Exiting the Legal Field Completely Isn’t For Me
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.
September 28th, 2007 at 8:49 am
I think this is an excellent article and raises some issues that are too frequently glossed over by the doom and gloom mongers. Each of us has the power to set high goals for ourselves. I won’t achieve them all, but I’ll certainly achieve more than I will if I set the bar too low. Great post!
September 28th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Being a contract attorney is not at all a bad gig. You get paid really well for work that is not that stressful. We should be grateful that we have this market to fall back on. The attorney that quit his job to become an electrician is a pretty extreme example, I don’t think many attorneys out there are like him, no matter how disaffected they might feel.
October 17th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
The thing about being a contract attorney is this: it’s a negative on your resume. While not all people will see it as a negative, enough people (hiring managers) will see that as a signal that you’re a “loser.” Of course, that’s unfortunate, but we live in the real world. To top it off, you’re really not supposed to leave that kind of work off your resume, because an omission can be seen as a lie. So yea, the word “loser” is branded right there, unremovable. The longer you stay in temp jobs, the more that label sticks to you.
Also, the hype about “one day, you’ll make it as a staff attorney” is a great overexagerration. I know some people make the jump from temp to staff attorney, but it’s not that many. Very few do. I even know staff attorneys, and they’ll say it’s not really true. The vast majority of temps will never cross that hurdle.
October 18th, 2007 at 9:47 am
The law school experience is so debilitating and demoralizing that it is easy to feel like a “loser.” When you put that negative energy out there, it comes back a thousand fold. For example, someone who has never even heard of a contract attorney may read your post now, without having had any preconceived notions and, now, after reading it, they would have this idea of contract attorneys as losers.
And when you engage in negative self talk, telling yourself that you’re a loser, and listening to other contract attorneys calling themselves losers, you constantly reinforce the idea and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I’m not saying that it is not incredibly difficult to overcome the snobbery and homogeneity of the legal profession. But define yourself, don’t let anyone else define you. At the end of the day, it’s their loss. But you have to keep setting goals for yourself and not succumb to pessimism.
October 27th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
From your description about the lack of stress, the extra time to pursue potential opportunities in your search, well, I think you are living in a different world from most contract attorneys. Too many contractors work long hours (60hours or more) and find it rough to even do things like pick up dry cleaning or cook a decent meal once a week. There are some contract opportunities that pay more and have fewer hours, but for the recent law school grad, it’s just not the case.
One of the things I’ve found most disheartening is that so many contractors have not done anything else since law school than document review, so they have a hard time even deciding where to start in a job search as far as interest. It has been my experience that it is much easier to avoid the “loser” branding in job interviews, when you can say that you have worked in a legal or law-related position even if it was for a short period of time. But, for a traditional legal job, there is definite stigma attached to being a contract attorney. There can be no denying of that.
It’s also been my experience that men have a much harder time of contracting than women in terms of self-definition, self-image. Women are much more likely to do what they have to do to get where they need to be and deal with the circumstance, where men can get severely depressed doing contract work for too long. The ones who seem to handle it the best are older men who are either in retirement earning extra income or not long from it and they know there is an end. One of the rewards I’ve received from contracting is advice from older men and women who know when you feel like you have reached your breaking point with the nonsense of contract work.
July 21st, 2008 at 6:59 am
What a pity party! Let us move the focus off of you for a minute to the literally millions of people out there who need your help! Regular people cannot afford to pay hundreds of dollars per hour to get the help they desperatrely need from attorneys. If you are licensed, you can be employed as a lawyer without having a fancy office. You can h elp real people with real problems and get paid real money for it. I had a solo practice for nine years at one point. Back then, I thought I had to have the fancy office with the fancy staff and fancy everything else. All of that costs a fortune in startup money.
You don’t have to have all that to be a practicing lawyer with your own firm! CraigsList ads are free! Days you are not doing contract work are days you could spend down at the courthouse listening and learning. You will see unrepresented people being figuratively stomped everywhere you look. There is a crying need that you could fill! Pick a subject matter that interests you, become as expert as possible, and put your services out there for a reasonable fee. Cut the overhead. Did you know that in most states you don’t have to have malpractice insurance to practice law? With a very small operation, you are less likely to forget a file off in a file drawer somewhere. You could be writing wills down at the mall or helping someone collect child support. Some areas still rely on new lawyers in the local bar to represent indigent clients. Let the judged know you want to be appointed.
Stop all this crying and start helping! Charge $60 per hour, work out of your home, and advertise for free. The people will flock to you! Your knowledge is a resource for the world. The people need help. You can help them, build your skills and resume, build your self respect, and get out of the mental hole you’re in. Once you start spending time down at the courthouse actually helping people, attorneys will see you in action. You can strike up friendships with them. They will be much more likely to hire someone whose work they admired before seeing your resume.
Go for it. I’m 50. I attended a top tier school. I had the coveted big firm and in-house jobs early on. They pay well, but there is a huge price to be paid by you in other ways. The better the pay, the more likely you will have to spend your days passionately arguing to advance causes with which every fiber of your being disagrees. You really come to feel like a type of prostitute, and no salary is worth that. You’re better off than you think. So put your chins up, shoulder your pride, and get out there and help the people!
October 10th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
BeenThere – thanks for a great comment. I’ve been in solo practice since law school and it has been a financial disaster, but very rewarding. Like you say, there are many people out there that need help. Thank you for good advice.