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GET A JOB AFTER LAW SCHOOL

I wrote this outline as a possible presentation at law schools.  It occurred to me that you might know some school or organization or even a student who could use this kind of information.

As part of my coaching practice, I have seen how different the legal job market is from even just  few years ago. So, we really have to approach it differently.

If this program or coaching using this type of information could help someone or an organization,  please suggest they read this blog.  Thank you.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GET A JOB AFTER LAW SCHOOL
Since the downturn in the economy in 2008, Law School Students are finding it harder to get legal jobs right after law school. A much more aggressive and pre-planned approach is necessary these days to insure success.
Additionally, the larger debt owed by students has created even more stress in obtaining work as soon as possible. Consequently new tactics in job preparation as well as job searches and decisions needs to be made by Law Students starting in their first year of law school.
This short program hopes to give the student at all stages in law school the insight into the present job market and to help make decisions how to best get rewarding employment.
Some of the topics which will be covered are:
PREPARATION
• What are the present statistics for the legal market place in the student’s community?
• What is the present general economic condition of the community?
• Where does there appear to be potential growth in the legal community?
• Where is there potential decline in the legal community?
• Tools and hints about how to keep abreast of changes in the legal community.
• The importance of timing in preparing for the job search
PRE PLANNING
• Pinpointing the career path.
• Selecting the area of practice (can’t do this too early any more!)
• Selecting the form of practice (Associate, InHouse, Solo, Teaching, Public, etc.)
• Identifying the necessary steps to take while still in law school to maximize getting the desired job after graduation.
• Establishing a detailed plan that will support the steps outlined above.
• Pinpointing resources which can assist in the planning.
THE JOB SEARCH
• Resume/ the good, the bad and the ugly.
• Contacts/ how to organize and use them.
• Unusual resources
• Keeping positive
• Acing the interview
OR, OPENING THE SOLO PRACTICE
• The Fundamental requirements to open a solo practice.
• Resources
• How to get started
In order to cover all of the material adequately the program necessitates about 3 hours. This can be done by one or two speakers. Written materials and participatory exercises throughout the presentation make it relevant to the students and get them motivated to start thinking about this now. This will guarantee greater success in their future decisions.

By: Eleanor Southers
PROFESSIONAL LEGAL COACH AND ATTORNEY
1362 Pacific Ave. #216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
831 466-9132
www.southerslaw.net
www.professionallegal coaching.com

YOU AREN’T REACHING HIGH ENOUGH! NEITHER AM I

When thinking about a subject for my blog this week, I decided to take the plunge and discuss that I really believe that most of the lawyers I meet don’t aim high enough.  The goals they start out with are ones they can easily reach. True, many of them never even reach those, but I am now thinking that is because they are dull and boring and don’t excite the spirit enough to be committed to actualizing them.

What about if instead of just wanting more revenue, the lawyer’s umbrella goal (read my book for an explanation) was to become a judge?  Certainly if the lawyer were in desperate financial shape that might not be appropriate but there are many attorneys out there who only think they need more income.

Wouldn’t the juices start flowing if it could be shown that a high lofty goal would benefit the attorney in more ways than simply lock stepping into traditional goal setting.  Simply overcoming the resistance to thinking BIG will build confidence.  This confidence then can be spread down into the attorney’s everyday life.

One of the valuable tools I present to coaching clients is to discuss how many more years of productive work lies ahead for each.  A twenty five year old has 45 years if his/her health holds out.  The fifty year old still has 20 years in this day and age. That doesn’t mean full time work all those years and there may be some break in time for children, etc. but the law allows us to work will into our “later years”. We are then EXPERIENCED ATTORNEYS.

When lawyers think in terms of years, they can begin to see that they have quite a bit of time to make changes and morph into lots of ways.  Thinking of how far one could go in that time, is exciting.

I think I have been guilty of this myself.  I often just plan for the next year and I used to plan just to survive. This is no fun.  I’ve decided I’m going to reach very high (maybe not president!) but set some realistic but a lot higher goals than I have been working on.  Want to take this journey with me?   Give me a call at 831 466-9132 and we’ll talk about it.

GET READY TO PERSUADE!

From Walter Isaason’s Book STEVE JOBS  A conversation between Steve and John Sculley who was CEO of Apple:

Steve’s head dropped and stared at his feet. After a weighty, uncomfortable pause, he issued a challenge that would haunt me for days. ” Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want a chance to change the world?”
Sculley felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. There was no response possible other than to acquiesce. ” He had a uncanny ability to always get what he wanted, to size up a person and know exactly what to say to reach a person,” Sculley recalled. ”


Steve could have offered John money, prestige, fulfilling work but instead persuaded him to take on a massive task by showing how far John could go……if he decided to.  The idea of changing the world is not only tempting but can be a driving force to persuade someone to honor your request.

So do you use this kind of persuasion or do you use force, blackmail or other negative tactics to get what you want?

I just finished researching and writing a program about Women and Persuasion.  Often we find women who are afraid that being persuasive is seen as bitchy.  Men can be seen as bullies but not until they get into the “force mode”.  Women are sometimes faulted for just directly asking for what they want and not taking no for an answer.

Hopefully this will give you something to think about this week.  What tactics do you use to get your way?  Would you be interested in learning some new one?  Remember persuasion is not manipulation.  It is showing that there is a better way for both parties.  Stay flexible.  The person who is the most flexible has the most power. Be sure you start with a bottom line. Then go for it.

Let me know if this topic is something you want to think about and have a further conversation.

CAN YOU BE OVER COMMITTED?

We have all run into people who have real trouble with commitment. And NO I don’t just mean men about marriage.  I find the ones even more irritating that say YES to a goal or project but only last a week or so before being no longer committed.  Even more frustrating are the passive aggressive types who keep saying yes but never do any work on the goal or project.

We all sometimes commit to too much and we have to withdraw.  It is perfectly acceptable to explain your reasons once you see the error of taking on the assignment in the first place.  This is the adult way of handling the escape.

But let’s look at the mere fact of a belief that you could never be over committed.  What a thought!  There is that saying that “it is best to give a job to a very busy person because they will get it done”.  This holds true because that “very busy person” is usually brilliant at TIME MANAGEMENT.

I love the concept that we all have as much time as President Obama or Beyonce. That means that each of us has 24 hours in a day.  What we do with those hours is our choice.  Even more importantly, lawyers sell their time.  Even those lawyers working for a set salary, work for a certain number of hours every day producing results which are services, not products. How they arrange those hours results in what they produce.

Always being fascinated with the Renaissance, I have trouble equating how little new ideas, art, music, etc. we produce today with what they were able to produce during that time period. How could Michelangelo paint, sculpt, invent, design architecture and do all the things he did in the same amount of time that we have today?  And what about Napoleon who as commanding an army at 19 years old? Do you think either of those two felt over committed?

Let’s take a look at your life.  Sure, you probably played  a lot more and have a better life balance than these two gentlemen but what more could you have accomplished if you had better organized your life?  Someone said (and I don’t remember who) that a life unexamined is a life not worth living.  That’s a little harsh but I would challenge you to take a few minutes each day to examine your life.

  • Are you doing what you want?
  • Do you have growth goals in place?
  • Are you taking care of yourself?
  • Are you doing important things?

That’s your job this week.  Next week we will look at how each of us might find a better way of organizing or live so that we, too, can create extraordinary results.  What FUN!

CHANGING HORSES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREAM

What that means in legal terms is changing or adding a different area of the law to your practice.   Below is a reprint of an article I did in my former column as Philida, the Oracle  for BIG NEWS FOR SMALL FIRMS, State Bar Publication.  Good information here:

ORACLE OCTOBER, 2011

Dear Philida,

I opened my solo practice three years ago doing social security work which I had previously done as a law clerk. I would now like to expand my business in bankruptcy. Do you have any suggestions about how I can become competent in the field as I don’t have much time or money at this point.

Puzzled in  Long Beach

 

Dear Puzzled,

And probably perplexed. This is like starting a new practice and holds all the good, bad and ugly parts with the additional piece that you also have to keep your other practice going strong.

My suggestions are: First, find a mentor. Look for someone, maybe in your Bar Association, who has been doing bankruptcy for a long time and doesn’t feel that helping an attorney will be competition. Or someone a little out of your geographical area where you wouldn’t be competing. Find out what it takes to set up a practice.

Next, make a list of your major expenses. One would be buying new software (find out from your mentor which is the best). Another would be a budget for classes you need to take and groups that you need to join. Also you will need some funds for advertising and marketing. This would include expanding your web site. Be realistic. Decide where this money will come from. Do you need a small loan? With interest rates so low right now, it might be time to go to your local Credit Union. They frequently have small loans available without collateral for small businesses. You will have to give them a business plan but that would be good for you to do anyway.

Find out what pro bono services for bankruptcy there are in your community. These are usually legal aid or other types of low cost legal clinics. Volunteer so that you can learn the fundamentals of the business and work on real cases with supervision. Your mentor, especially if he/she is very busy, may let you come into the office and work on cases pro bono ( or at a minimum rate).

Last, find out who are the “ players” in bankruptcy in your community. Go to your local Court and meet some of the lawyers and judges that work there. Sit in on a couple of hearings.

Gear up to spend considerably more time and energy on your practice. You may be working evenings and weekends for awhile but it will all be worth it as you have already proven yourself to be a productive lawyer and good business person if you have had a solo practice for three years. It is now just a matter of building on the skills you already possess. Also, you have picked a good parallel area to open a practice because your social security clients (old and new) will be a great referral source. When you are ready, be sure to do a giant mailing with follow ups to all of them.

Puzzle Solved ( how bold I am!)

Philida

“SMART” GOAL SETTING

Oh Please don’t harp at me anymore about goal setting!  How often I hear this.  The truth is that we do some sort of goal setting every day.  We have a goal to brush our teeth.  We have a goal to get in the car and drive to work.  We have a goal to eat lunch. We meet these but they seem like “easy” goals.

People view hard goals as ones in which they have to make substantial changes in their lives.  Basically many people don’t see any advantage in making changes unless they are in real trouble.  If they are going bankrupt, then it might be time to make some changes.  If their spouse wants a divorce, then change is inevitable.

Many lawyers see advantages to themselves in setting goals.  Like better time management gives them less anxiety and more control over their life.   Setting goals to achieve a promotion or to be a better parent is seen as worthwhile.

So why are there so many failures in reaching the goals we set? “I didn’t lose the weight”, “I didn’t get the promotion” , “I didn’t write my blog this week” can really be discouraging.

So here’s the SMART way to do goal setting: 

  • S  Specific
  • M Measurable
  • A  Achievable
  • R  Realistic
  • T  Time Based

Actually this formula has been around for some time.  Those people who take it to heart when they are preparing their goals have a much better chance of success.

So, you have to be specific:   Not, “I want to lose some weight”  Better:  “I want to lose 25 lbs”  Then make it measurable:  “I want to lose 2 lbs a week”.  Make it achievable and realistic?  Is 2 lbs a week realistic with your life styles.  What information might you need to achieve that goal?  Last, is it time based?  So it would go something like “I want to lose a total of 25 lbs by January 1 by losing 2 lbs a week starting tomorrow” .

When goal planning is done this way, your little neurons seem to like it better.  It is positive and it tells you what the outcome will be if you do it this way.  It meets the SMART way to go about goal setting.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Your assignment:  Make one very small goal this week but follow the SMART rule.  See how it works.  Let us know!

WHY YOU NEED “COMMUNITY”

Just having got back from my trip to Italy, I was cogitating on what I had learned that might be important for my clients.  I came up with the concept of community.  We often talk about the “legal community” to which all of us who are lawyers belong.  How we use that and  respect it gives us all in the way of tremendous value and a means of not doing this job alone.

I visited many little towns in Como and Tuscany and saw community at its best.  Here the kids all congregate after school in a local park.  The older children play with the younger ones and the adults sit on a bench and don’t interfere. In the late afternoon you see groups of 4-5 adults all sitting and talking. Women and men are separated but you see the same people day after day just sitting and talking. They stare at all the strangers as they go by and you are not sure you would be welcome in their groups if you tried (especially if you didn’t speak Italian). But they are demonstrating a resourceful community.
Now there is quite a bit of time for people in Italy to do this because lunch is between 1-2pm and dinner not until 8:00pm!  so the whole afternoon and early evening is free for chatting.  Not so in the larger cities.  They are busy at work from late morning to late at night.  The evening meal after 8:00pm seems to be the time to get together with family. They are missing out on the community of the smaller villages, just like us.

Park Moms and stay at home  Dads are often seen in the US at parks with their children, talking and forming their own community. Other gatherings such as Church also offers a time for community contact. But these gatherings frequently take a backward priority when it comes to WORK.

 If we as lawyers have a complaint that our life is lonely, especially solo attorneys, then what can we do it increase community in our lives?

If you can see the logic here, then let’s aggressively focus on ways to include more community in our journey.

  • Attend more Bar Association Meetings.  Get involved in committees where you have a group of people that support each other for a cause.
  • Talk to your family about community and its importance.
  • Consider pro bono work which offers contact with other people.  Choose carefully.
  • Find a support group where you can discuss your work.  Family Law Circles are famous for meeting once a month and floating ideas and cases by each other.
  • Select activities which will provide ongoing Community activities.  This could be a sports group or a book club or all the other occasions  just waiting to be used by the community. How about organizing a “block party” or starting a lawyer’s Book Club?

These are just some of the ideas I came up with after sensing the need attorneys have for more contentment and less stress in their lives.  Give me other thoughts.

WHY YOU DON’T ASK FOR HELP

  • I don’t ask for help because I don’t need it.
  • I can figure it out by myself.
  • I have the internet and I can look up anything I need to know.
  • I don’t want my colleagues to know that I am weak and need help.
  • I can’t afford to spend any money on getting help.
  • No one can really help me.
  • How can I trust anyone but myself to care about my success?
  • I have to stand on my own two feet.
  • and on and on…..

   SO HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS PICTURE?    

Does it give you goose bumps?  Would it feel really good to have people just waiting to help you?

We know that much of the resistance to get help throughout life comes from the early training of either getting too little or too much help.

Nowadays there are books out about “Helicopter Parents” who get involved in every aspect of their kids’ growth.  They do their homework,they call or text the child constantly,  they write their cover letters for college applications, they yell at teachers and coaches for not doing enough for their child.  Obviously these kids are not going to ask for realistic, reliable help because they have been saddled with feelings they can’t do anything without Mom or Dad’s inclusion.  Or, they revolt and don’t want anyone to “interfere” in their life.

There are the reverse childhood experiences in which children receive no parental help and through neglect end up with no inner strength to succeed in lots of things.  They have had to muddle through without guidance and many times end up on the wrong paths.

How are these two experiences alike?  Both do not have any idea how to “help” other people in a healthy way.

Working backwards from this, could part of the answer be to learn how to help other people in a healthy and realistic way? This would be a huge step forward in learning how to overcome the resistance for help from all kinds of sources as we go through live.  Might this be the way to learn that people can trust you to be there for them when they need help?  To not be intrusive in their lives but to offer support, guidance and kindness when the need is obvious. More importantly, to learn how to not overdo help but have set boundaries so that the help offered is realistic and healthy.

Once you have experienced what it is to help a person in this way, confidence and knowledge that you can ask and receive help yourself will blossom.

I will be gone for the next several weeks, playing in Italy, so let me give you some homework to keep you busy.

  1. Take a look at the excuses for not getting help listed in the beginning of this blog and see if any apply to you.
  2. Write down any “help” that you have given to anyone except your children in the past 6 months.
  3. Identify at least one person who you have noticed lately that could use some help.
  4. Do one small kindness this week (could be holding the door open for someone, carrying a heavy package for someone or just giving a smile to a stranger)

I help attorneys day in and day out.  I see the resistance to help from all kinds of attorneys.  I believe that if there was  understanding of this phenomenon on an individual basis, life would be so much easier to all of us.

FROM 1,600 BILLABLE HOURS TO 2,100? WHAT?

This morning on the radio I heard that the number of average annual required billable hours for attorneys not so long ago was 1,600 a year.  Today that number is 2,100.  Taking pen in hand I found out that was 500 more than it used to be.  And that is 15 – 40 hour weeks a year more! This is absurd! We all know that this kind of slave driving will lead to an incredible amount of “fudging” and over billing.

Even more damaging is the fact that not all hours are “billable” and every attorney knows they have to work approximately a third more hours to bill out at that rate.  Many attorneys are working 7 days a week to meet these goals.  They are suffering loss of family and recreational time. Their health is sometimes affected and they are unhappy with the practice of law.

We also know that Law Firms have been in trouble in the past few years.  Clients are more demanding and new business is slower. It would seem a good business decision to ask known good employees to simply work longer hours and not have to hire new attorneys that have to be trained.  But at what real cost?

It would seem odd at this time when the minimum wage is being raised to $15.00 an hour that law firms can’t make decisions that do not cause harm to their staffs.  It is the same kind of budgetary factors which create more income in less time that should be developed.

So if you agree that this is a factor in causing a lot of attorney disillusionment and unwise activities like drinking and taking drugs, then what can you do about it? Some will say it is embedded in law firm culture and can’t be changed.  However, I bet the Millenniums with their work/life balance goals are going to have something to say about this.  They will be seeking out firms that don’t require such Draconian hours and perhaps even taking lower paying jobs to find the satisfaction they are craving.

Would it seem so far fetched to offer employment at a smaller wage in exchange for fewer billable hours to those who want it?  There would have to be incentives to be able to make the job attractive and ways to grow in the firm.  All of this could be done but a clear change of culture would have to be instituted.  These attorneys can in no way be considered second class attorneys. They need the same respect and prestige that their fellow colleagues have. They would simply be on a “different track”.

What do you think?  Every day I hear attorneys say that they went into law to “help people”.  If they are over billing and exhausted it is pretty hard to feel like they are helping anyone, let alone themselves. If we like this idea, what is the next step?  Or are all you too exhausted to think about that?

LEARN HOW TO UPDATE YOUR WEBSITE TODAY!

DON’T LET YOUR WEBSITE BE A HOLE IN THE GROUND!

Your website is your best brochure and your blog is your most effective device to keep in contact with your clients and colleagues.
Now that we have millions of websites to evaluate we have learned a few basic rules that are replacing the sort of random marketing that websites have produced. Among those are that it needs to be EXTREMELY USER FRIENDLY, have great EYE CANDY and allow the viewer to have a PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
1. DETERMINE YOUR TARGET MARKET:
What group of people do you want to reach? Where do they live? What is their wealth status? Is there anything unusual about them?
Define your target market as narrowly as possible. Get it down to the ideal client that you would like to see walk in the door. See the difference between “has a family law problem” and “has a family law problem and is financially able to retain an attorney”. One target market is very different from the other. One narrows and one widens. Exactly who you want to call you and take your precious time needs to be carefully thought out.
2. DETERMINE THEIR “WEED”:
After you have determined your target market, you need to find your target Market’s weed. What would be the most troubling thing to them? What is the “weed” in their garden that you can get rid of. We have recently found out that lay clients look for their “weed” in your home page. If they can relate to what you are saying you can help them with, they will be much more inclined to hire you than if you lay out in detail your credentials, etc. They assume since you are a lawyer, that you will know what to do.
So find out what troubles your clients. Ask old ones or pretend you are a client. What would you want to see on an attorney’s Home Page that would tell you he or she recognizes your exact problem.
You might also want to explore the circumstances that has brought on their need. In family law, it may be an unhappy or scary scene. In probate law, the actual need is a little different because the need is for the future. Being aware of these problems will help you to focus on what exactly is important to your future clients and create an up to date website.
3. WEBSITE HOME PAGE:
Simply and clearly restate your target market’s “WEED”. Use the magic words that will hit the search engines.
4. PROFILE PAGE:

First of all, this is where your picture goes. What kind of a picture should you have? The usual rule is that you dress like your client would expect a lawyer to dress if he or she were to appear in court. This does not meant that you flash the Rolex watch nor other expensive jewelry. And for heaven sake, smile. Warm, friendly is what you are going for.
Then, the most important part of this page is to tell your story here. Why did you become a lawyer? What type of cases have you handled? What has brought you joy as an attorney. This is not a time to spill your guts but to be sincere and forthright about why you are doing what you are doing. Don’t brag. At the very end you can give a brief overlay of your education and experience. Also do a link to a more extensive resume.
5. ENDORSEMENTS:
Get people to write comments about their experience with you. Be sure to get their OK to use their full names. No one believes testimonials that are from Jane D.
6. PRACTICE AREA PAGES:
Simple, Simple, Simple. Again go back to the “Weed” and identify and then address the client’s need in each area.
7. LINKS:
Make sure these are helpful and not just fill ins.
Add in anything which will make the site more useful and allow for more in depth viewing if the reader wants it. This could be publications you have written. Helpful tips about your area of the law or your blog.
8. EYE CANDY
Your entire site has to be attractive and something that an audience wants to look at for more than 20 seconds. Choose your colors carefully. If you are a Probate Attorney you don’t want a predominately black website.
Remember that most of your audience is visually oriented. A few are auditorally oriented and even less are tactilely oriented. So, if you have no sense of color or are unsure, get some help. But do this with guidance from you. What “feeling” do you want your viewers to bring away from your site. Is it calming? Is it aggressive? Is it exciting? It is very important that any designer or webmaster understand that you are at the helm and determining what is best for you.
9. THE FUTURE:
We are going to see a lot more video in websites. These will be either a quick introduction on the Home Page with the attorney addressing the audience or links to videos in different areas.
If you want to venture into this area, make sure that you get professional help if you need it. Make sure that you have the right light and camera equipment to do good production. Remember you are competing with 12 year olds that can whip out a professional looking You Tube rendition which will make them millions.

SO, MAKE A DEAL WITH YOURSELF TODAY TO TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR WEBSITE AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO UPGRADE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL!