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.

We have discussed social networking in many forms here at YTL, and Above the Law has a fantastic article about social networking horror stories. Below are some excerpts and we recommend you read the full article. You generally should not say anything on these sites that you wouldn’t scream in public, but you should also protect yourself by limiting the friends you accept and making sure your privacy controls are rock solid. Also, make sure your friends know what profession you are in and that they are discrete in the pictures they upload of you and statements they make on your wall. All of this is easier said than done but, if you are going to use these types of sites then you don’t really have a choice. Also, never forget Rule #1: don’t be dumb.

• Don’t go on your blog and call your judge an “Evil, Unfair Witch.” Florida attorney Sean Conway wrote about a post about Judge Cheryl Aleman over at JAABBlog, and the First Amendment did not come to his rescue. He was reprimanded by the Florida bar and fined.

• Don’t blog about the details of your cases and clients, and refer to the robed one as “Judge Clueless.” Illinois assistant public defender Kristine A. Peshek used her blog, “The Bardd [sic] Before the Bar – Irreverant [sic] Adventures in Life, Law, and Indigent Defense,” as an outlet for 19 years of pent up resentment (excerpts here). It brought more release than she intended. When it was discovered, she was fired.

• If you’re on a jury, don’t blog about it. It can get you suspended from practicing and fired AND fined $14,000, like Frank Wilson of California.

• Don’t ask the judge to suspend your trial for a funeral, if you’re actually planning on partying all week. Especially if the judge is your Facebook friend and gets your partying status updates.Texas Judge Susan Criss will tattle on you to the American Bar Association, though she will leave your name out of it.

From The Legal Intelligencer, comes an article about staying on top in a down economy and although most of the information is intuitive, it doesn’t hurt to have it in a short concise list.

1. Be the best lawyer you can be
2. Be respectful, conscientious, polite, and courteous to everybody
3. Bill, baby, bill
4. Don’t be a downer
5. Stay away from troublemakers
6. Become an expert
7. Develop and maintain client relationships
8. Get involved in firm activities
9. Obtain some business for the firm
10. Look for another job, but be smart

These tips aren’t limited to surviving the recession and most are much easier said than done but if you keep them in the back of your mind then you won’t miss an opportunity when it presents itself. For more details check out the full article by clicking the link above.