My Attorney Blog

Well it’s another manic Monday and after a relaxing but much too short Thanksgiving weekend, it’s back to the old click-click grindstone again.

I didn’t really do anything terribly exciting during the holiday weekend but it was a very appreciated rest for the weary. I thought about it but ultimately decided against joining in the Black Friday shopping craze. Those hardcore shoppers are too tough for me and I think my time would be better spent shopping online. Luckily, the associates are out again as usual and we are only about half staffed since many contract attorneys are still out, presumably still suffering from the post holiday I-Don’t-Wanna-Go-Back-To-Work-Wah-Wah syndrome. I totally understand their sentiments. Since work is so slow today, I’ll probably sneak in break time to do some online holiday shopping at my work station and take advantage of post Thanksgiving deals – Cyber Monday they call it.

It’s Not Always Easy Planning Extended Breaks While A Contract Attorney Project Is Still Ongoing

I haven’t taken substantial time off in a long while and this winter I would like to but I think my plans will have to wait a little while longer. My project continues to be extended and now it’s looking like it will last well into the new year. Contract attorney work is generally flexible but its fickle nature sometimes means that vacation plans have to be put on hold until the project has completely run its course. Contract work pays the bills and as much as I’d like to say with all confidence that jumping from one project to another seamlessly is a piece of cake, you never really know for sure.

The temporary lawyer job market ebbs and flows and currently the market is severely dehydrated. Numerous smaller projects are out there, but the key mega ones are a bit lacking right now. I think the real estate mortgage mess and the resulting credit crisis is causing corporations and law firms alike to be more conservative with their business plans. With less corporate activity happening, there is less demand for contract attorneys. But fear not, although the market is slow right now even in a normally active place like D.C., if you follow the contract attorney job forums and postings like I do, you will notice that there still remains a respectable number of active projects. Hopefully the start of a few big projects at one well known firm in the Falls Church area will serve as a catalyst to get things busy around here again.

Delaying Extended Vacations Plans Till Later

Since my working opportunities might be unpredictably murky after this project is over, I think it’ll probably be better for me to pocket the income now when the going is good and still available. Although I generally have day to day working freedom, unlike those who have permanent positions I don’t have the luxury of paid vacations and the security of knowing that my position will still be here when I return. If I don’t work, I don’t get paid. I’ve been generally lucky so far in being able to roll over consistently from project to project on my own terms, but the gravy train might end one day. Maybe eventually my acceptance and patience for this type of high-income-but-unstable line of work will run out, but for now it fits my lifestyle and financial plans.

Okay, back to online shopping, I mean work.

The recent rumors of legal outsourcing have been sending small shivers of concern through the minds of many contract attorneys. I know I’m not immune to it myself. Outsourcing is not a new phenomenon but when it affects your profession, it becomes very personal and real.

Honestly, it is not difficult to see why law firms and corporations would want to move their man power intensive legal work offshore to countries that command much lower wages. By outsourcing their work overseas, law firms and companies can potentially and substantially decrease their cost of intellectual labor. The natural place to outsource document review is India, an English speaking, low wage, and low cost of living destination. Due to tremendous language hurdles, other low labor cost countries like China or Vietnam would not be feasible so India is probably the best bet.

Despite stories of legal outsourcing that we’ve been hearing about recently, why am I not concerned that the outsourcing movement will affect the contract attorney market substantially? That’s because I don’t think the established conservative legal market will readily accept this type of employment and cultural shift. I also don’t think legal work is as easily exportable as other fields that have been outsourced such as customer service and information technology. This is just my own preliminary take on the matter.

The Conservative Legal Culture Will Resist

The world of law firms, partners, and associates is a very old fashioned and traditional profession, steeped in conservative values. Unlike the private corporate world, law firms have been very resistant to modernization of its cultural norms and old ways of doing things. For example, while corporate America has generally embraced a greater push towards diversity in the workplace, law firms have been very resistant to change, as minorities as a whole still comprise less than 10 percent of all attorneys.

Law firm partners are also generally very old fashioned and I feel they will be very resistant to such employment shifts. Law is still practiced the same inefficient way it has always been practiced. It’s only recently that some courts finally began accepting electronic filing for example. The old bigwigs will not be entirely embracing of the idea of sending tons of privileged and confidential legal work product to a third world country and allow some locals, who they will never meet in real life, ready access to such privileged information.

There will be always be trailblazers in the legal field who will attempt to migrate some legal work overseas, but I truly feel this movement hype will ultimately subside.

Other Outsourcing Attempts Have Not Entirely Succeeded

The concept of outsourcing work to a country with cheaper labor costs is nothing new. But the reality is that outsourcing is fraught with serious confidentiality and adaptation difficulties. There is also the hidden cost of customer attrition. Many companies who have tried to outsource their work overseas have not been entirely successful. They have also not reaped the overall financial benefits they initially expected when they began their outsourcing efforts. Many have ultimately brought the work back in-house.

It’s interesting to read a few stories of outsourced work to India but I just don’t see it happening successfully on a grand scale. Instead, I think the greatest long term threat to the current document review attorney market is technology itself. One day, perhaps many years from now, it is possible that reviewers may be replaced by super efficient software that can keyword sort through documents at lightening speed, completing work in a few minutes that would have taken a lawyer hours or days to complete in the past.

The market will continue to adapt over time and so should we.

I’ve always believed that the efficient contract attorney can best improve his or her professional prospects by diversifying his or her skill sets and abilities, whether it be by acquiring an accounting background or improving a pre-existing language skill. I suppose another way to broaden one’s employment choices is to change fields altogether, although that’s something I wouldn’t consider myself.

I’m writing in response to today’s Wall Street Journal follow-up article on Monday’s piece regarding the dismal state of the legal employment market. The follow-up article reported that Seton Hall law graduate Scott Bullock, the first lawyer quoted in the original article, has finally jumped ship, quitting his law firm job and joining a former high school friend to work as an electrician. The article reported that he’ll be paid the same as his former lawyer job, about $50,000.

Contract Attorney Work Can Be A Great Stepping Stone

Is that how far the attorney job market has deteriorated? We now have lawyers quitting their jobs to become electricians. I wonder why doesn’t he work temporarily as a contract attorney until he gets back on his feet? Many contract attorneys perform document review work for short stints while they plan out their future. It is much easier to plan for the future when you are actively working and paying the bills than when you’re just sitting at home all day, moping about your plight. Performing contract work will keep you productive during the day so you don’t completely fall out of the legal loop. Despite what some may say, document review does entail the practice of law, albeit in its lightest form.

Working as a contract attorney is still a job, and indeed it’s a well paid job. The work is not particularly stressful and there is usually time after work to develop other side opportunities. The wage rate and hours are generally very good and the hours are flexible. Taking time to develop your side business or consider future projects can be performed during your non-working hours. I even see some do it at work during their breaks, talking on the phone to clients of their part time real estate business or like me, typing on this blog during my mandatory lunch break.

I know some contract attorneys have grown very disillusioned with being an attorney and have chosen to exit the legal market altogether. However, I am concerned that these people are wasting the time, money, and effort they previously invested in their legal education. Yes, a law practice is not for everyone, but that doesn’t mean you should ditch everything you’ve learned altogether and go become an electrician. That is, unless being an electrician was your original calling. But for most people, they should keep finding a way to put their education to good use. There are related opportunities out there.

I’ll admit, I haven’t decided exactly what my next professional move will be, but it certainly won’t be what the attorney in the Wall Street Journal Article did. I truly wish him well if that is what he wants to do, but as for me, I didn’t rack up law school loans for nothing! My future move might not necessarily be a legal practice but it will at least have some tenuous connection to my education and previous legal experience.