The Young Texas Lawyer

So you’ve lost your job. So you still don’t have a job offer. So you don’t have recruiters banging down your door. So what? Sometimes you have to think outside the box. An attorney’s skill set is not limited to one industry or one job.

David E. Behrend of Career Planning Services for Lawyers agrees that there are other opportunities out there for lawyers and they need to start looking at them. ”I firmly believe that almost all lawyers with their education have employment security, but not necessarily job security,” he said, “meaning that they should be able with some assistance to find capable work of a professional nature.”

Many newly licensed attorneys and those that find themselves without a job are having little luck finding a new position simply due to the fact that they are limiting their search to what they have done in the past. There comes a point in one’s career where he or she must grow up and realize that your law degree has lost some value over the last year and perhaps it may be time to start looking for a job outside your comfort zone. Don’t go apply for a job flipping hamburgers, but don’t turn your nose up at those non-attorney positions either.

Above the Law has a very telling story about a law students experience at UT OCI. To quote their source:

I am walking up the stairs to get to my OCI appointment. I overhear some interviewers from various firms talking to each other as I hold the door for them and their heavy bags of firm-branded crap.One lady says to another, “Did you get a lot more applicants from UT this year?” Lady 2 says, “No, it was the usual number for us.” Lady 1 replies, “I had 200 applicants from UT alone for the 15 total spots we will fill this year.” Lady 2 says, “I think it’s gonna be a great year for employers!” They all laugh.

Seems like the economists are all signaling the end of the recession this week, but the pain might be felt in the legal industry for some time to come if the above story is any indication of OCI’s around the country.

The unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent in May, the highest in more than 25 years. But the good news is, if you can call it that, the pace of layoffs eased with employers cutting 345,000 jobs, the fewest since September.

This is both good news and bad news. Things won’t turn around until the layoffs slow down and eventually stop all together. The economy has to stop contracting before it can start growing.

According to a statement released today, ”The University of Texas School of Law (UT Law) is proud to announce the Long Career Launch Program, which is designed to make it financially possible for our recent graduates to obtain legal work experience in unpaid internships while they are awaiting bar results and looking for permanent employment. Graduates who are selected to participate in the Program, which is generously funded by a grant from the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Foundation, will receive a $6,000 stipend to support work in an unpaid legal internship with a government agency or a 501(c)(3) public interest organization.” Analysis on the statement from Above the Law.

From the Dallas Morning News…

Texas cities dominate a new list of the best places for jobs, with the top five large metropolitan areas for job growth all located in the Lone Star State, according to Forbes magazine.

Nine of the top 20 cities on Forbes’ overall list are in Texas, with Odessa ranked No. 1. Dallas-Plano-Irving ranked No. 5 in the magazine’s list of the best large-size cities and 32nd overall. According to U.S. News & World Report, “Texas Rules for Jobs.”

These days, being unemployed is like being pregnant: I can tell you if I am or not right now, but a month from now, who can say? If you do find yourself packing up your desk, there are a few things you can do to help yourself out.

First of all, make sure you get a letter from your firm clearly stating that you were laid off as a part of a general cutback, not fired. Right now everyone knows that big firms are laying off lawyers by the gross and prospective employers won’t even ask why you left your recent position. But this unpleasantness will one day be behind us. In a few years, you may be again looking for a job and the person interviewing you may be unaware that a particular firm handed down some newsworthy layoffs. Then it’ll be good to have a bona fide explanation. You can hand the letter in whenever you give a list of references; besides explaining about the layoffs, the letter will likely say something nice about you as well.

Also, apply for unemployment compensation sooner rather than later, even if you get a nice severance package. If you wait too long, you may find that you are then ineligible for compensation. And be sure to disclose the severance package on the compensation application.

Try to keep busy with things other than binging on Krispy Kreme and Dr. Phil. Get some exercise. Do some volunteer legal work. Both will make you feel good about yourself, which you can use. And doing volunteer legal service keeps you from being isolated from the legal world.

Finally, two tips for your psyche: 1.) complain; and 2.) don’t complain. Complain to your family and friends about just how shafted you were. If you can complain and then move on, great. If not, check out the Texas State Bar website. There are member services for people who are completely overwhelmed.

And…don’t complain. Don’t completely diss your former firm to other lawyers, prospective employers, etc. People don’t like hiring employees who gripe about their former companies.

Here’s to the future boom.

Editors Note: After we posted this article, Above The Law came out with a good article about interview tips. It’s worth checking out.

Written by YTL Contributing Author Lisa Young

In response to my last post, I was asked, “how much money do you make?” As my day boss likes to respond, “how long is a piece of string?” Galveston County pays $65 per hour for in-court work, and other time and expenses are at the judge’s expense. Since most misdemeanor cases are going to be plea bargained, it is probably not reasonable to expect to bill more than a few hours per appointment, since the primary work involved is: (1) review the file; (2) do any necessary footwork such as interviewing witnesses; (3) interviewing your client; (4) negotiating with the Prosecutor; and (5) offering your client’s Plea. That will, realistically, involve not more than two or three hours of honest-to-goodness attorney labor. Obviously, if the case is proper for trial there will be more work to do (and bill for), but one should never push to try a case unless the merits justify it.

Now, a few words about the sort of work that I do on misdemeanor cases:

1. “Regular” docket calls. The drill is pretty simple. Show up on time. Make your client show up. Answer “present with counsel” when the Assistant DA calls your client’s name. Talk with your client. Go to the counsel table, pick up the file, browse through it for any new documents. Talk to the prosecutor. Act confident if you can and pouty if you must. The day ends with a plea, a setting for trial, or a re-set. Rinse, lather, repeat.

2. Jail Docket. Some people get arrested but don’t bond out. After the probable cause hearing, they sit in the county jail for a few days, after which they get brought up before a judge (by video conference in the Galveston County Jail). Because most of these defendants admit their guilt, and because most misdemeanor prosecutors will be satisfied by your client’s “time served,” you essentially get the fun job of getting people out of jail, by helping them go through the motions of entering their guilty/nolo plea (if appropriate, you can try arguing with the Prosecutor for a dismissal, but most clients just want “out” with as little debate or discussion as possible). In Galveston County, Jail Docket assignments are for one week, and you might handle a few dozen cases over the course of that week. Expect to work about 20 hours over the course of that week. You’ll get paid about $950.

3. Trial. Your client has a right to trial by jury, and a right to effective assistance at that trial. Though I have not yet gone to trial (I can count on one hand the number of appointments I have had since August of last year), don’t feel pressured into caving in too soon. For young lawyers, I think, there is a temptation not to try cases out of fear of failure. This is something that I am hoping to overcome — and of course, if plea negotiations lead to an impasse, you can always set for trial in the hope that the Misdemeanor Prosecutor won’t have his case ready on time. Keep in mind that while Assistant DAs can be a little intimidating, most of them are the same age you are (in fact I know a couple of Prosecutors who are younger than I am) and not a whole heck of a lot more experienced — and a whole heck of a lot busier with their jobs.

Now, for those who are eligible to be appointed on Felony cases, or CPS cases, or Juvenile cases, or Appeals, the work assignments may be quite a bit different. A few words on those other assignments next time.

Written by YTL Contributing Author James E. Dallas

Brenda Jeffreys from Texas Lawyer sat down with some career services offices from Texas law schools and discovered some seemingly obvious information… finding a job in this market is going to take more work.

The career services representatives said that most of their job listings are now coming from smaller firms and that they are enouraging graduates to consider “nontraditional” jobs. Just as this crisis will force attorneys to be more resourceful, it should also serve notice to law schools that they must evolve and get more creative in finding their students jobs.

I graduated in the top 35 percent of my class in 2007, but am (still) not attached to a full-time job with a firm. I do contract work and have a second (distinctly non-legal) night job that helps pay the bills. I’ve been hoping and praying to get a job as a misdemeanor prosecutor now since about as long as I can remember.

One thing that I have done to help bolster my resume and experience while waiting for “my ship to come in” is to get on Galveston County’s indigent defense counsel appointment list. Although a newly-minted lawyer will probably not get much work starting off (I get about one appointed misdemeanor case per month), it does provide an opportunity to get in the courtroom, learn how the law actually works, and make a little money on the side. While not a path to fame or fortune, court appointments are literally “better than nothing.”

Galveston County’s appointment list is relatively easy to get on; Galveston County requires you to have some prior experience in the courtroom (I spent time watching other lawyers) and to attend criminal law CLE courses. Some other local counties have much higher requirements that are a bit harder for a young lawyer to meet. Fort Bend County requires a year of practice and trial experience (which is harder than it sounds to come by, because many cases simply are not “try-able”).  Harris County, as I recall, requires an applicant to have been attorney of record in something like 50 cases, something that can take years of practice to accumulate.

For those interested, the relevant paperwork for Galveston County is located here.

In my next post, I’ll describe some of the assignments I have received.

Written by YTL Contributing Author James E. Dallas

Recently over dinner, a good friend of mine opined on the state of the world and whether we were about to encounter a world that we have yet to experience in our generation. It turns out 2009 will be that year, as some in the legal industry are predicting an “Economic Hell” for law firms. So if you haven’t been sharpening your skills and setting yourself apart from the competition, now is the time.