about here.

This blog is my way of reaching out. So I've set a lofty goal which is this:

Between now and December 31, 2008, I would like to collect, at least 50 completed surveys.

When the 150,000 U.S. law students take a break for the holidays, contemplate dropping out of law school or just hating themselves for making what they believe was the dumbest decision of their young lives, they can learn from others. Many law students have no idea what they want to do with their lives. And my mission is to provide them with options from real lawyers who've transitioned or are in the process of transitioning into non-traditional legal careers. It's all about options.

This is an enormous task and I need your help! So if you know or suspect that someone is a former lawyer working in a new career, e-mail them and tell them to fill out the survey.

Here are some ideas for sharing the info:

- Contact your alumni association and ask them to link to the survey on their website.

- E-mail it to BigLaw or SmallLaw co-workers (I trust you know who to leave off the list).

- Talk it up at Starbucks between 5 and 6 pm (we-re the only ones needing coffee at this hour - our day is really just beginning).

Collecting the stories of lawyers who have transitioned into new careers, for me, is about understanding how their choices to carve out non-traditional paths impact their lives. Perhaps by reading their stories, we will find new ways in which to unify our learned expertise with our passions.

So start snitchin'!

Network your way to a dream job

I try to write about the stuff I wish someone had told me in law school or, better yet, before I enrolled in law school. I do think that elite law schools spend way too much time "teaching lawyers how to think" instead of teaching us how to practice and establish careers.

Law school is a do-it-yourself program that few students fully work to their advantage. One issue that can never be discussed too much is: NETWORKING

Getting a job is about relationships. This should be really clear to law students who graduate alongside hundreds of other qualified individuals. Chuck Newton writes a great article that I think every aspiring lawyer should read: Networking Should Begin In Law School.

The real work in pursuing any career takes place outside of the classroom.

New Survey Results - just in!

I love hearing from lawyers who have transitioned into alternative legal careers. Here's another completed survey added from Terry Lewis.

In his final words of wisdom, he makes a great point about understanding and viewing your work as an evolving aspect of your life. He writes,

"Understand who you are and what you love. Put it in context within the choices currently available to you in the world of work. Be aware that the context and choices will change and that you can move ever closer to work that embodies what you love and who you truly are by exercising choice within those changes."

Read it in its entirety here.

It's a man's world...so what?

The legal field is still predominantly male. According to findings by Catalyst, in 2007, women made up 32.6% of all lawyers. And, of the nation's 200 largest law firms, women represent almost 16% of equity partners and only 8% of managing partners. For women of color, they represent only 1.7% of all partners.

So I thought that this post from Inc.com entitled, "How to Get Heard in a Meeting Full of Men," would provide some insight for young women graduating from college or law school who need to find a way to be heard in a male dominated profession, office or world.

However, I would never, in a million years, implore any of the methods outlined in the article. BUT, and this is the real subject of this post, I realize myself to be a different kind of gal. Here's why:

 

1. I've always been surrounded by mostly men in family and friendship situations.

2. I've never had a problem being heard.

3. I never take on the mannerisms of men in order to be heard.

4. I always wait until there is absolute silence and then I make my point, confidently and succinctly. Men are amazed by this and usually go on to ask for more.

5. I also have been told that I intimidate some men because of my silence. I never raise my voice. I won't yell to be heard or tap into the testosterone that I know lies within me to engage.

 

But I hear professional women struggle with this all the time. I'd like to know from other women what works for you and why or why not. Share the knowledge so young women will not sit in meetings raising their hands, asking for permission to speak. The thought of that makes me gag.

Transitioning to a career where transferable skills aren't obvious and being a lawyer doesn't impress

Antonia Floyd made a tremendous leap from law practice to the world of beauty and fashion. I say tremendous because, as she indicates, she "...left law school thinking [she] could jump right in to being a 6 figure manager and found that [she] had to work full time for free before anyone would even take [her] seriously." How's that for a wake-up call?

That is just a teaser because I think anyone who is thinking about entering a field where traditional legal expertise is not obvious or even valued should take the time to read Antonia's survey in its entirety. Continue reading below; and if you still want to download a pdf version, click here.

Antonia Floyd, Calvin Klein Global Marketing Coordinator

1. Why did you go to law school?

I was a business major in college and as graduation approached, I just didn't know what I wanted to do. And, the prospect of doing something completely random for only $40-50K a year wasn't appealing. I knew I always wanted to go back to school so I set my sights on getting my MBA. A few mentors and teachers told me that the top programs don't generally take students fresh out of college with no full time experience. So, I decided that the JD/MBA would be my best route to getting into b-school - I was serious when I said I didn't want to work! I studied for both entrance exams - did well on them both - and started applying for law schools with the intention of applying to the joint degree program during my first year. I got into Harvard, and there was no question, that's where I was going. My father and my older sister are both attorneys. But, there was no pressure on me to follow in their steps, it was more like an absence of pressure to sit and examine what kind of career I really wanted. My family's thinking was that the legal education is a great primer for many things and that the law is a solid, stable career - so even if I eventually quit practicing, I would still be in a great position in life.

2. When did you first think about leaving the practice of law or decide to quit law school?

During law school, I was never sold on the idea of practicing to begin with. I knew going in that I did not want to be a lawyer. My first year, I really explored the more traditional non-legal careers for lawyers and fell for management consulting. I went to a presentation from McKinsey & Co. and saw that their work was exactly the kind I wanted to do and that they didn't even need me to have an MBA to do it. So, I did not apply to the business school for the joint degree as I planned, thinking that my law degree would be more than enough to get me into the kinds of fields that I wanted.

3. What thought, experience or event first inspired your current career choice?

My blog. I started my blog on a whim, after having finished my last day as a summer associate in a DC law firm. I had always liked beauty, and more than that, the products. I was really into products - the packaging, the design, the displays, the ingredients, delivery systems, colors, textures, smells, everything. I loved it and I absorbed it like an encyclopedia. Eventually, I started writing and recommending products to my friends and blog readers. I enjoyed the work I poured into that blog for FREE far more than anything I did at that firm that earned me $2,300 per week.

4. What was the very first action you took when you decided to switch careers?

When I got my offer for a permanent position at the firm after graduation, I was very hesitant to accept it. After a few weeks, I didn't quite realize how much I really had the passion for beauty but I did know that working at that firm wouldn't get me any closer to uncovering that true passion. So, I politely declined that offer without anything else in hand. I went back to management consulting and tried my hand at another round of case interviews. I made it to the final round but did not get an offer. That forced me to really step back and examine myself and what I wanted out of a career. My thought process up until then was that I'd be a consultant then make sure to take assignments at companies I liked - L'Oreal, Chanel, Saks Fifth Avenue - and eventually lateral over to one. Not getting the consulting job made me think about just eliminating the middle man entirely and pursuing those opportunities on my own. I first sought out an internship at a luxury department store in Boston just to get a better feel of the environment of beauty and fashion. Then, I trolled my personal network for contacts at major firms and ended up getting in touch with a friend of a friend at L'Oreal. Through her, I was able to talk to her manager and then meet with a few people in Human Resources. Though I didn't eventually get a job there, that process made me start mining any networks I had for contacts. I took to the alumni directory, spent hours researching the industry online, joined trade organizations for access to the membership rosters and career banks, I even reached out to people I didn't know at all through LinkedIn and asked questions about their experiences. I networked my tail off!

5. What resources (people, books, money) assisted you most during your transition?

My most valuable resources were the trade organization for my industry - Cosmetic Executive Women - my alumni directory, and the support of my family and friends. My parents let me move back in after I graduated and still didn't have a job and also supported me financially when I went to New York to work an unpaid internship at a skin care firm.

6. How did you handle fear and/or uncertainty during your transition?

I don't know that I handled it in any particular way. There were times that I thought that I just couldn't take it and times when I thought that I would have been better off (financially at least) if I had just taken the firm job. I think the one thing that really helped me hold it together was knowing, deep down all the way to my core, that I was doing the right thing for me. That was the only thing that kept me from giving up and gave me the strength to perservere despite the snide comments that people can sometimes make. I knew that if I did give up, I would regret it.

7. What skills from law school or your legal career have proven most useful in your new career?

A big picture focus. Law school really helped me be able to take a huge step back and see everything and exactly where it falls into larger plans. I was also a trained mediator in law school and those skills have helped me to be able to always stay above the fray.

8. What advice would you give to someone trying to make the leap from law into your field?

I would tell anyone looking to move from law - a field that is highly paid and prestigious - to beauty that humility is number one, followed closely behind by perserverence. This transition is not a common one. There aren't too many lawyers launching new fragrances or makeup lines, so a lot of managers and HR professionals are not going to be gung ho or impressed by an alternative skill set. The solid truth is that in this industry, you learn by doing and the doing is respected far more than degrees or other experiences. I left law school thinking I could jump right in to being a 6 figure manager and found that I had to work full time for free before anyone would even take me seriously. Being humble is the key to convincing people that you are serious and willing to put in the same work that they all did despite your degree. Perseverence is next. I got told no a lot more times than I got a yes and I got ignored even more times than I got a no. Perserverence is key. Being able to wake up every day and know that you are going to lay the seeds for your future even if you can't see anything grow. Anyone who isn't humble and persistent would be better served by choosing the path more taken.

9. Any final words of wisdom? How has living your passion impacted your life?

I'm happy. Doing what I want and living my passion has made me happier than anything else. I don't make a ton of money and I still have worries and concerns about paying back the dreaded student loans, but it's all worth it - because there's never a day when I dread going to work or don't want to be in my office. I may be tired some days and want to sleep in, but I never want to skip work.