May 2008

Dear Sidebar:

I’ve been doing med-mal defense work almost exclusively for the past several years. I really enjoy it, and I’ve gotten pretty good at it, but the work has slowed to a trickle since the first of the year. The partners I work with tell me things aren’t likely to get better any time soon, and they’ve suggested I seek work from the firm’s bankruptcy lawyers if I hope to make my hours this year. I don’t know anything about bankruptcy law, and I dread the thought of starting over at the bottom to learn a new area. Any advice?

– Work Has Dried Up

Dear Dried Up:

With the downturn in the economy, lighter work loads and associate lay-offs are increasingly common. Hopefully, the rebound won’t take long, but in the meantime, many lawyers may face problems similar to yours and could have to make some tough decisions.

You first need to gather information to make an informed decision. Try to determine whether your firm intends to continue to pursue work in your field of choice. If some decision has been made to phase out this area of practice, then your options at your current firm are more limited.

If your firm intends to continue to work in your preferred practice area, investigate the reason for the recent work reduction. Is it the result of outside economic factors, or has something more concrete affected the practice, such as a change in the law, the loss of clients, or the loss of a key partner? Do your clients expect things to pick up again in the future? Are there plans in place at your firm to rebuild or increase the workload in your practice area? The availability of work, even on the distant horizon, may provide you with an incentive to make a short-term sacrifice until things turn around.

You may also want to consider the size of your current firm or even your ideal future firm in making your decision. Generally, larger firms tend to have more specialized lawyers, while smaller firms (with the exception of some boutique firms) are more likely to prefer or even require their lawyers to have more diverse practices.

With these thoughts in mind, you have a few options available with both positive and negative aspects. The first option is to simply follow the advice of the partners and get involved in the bankruptcy practice. Presuming you enjoy working at your current firm, this may be your best option in the long run. Although it is not your first choice, there are benefits to branching out that extend beyond just making your employer happy by being a good team player. Having expertise in more than one area of law will make you more valuable to your firm, your clients, and to other prospective employers. Additionally, expanding your practice may provide an opportunity to broaden your contacts in the legal and business communities. All of this will likely assist you the long run in building your own book of business. Because a lawyer’s workload often fluctuates over time, you will be better equipped to deal with these ups and downs in the future. If you choose this route, consider having a conversation with the appropriate people at your firm to make certain that, when the work returns, you can continue to work in or return to your favored practice area.

If you’re dead set against doing bankruptcy work but really want to stay at your current firm, you should explore other areas of practice at your firm. If other practice areas interest you, having honest conversations with the partners to explain your interests and loyalty could be beneficial. You might find that more palatable work is available, and your colleagues might be surprised to know of your interests.

If you think your current firm may not be the right place for you, then this might be your opportunity to explore other employment options. We’re certainly not suggesting that you drop everything and run out the door, as this is a very personal and fact-specific decision. But a careful and thoughtful analysis of your situation could lead you to find opportunity elsewhere.

Finally, you could just refuse the bankruptcy work, stay at your current firm, and hope for the best. This would keep you from having to start anew with bankruptcy law, but it’s likely to damage your reputation at the firm and impede your professional development.

Regardless of your course of action, know that many lawyers have practices that flourish despite, and sometimes because of, unexpected twists and turns. In fact, while we would like to think that we alone control the direction of our practices, in many cases, client needs and “opportunities” like the one you are facing steer us down paths that, while unplanned, lead to rewarding and successful careers.

Copyright © 2008, American Bar Association. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or downloaded or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.