Law Firm Layoffs: What's a Lawyer to Do?
Posted: January 16th, 2008
By: Zach Heller
Category: Career Corner, Law Firms, Law School, Opinion Corner, The News Beat

There is no reason to think that finding a job with a major law firm is any harder than it used to be.  That is if you don’t count the fact that large law firms everywhere are laying off people at a faster rate than ever and there are more law school graduates looking for jobs in 2008 than any of the five previous years.  Of course this is a problem.

With the recent credit crisis and financial problems, many larger firms dealing with corporate and finance practices have been experiencing slowdowns.  This means that some lawyers are finding themselves out of a job, and job seekers are coming up short.  Check out this article published by the Wall Street Journal this past weekend.  So what is a lawyer to do when he or she can’t find work in the legal field?

Use your knowledge of the legal world to do something related.  Work on your own or join a company designed to help lawyers and law firms, such as a consulting firm or a marketing agency.  There are many businesses out there designed to sell to, or help out law firms.  You can bring an expertise to the table that these companies may lack, and may pay big bucks to get.

Of course you can always gather a group of lawyers, all struggling with the current job market situation, and open up your own practice.  You may have to work hard and start small, but who knows what type of opportunities could come of it.  All of those large law firms had to start somewhere.

Whatever you do, make sure it is something that you want to be successful at.  And don’t get downon yourself, because the market will turn around.  Your old job may be waiting for you when the firms start hiring again, that is if you still want it.

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