Recently, I attended the mid-year meeting of the Association for Continuing Legal Education. ACLEA is the primary organization for CLE professionals from bar associations, law schools, law firms and for-profit entities, as well as other CLE professionals like me. I’ve been attending ACLEA meetings for about a decade. I always leave with some interesting new thoughts about the future of CLE. Continue reading this post at www.lawyerist.com Read More

I graduated from law school 30 years ago. When speaking to law students about how to find a job today, I mostly cover the basics. But I draw on my own experiences, too, and offer one bit of advice rarely provided by most career counselors. I arrived at this advice when, to prepare my presentation, I asked myself: “Knowing what I now know about legal careers after all these years, would I have done anything differently when I attended law school?” Continue reading post on attorneyatwork.com Read More

In the legal profession, there are many solo practitioners. The ABA estimates that half of the country’s lawyers “hang out their own shingles.” Over the course of a career, most of these solos occasionally give serious thought to the idea of joining forces with another lawyer. Such a decision should never be rushed. It should always be well-thought-through. Continue reading this post at www.lawyerist.com Read More

Not surprisingly, there are thousands of unhappy lawyers who are new to the profession. After all, there’s plenty to be unhappy about if you’re unemployed and trying to pay back six-figure loans. But what about more-experienced attorneys who have stable jobs and little-to-no debt? Are they a satisfied lot? A 2007 American Bar Association survey found that only 55 percent of lawyers were satisfied with their careers. In my opinion, this is because many of them become lawyers with vague or unrealistic expectations about what a career in the legal profession would be like. Why Did You Go To Law School? First, I’ve learned from my experience as a coach, that many seem to decide to become lawyers by default. I’ve coached well over 100 lawyers who came in all shapes and sizes — solo to big firm, rural to big city, consumer to business. During my first session with each lawyer, I ask a series of questions. One question is, “Why did you go to law school?”The number one answer by far (and there is not even a close second) is, essentially, “I couldn’t think of anything better to do.” Some of my clients within the Jewish community even joke that “nice Jewish boys who don’t like the sight of blood choose law school.” While my sample contains a good cross-section of lawyers, there is admittedly an element of self-selection that biases these results. In any event, I’m still convinced that a majority of attorneys go to law school by default, lacking any strong passion to do what lawyers do. (Full disclosure; yours truly went by default) What Do Lawyers Do? Little knowledge of what lawyers actually do is the second reason for unrealistic expectations. Did you know what lawyers do when you enrolled in law school? I certainly did not. We were all smart enough to realize that most lawyers don’t go to court every day, but what do they do on all of the other days? Becoming a lawyer is not like becoming a doctor. Everyone knows what doctors do. When I started law school, I thought that I would become a labor/employment attorney. After all, I had majored in labor and employment relations as an undergrad. Did I have any clue what it would actually be like? Absolutely no clue. In short, many lawyers decide on this career path hoping and assuming (based on absolutely no evidence) that it will be a financially rewarding and satisfying career. When those expectations fall short, it should come as no surprise that they wonder what went wrong. Law School Does Not Help Next in line for blame are the law schools, which only make a bad situation worse. We enter law school not knowing what lawyers do. How much more about that do we learn during the next three years? Not a helleva lot. Furthermore, law schools create the expectation that practicing law is going to be a great intellectual exercise. Yes, there have been times during my 30-year career that my brain has gotten a thorough work-out. Unfortunately, I wish it had been more often. I am sure that many of you agree with me. So This Is What It’s Like? Finally, from the perspective of “outside looking in,” there are some lawyers who seem to have it good. They appear to have successful practices and significant financial rewards. One day, despite all this, these lawyers sit back in their fancy chairs and ask themselves, “Is this it?” The new luxury car and big courtroom win simply don’t bring the thrill they used to. Perhaps, those things never even brought a thrill at all. I’m a lawyer, not a psychologist. I can’t say for sure why some attorneys are unhappy or what their expectations were at the time they entered the profession. Certainly, lawyers are not the only ones who realize that money rarely buys happiness, yet continue to toil away at not-very-meaningful work. Don’t Worry; Be Happy! Well, enough of the doom and gloom. I want to end this post on a more optimistic note. Most legal career counselors believe that it is rarely too late to make changes in one’s career. Lawyers are fortunate in that they have an extraordinarily wide range of choices.These include switching law firms, modifying practice areas, going in-house and going solo. There are also opportunities in fields related to law, such as e-discovery, bar association work, alternative dispute resolution and legal recruiting. Of course, you can also cut your losses and get out completely. Change is not always easy and can certainly involve risk. But if you happen to be one of those unhappy lawyers, life is too short to simply accept the status quo. Do something to take charge of your legal career. Originally published on Lawyerist.com Read More

Whenever attorneys consider any type of career change, whether minor or major, the issue of money inevitably comes up. That’s hardly surprising. Often, the changes being contemplated require some sort of financial sacrifice, at least in the short term. Some require short-term and ong-term sacrifice. For purposes of this post, I consider a career change to mean, among other things, a modification of a practice area, switching work environments, going solo,or even getting out of law. Don’t Let Money Interfere Too Much Far too many lawyers let the money aspect of any career change get in the way of making the best choice. Risk-avoiding lawyers are often unwilling to assume any risk, no matter how reasonable it appears on paper. This is unfortunate. These lawyers never get to experience working in areas that may turn out to be more satisfying and lucrative in the long run. Complete Failure is Unlikely Lawyers seem to always assume the worst. This is why money issues scare many away from career change. When you assume the worst, the concern becomes when you will run out of money, not if you will run out of money. Keep Your Perspective When considering any career change, envision the difference between a home run and a strike out. The most likely outcome of swinging the bat will be a single — or perhaps a double. What does that look like? Can you live with that? Probably yes. Too many lawyers, however, don’t think that they’ll get to first base. As a result, they play it safe, stay in the dugout and remain miserable. You Can Live On Less Others may be more confident that the planned career change will work. However, they don’t want to consider living a more frugal lifestyle. Too many lawyers focus on what it might be like living on less, while completely forgetting that this probably won’t last for long. Alternatively, they assume that tightening their belts for a short period of time will be intolerable. Think about past times where your disposable income was reduced for reasons such as paying for child care, taking out a big mortgage, or paying for your children’s college. Did the world come to an end? I doubt it. Moreover, the benefit was usually worth the cost. Sadly, many attorneys do not apply the same calculus when the benefit of a career change is a more successful practice. Change Brings Opportunity Another factor that lawyers often fail to consider is that planned career change can sometimes lead to an unanticipated opportunity. I’ve met plenty of lawyers who made changes in either their practice areas or where they practiced law and in essence, became the beneficiary of being in the right place at the right time. This could occur, for example, as a result of new legislation or a court decision. In this scenario, the attorney actually makes more money than ever anticipated. Take a Chance! An often-repeated adage states, “Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy you the kind of misery you prefer.” Don’t settle for the misery of your present legal career. Take a rational risk. Originally published on Lawyerist.com Read More

At long last, the ABA has published a book about coaching for lawyers. As an attorney coach for almost a decade, I understand that many lawyers don’t even know that the option of coaching for their profession exists, let alone understand how coaches can help their careers. The publishing of this book by the ABA should enhance the credibility and popularity of lawyer coaching. Continue reading this post at www.lawyerist.com Read More

“Eighty percent of success is showing up.” Usually I agree with Woody Allen, who is famous for (among other things) making this remark. But when it comes to networking for purposes of business development, I’ll have to differ from the well-known filmmaker. Continue reading post at www.lawyerist.com Read More

When U.S. News & World Report decided to rank law schools, this ranking – for better or worse — fundamentally changed the law school admissions process. So when U.S. News announced that it would join forces with Best Lawyers to publish rankings of lawyers, that announcement got the ABA’s attention. Would this be a game-changer in the already-controversial issue of law firm and lawyer rankings? Apparently, the ABA thought it might – and felt compelled to examine the issue. Continue reading this post on myshingle.com Read More