Economic downturn: an opportunity to pursue your dreams?

The pursuit of an ideal professional life seems impossible to many lawyers in the current economy. Many consider themselves lucky just to have a job. Others are pursuing their dreams despite the current downturn. YourABA recently spoke with Julie Tower- Pierce, lawyer, mother and author of Staying at Home, Staying in the Law: A Guide to Remaining Active in the Legal Profession While Pursuing Your Dreams. In her book, Tower-Pierce shares advice on pursuing alternatives to traditional law careers.

For lawyers forced to look outside the law firm for opportunities, there are many possibilities. One is to hang their own shingle, suggested Tower-Pierce. Other avenues include teaching or working for non-profits. Lawyers have many transferable skills that can lend themselves to careers other than the practice of law, such as advocacy, research, problem-solving, negotiation and critical thinking. Taking stock of their specific strengths can help lawyers find alternative careers.

Lawyers can accept contract work, temporary projects or a job-share arrangement, which may all help on the networking front and lead to desired full-time positions. For others, now is the time to reduce their hours, take a couple of years off to be at home with their children or to turn to some other new adventure. Tower-Pierce offered additional advice and personal opinions when YourABA spoke with her.

You wrote this book in large part because you felt there was a void when you made the decision to be at home with your children. What has been the greatest reward?

It has been an incredible journey. The greatest reward has been two-fold: first, the opportunity to be home with my children is amazing. I feel so fortunate to be able to be with them to enjoy so many of their firsts and to spend time with them.

Professionally, it's not the journey I saw for myself when I was in law school. I envisioned myself completely staying in the law; I never contemplated being out of the law. I thought I'd be the lawyer who would go to the office every day.

But I had this burning dream of writing. I never thought that it would unfold in this way — that I would be home with my children and write about legal topics. I had no idea that it would become what it has become. I have attorneys writing to me on a daily basis, saying "Thank you. You've inspired me." "I had no idea that, within the law, I could pursue my own business." Or I could stay at home with my children, or that I could begin to taper off from the law.

I had no idea that I would inspire people like that because I wanted to be at home with my children.

Do you have tips on dealing with the pressure from those who might think it's crazy to give up law—what, with law school debt, the work that you've put in getting your degree and advancing within a firm, etc.?

The biggest tip that I would offer lawyers is to listen to their intuition, that inner voice. It sounds sort of corny, but I think it's true, especially for the generation Y attorneys who are coming up the ranks. Within the world of law and also just growing up, many of us were taught we needed to work hard and that there was a specific model of success. Given that, and given how fast-paced the world is, it's not easy, but we really need to listen to what we want.

It helps to think about what we try to teach our children: "Of course you can do it. You can do anything." Whether we're 30, 40, 50 or older, it's important that we not give up on our dreams.

And the second part of my advice is to do some research. With the Internet, it's so easy to find out if an idea is feasible.

I'm sympathetic to lawyers who are dealing with those pressures, especially those who have a lot of debt. I would encourage them to spend some time coming up with a plan. Maybe they need to work, at least initially, to save. Maybe they need to start their own practice if they feel they don't have other career options, especially if they're right out of school. It is entirely doable for lawyers to hang a part-time shingle or find flexible work opportunities that put their law degree to work, which allow them to pay the bills at the same time as pursuing their dreams. Look for mentors; they are out there. Tap into them for advice or reassurance; many will be thrilled to talk about their experiences and share ideas.

Back to top

What words of advice do you have for those who find themselves out of work in this troubled economy?

Lawyers who discover they are out of work—much like lawyers who have voluntarily stepped away from the law or scaled back their hours—can use the time between jobs as an opportunity to reinvent themselves, take inventory of their skills, talent and interests, to brand, or repackage, themselves for a new job search.

While some lawyers who find themselves out of work may discover they now have time to do what they've always wanted to do—such as those lawyers who put children on hold while they put mileage on their career, may view the opportunity as ripe for starting a family. Other lawyers may discover that aggressively marketing themselves using non-traditional law avenues-such as using social networks like LinkedIn, launching blogs or taking other steps to increase their visibility—can help them land their next legal gig.

Lawyers who know how to leverage social media are going to be well positioned to add value to the legal world, such as rainmaking and helping firms stand out.

Once the shock of a layoff settles in, lawyers—particularly those who once worked at larger firms—should recognize that small-firm and solo practice is becoming increasing popular, almost trendy, and that many incredibly talented and creative lawyers are opting to hang their own shingles because of the assurances the opportunity offers. Such a career allows lawyers to control their own success and to maintain a flexible schedule for better work-life balance.

For those lawyers who may want to reduce their hours, there is often trepidation about asking for flexibility in the work environment—whether it's telecommuting or flex-time. What do you say to those who fear to ask?

I have two approaches. One, I'm a great advocate of laying everything on the table when I talk to an employer. I know many people disagree with that approach, but I take the position that I need to be clear. I know, especially given this economy, that everyone is replaceable. But for me to feel appreciated about my work, I feel I need to be honest with my employer.

That's one approach. That approach, of course carries risk; in some cases, it carries substantial risk.

And the other approach?

A second approach is to do research. Find out what other employers are doing—especially in the local area.

Come up with what is essentially a cost-benefit analysis. Lawyers can pitch it to their employer as "Look at the benefits. You'll be saving on overhead." If it's a case of telecommuting, lawyers can tell their employers they'll be more productive because they won't be commuting.

In essence, lawyers should put together a package for their employer that's too irresistible for them to say "No, you can't have that reduced schedule."

Another option is to pitch it as a trial. I think more employers are willing to give things a shot than people realize, especially if they approach it as a value proposition. It must have value for the lawyer and the employer, benefiting both professionally. And in retaining an employee, especially a happy one, the employer will save money in the long run.

Back to top

How can lawyers who want to get away from full time work in a law office—especially those who don't want to practice but want to keep a toe in the water—keep up with the law and continue to feed off the challenges that drew them to the field in the first place?

We live in such a great time period for this. First, there's the new technology. For example, in reading posts on Twitter, lawyers might begin to consider hanging their shingle part time, focusing on a specific issue that they learned about through those posts. I think everything we read—whether it's a headline in the newspaper or something online—can present opportunities if we look at it creatively.

Regularly, each day I see organizations that are looking for volunteers who can either work on a case-by-case basis or a limited number of hours. It's a great way to keep up skills.

The Internet is another great tool, whether lawyers use it to subscribe to a newsletter or an RSS feed. It's a terrific way to stay up-to-date in one's practice area.

There are an increasing number of online groups for stay-at-home lawyers, which is fabulous. There are new communities, such as Solo Practice University. I'm actually a faculty member for that, and it's a niche for me as a stay-at-home lawyer.

There are ways to reach out and connect with lawyers who are essentially going through the same thing that others are going through.

Lawyers who want to leave a traditional law firm, can look for other ways to use their degrees. If they feel compelled to work, or need to work, there's teaching, working at non-profits or freelance writing, for example.

Can you talk a bit about social networking, and how lawyers can use new technology to stay connected and to steer their career in a new direction?

Social media is not only a great way to help lawyers attain work-life balance, but also can benefit lawyers who may think that the traditional law office environment is not for them.

New technologies can be a great way not only to find new clients, but to establish a brand. Every lawyer has the opportunity to create an image. Of course lawyers need to be conscious of rules in their jurisdiction with respect to advertising and so forth, but social media gives lawyers an opportunity to create a brand and reach so many people.

I know a "mommy lawyer" who has a part-time shingle. She practices from Starbucks, and she has a law blog. She has this incredible presence. And anyone can do it. But it's not something that lawyers are taught in law school. In fact, it's something about which most lawyers are intimidated.

It's much the case of a parent telling a child that he or she can be anyone they want to be: social media lets individuals be whoever they want to be.

Any other last words of advice?

We have, insofar as we know, one chance at this life, whether it's pursuing our dreams or raising our kids, to leave the world a better place than we found it.

The old style where lawyers go into the office, they bill hours, they're unhappy, they complain, they go home, they get up the next day and do it all again—I think that's on the way out.

What's happening with the economy is, of course, extremely unfortunate, but it's also creating so much opportunity. Lawyers are seeing that it's possible, for example, to hang their own shingle or to start their own virtual practice. There are so many opportunities.

——————————————————————————————
Additional tips on flexible job leads and staying connected to the law can be found on Tower-Pierce's blog, Darling Hill.

Back to top

Back to home