30 06, 2011

Think You’re Underpaid? Get Real Before You Leap

2019-03-21T19:24:39+00:00By |Comments Off on Think You’re Underpaid? Get Real Before You Leap

An in-house lawyer (let’s call her Sara) contacted me about helping her design a business plan for starting up her own law firm. I commended Sara’s wisdom in creating a business plan before leaving her corporate job. Surprisingly few lawyers actually do that. She explained that she needed the business plan in order to get a bank to lend her operating capital. While I silently questioned how realistic her expectations were, I asked how much she intended to borrow. She said, “I only need enough to cover my living expenses for a couple of months. Just until the money starts coming in.” […]

18 01, 2011

Improving Your Resume & Cover Letter

2019-04-01T21:29:55+00:00By |Comments Off on Improving Your Resume & Cover Letter

I recently received a request from a stranger to review his resume and cover letter and provide feedback to him.  I don’t really hold myself out as an expert in reviewing resumes, but I do sometimes give clients my reaction to theirs. Frankly, however, my interest in reading resumes ranks just slightly above reading my homeowner’s insurance policy. I think I already read more than my quota of resumes back in my law firm days.

I have empathy for law students, recent grads and laid-off lawyers who hope to find a job in this challenging economy. So from time to time, I write articles and give talks that provide tips that may help make their job search more successful.  I decline, however, to read unsolicited resumes unless I get paid to do it, or until I determine that I owe penance for some crime against humanity. […]

20 10, 2010

How New or Re-tooling Lawyers Can Get Experience They Need

2019-02-10T23:05:52+00:00By |7 Comments

Many lawyers today find themselves in the unexpected position of trying to practice law in an area where they have insufficient experience and are finding it necessary to develop a new area of proficiency due to not being hired after graduation, downsized in the recession, a slow market for their existing expertise, or just wanting to make a change into a different type of practice. Here are a number of ideas on how to gain the needed experience through Texas programs (other jurisdictions have similar options) when you don’t already have the support system to provide it.

16 11, 2009

4 Tips for Reluctant Networkers

2009-11-16T09:40:17+00:00By |1 Comment

Lately I’ve been getting calls from laid off lawyers for help in augmenting their job search efforts. Contacting legal recruiters and submitting resumes online hasn’t been sufficient to land a new job. I also hear from attorneys whose business has dropped off.

One of my first questions is usually “What kind of networking do you do?” Frequently they confess that they aren’t very comfortable with networking, so they haven’t really done much. A recent caller lamented that he hadn’t tried to maintain a network when he was busy. He just focused on doing good work. When times got tough, he contacted the handful of people he had kept in touch with, but that fell short.

I wasn’t surprised at those responses. I read somewhere that 69% of lawyers are introverts. Introverts get drained by being around a lot of people and may find it stressful. Here are a few tips to make that essential networking activity more enjoyable, or at least less painful, for the reluctant networker. […]

30 06, 2009

Unusual Tips for Laid-off Lawyers

2009-06-30T15:56:11+00:00By |2 Comments

Unfortunately, this year an unprecedented number of attorneys have been laid off, and jobs for new law school grads have evaporated. Smart job hunters have already scoured the Internet for employment search tips. In this market, however, you need to get creative. Start now to generate opportunities to distinguish yourself from the competition and widen your circle of connections. Remember, relationships make the difference, especially in a tight market. Here are some tactics you might not have thought of to augment your existing approach.

1. Beef Up Your Resume.

You probably have more time available for research and writing now. Establish your expertise (or develop some), and give your resume some additional sparkle, by writing an article on a legal topic you are interested in. You don’t need to write a law review article. Contact industry magazines, legal newspapers, business journals and online publications. They need new articles every month or even more frequently, and most don’t require blue book citation. Many employers are more likely to read articles in such publications than in law reviews.

Your article will signal that you are an authority on the subject. Don’t be intimidated by lack of experience. If the topic is reasonably cutting edge, after your research you may be as expert as anyone else. As a second year associate, I wrote an in-depth research memo on an emerging legal issue for a client. Later, a partner asked permission to use my memo for his CLE presentation. (Today, I would ask to be a co-presenter with the partner to further establish my expertise.) Regardless of the legal topic, you will still know more about it than your lay readers.

[…]

29 08, 2008

Cover Story About Mid-Career Lawyers in ABA Journal

2008-08-29T23:40:22+00:00By |Comments Off on Cover Story About Mid-Career Lawyers in ABA Journal

Debra Bruce has been quoted in the cover story of the September 2008 ABA Journal. The article by Leslie Gordon is titled “Midcareer Malaise: How to find a new path for your 40s.” She presents a number of different perspectives (including Debra’s) on why lawyers develop malaise in the mid-years of practicing law, and what to do about it.

1 01, 2002

Leap of Faith

2002-01-01T11:17:25+00:00By |1 Comment

A forty-something mid-life crisis tightened its long fingers around my neck, slowly suffocating me. I had practiced law for 18 years in big firms, small firms, on my own, changing the configuration every few years. My life had the outer hallmarks of success. I liked my clients personally, and they gave me good work and paid their bills promptly. I was my own boss in a reasonably secure position. I cherished my beautiful new home designed to my specifications. My teenage son, Brandon, was smart, handsome and happy. I had a relationship with Jim, a loving and considerate partner who would talk through conflicts with me.

Yet, discontent haunted me and sucked the energy out of me. Sometimes I felt guilty for not appreciating my good fortune. Often I felt crazy, because I didn’t know what I wanted to do instead. What was I even qualified for? Would I have to go back to school again? I had tried to find a new career for years. I was afraid to let go of what I had in order to start something new. What if I couldn’t make a good living at it? Or worse, what if my new career also turned into “Just a Job”.
[…]

1 06, 2001

Decision & Faith

2001-06-01T11:18:08+00:00By |1 Comment

How Vision and Faith Orchestrated Events for a “Leap of Faith

I enrolled in a French class. I examined my financial situation and determined that, if I leased my house for enough to cover the costs on it, I could manage for a year or so without working. I could just relax in France and see what answers would bubble up in that old eight-ball. I consulted Jim and Brandon. Brandon, who was just graduating middle school, salivated at the idea of living in France for a year. Jim was a at career crossroads himself, and declared his willingness to follow my lead. Now to my ex. After a few discussions, Bob generously put aside his desire to be with his son in order to give Brandon a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Nearly miraculous solutions materialized to solve the lingering problems. I leased my treasured house to people I knew and trusted. They just showed up at the door with a real estate agent, not previously knowing it was my house. Bob acquiesced to take possession of our elderly dog and the other dog broke out of the yard during a thunderstorm and made friends with strangers who wanted to keep her. Using the nacent Internet, we finally found a suitable temporary apartment in Paris. As each hurdle fell away I felt reassured, and I faintly recognized the work of some other hand in this process.
[…]

 

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