The Job Market Is Tough, But What Are You Doing to Distinguish Yourself from the Competition?

Media has made us painfully aware that the legal job market is bleak.  It is flooded with employable lawyers who have five to twenty-five years of experience; thus, employers can be selective.  Where does that leave those of us with little to no legal experience?

If you are applying to every possible job on Monster, CareerBuilder, and Craig's List - STOP.  Most likely you are wasting your time.  Given the market and available pool of lawyers, you are not going to get a job this way.  Ask yourself this - what are you doing to distinguish yourself from the competition?

I recently had dinner with a 3L who is being proactive in identifying her strengths and creating a plan to distinguish herself from other soon-to-be attorneys.  She is creating her brand and marketing that brand to lawyers who can help her find a job. You can do the same.

I recommend you start with identifying the type of law you would like to practice and why.  Then make a list of your strengths and skills, beyond your ability to practice law, which make you valuable in that area.  For example, the 3L I met with has a prior career in the construction industry and wants to practice construction law.  She provides value beyond the legal practice because, having been on the client side, she knows what is important to contractors and how to speak their language.  This is valuable to an employer.

By knowing your “brand,” you can create a strategic plan to market your expertise to potential employers. For example, write an article for a trade magazine, start a blog specific to your area of interest, join trade organizations, and set up meetings with “go to” lawyers that practice in that area.  There are a number of ways to market yourself, but first you must know what you are marketing.  The what is your brand.

If you distinguish yourself from the competition by creating your brand and effectively marketing that brand, you will give employers a valuable reason to hire you.

Your Moments of Feeling Defeated Can Help You Achieve Success.

Whether you're preparing to take the July Bar, recently licensed and looking for employment, or trying to prove yourself as a new attorney, odds are you have had multiple moments of feeling defeated.  I know I have. 

I recently read a great article by Sue Shellenbarger called College Rejects Who Made It Big.  Ms. Shellenbarger's article identifies successful leaders who were rejected by their first-choice college or graduate school, and how that rejection helped them achieve success.  The article sends an important message - rejections, or moments of feeling defeated, can be the door to the next opportunity or the breakdown needed for a breakthrough.  In the article Warren Buffet remembers his rejection by Harvard Business School as a pivotal episode in his life.  He notes "The truth is, everything that has happened in my life . . . that I thought was a crushing event at the time has turned out for the better."  With the exception of health problems, Mr.Buffet notes setbacks teach "lessons that carry you along. You learn that a temporary defeat is not a permanent one. In the end, it can be an opportunity."

Use your setbacks to create a new opportunities.  Here are my tips on how you can do that:

1. Identify your setback. What's the real issue? For example, do you feel defeated because you didn't get the interview or because you feel undervalued? Be clear on what is causing you to feel defeated.
2. Determine whether you could have done something different. For example, did you not get the job because you lacked the experience or grades, or because you failed to properly prepare? Sometimes you can step up your game and sometimes it is just the way the cards fall.  Be sure you know which applies to your setback.
3. Identify what you can learn from the setback.  If you think you could have done something different, then do that next time. Otherwise, evaluate the situation and the lesson what you can learn to help you in the future.
4. Use the experience to create a new opportunity.  Don’t allow your feeling of defeat to deter your plan.  Instead take what you learned and put it into action. The challenge is not that we have setbacks; it is what we do with those setbacks.

Whatever you do, do not let rejection, setbacks, or moments of defeat keep you from reaching your goals.  Just remember, you are in good company – Warren Buffet, Meredith Vieira, Tom Brokaw, Ted Turner, and Scott McNealy all have had their moments of feeling defeated and look where that got them. 

Seven Questions to Help Plan for a Successful Career

How do you define success?  Merriam-Webster defines success as a favorable or desired outcome.  What is your favorable or desired outcome?  Law students are often led to believe “success” means going to a well-known school, making high-grades, serving on law review, and getting hired by a well-known firm.  Lawyers are often led to believe that “success” means working at a reputable firm, making partner or shareholder within seven years, and joining the firm's equity ranks soon thereafter.  But can’t success be different for each law student or lawyer?

Robert J. Witte, a partner at Strasburger & Price's Dallas office and leader in the Dallas-Fort Worth community, cautions against allowing others to define your "success."  He believes a narrow and generic view of what makes a lawyer successful is unhealthy for the legal profession – it can lead to destructive outlets for dealing with stress like substance abuse and sadly, in some instances, suicide. Mr. Witte notes that those entering law practice and currently in practice should embrace that success may be different for each person.  He also believes a lawyer may determine whether they feel successful by answering one question - “are you happy?”

As Mr. Witte advocates, success can mean different things for different people.  To assist in identifying my formula for success, I asked myself the following seven questions:

1. What makes me happy?
2. What is my desired outcome?
3. What drives me?
4. What are my core values?
5. Do I have a purpose, and if so, what is it?
6. How am I fulfilling my purpose?
7. Where do I envision myself in 3, 5, and 10 years?

Identifying your success formula helps clarify your career path.  In turn, you set more focused goals because you know where you want to go, and more importantly, you know why.  I encourage you to follow Mr. Witte’s advice and define what success means for you, it can only help you create a more focused and fulfilling life.

It Is Not That Bad.

This week the ultimate ritual for soon-to-be lawyers began - Bar Prep. Those two words tend to scare law students, make law school graduates cringe, and elicit big sighs from licensed lawyers.  But, they shouldn't.  As a recent Texas Bar survivor, I can honestly say it is not that bad.

After the July 2009 Texas Bar I asked several of my peers "how was it?"  I heard everything from "it was worst than I expected" to "I rather have been run over by a Mack truck."  Big mistake - I was mentally psyched out six months before I began studying for the Bar (I almost feel it should be referred to as "the test that shall not be named.")  This did not serve me well.

During my Bar studying, a dear friend that had passed the Bar kept saying “it’s a mental game.”  He was right.  Once I mentally and emotionally settled down I was able to focus and study more effectively.  At that point I was in the zone, and it was great.  I know that sounds odd, but it was great - I enjoyed seeing my progress and the more I progressed, the more I was motivated.

I am sharing this story with you because I want you to know it is not that bad.  What I discovered going through the process was preparing for the Bar does require a lot of time, energy, and focus, BUT the Bar is not this horrible monstrous thing.  It is manageable.

So, here’s my advice: (1) trust yourself – you know how you learn best; (2) pace yourself – it is a mental marathon and a steady pace will serve you best; and (3) take “mental health” breaks – you cannot neglect your entire life, schedule time with family, friends, fitness, or whatever you enjoy; that time only makes your study time more productive.

Good luck all and remember, it is not that bad. 

Your Law Degree Gives You Options; Your Passion Helps You Determine Which Option to Pursue.

A Juris Doctorate gives you career options.  You can work as a lawyer for the government, law firms, non-profit organizations, corporations, yourself, or pursue a career teaching law.  You do not even have to practice law; a recent article in the ABA Journal featured how lawyers are being asked to lead some of America’s biggest corporations as their Chief Executive Officers.  The point is – you have options.  Options are important; they give you autonomy and flexibility.


Why am I sharing this with you?  Because many articles seem to recount the "doom and gloom" of obtaining employment as a lawyer, but such articles fail to consider the creativity and self-motivation of many J.D. holders.  A recent Wall Street Journal article discussed the dim prospects of employment for lawyers, especially new lawyers.  The article goes so far as to encourage those considering law school to reconsider. Really? How many degrees do you know of that will provide so many career options?  In his D Magazine article "Lawyers Don't Think Like the Rest of Us," Jason Heid highlights five vastly different career paths that evolved from having a J.D.  Mr. Heid notes “Juris doctorates are put to a myriad of uses, in an array of environments.”


So, what determines which career option is right for you?  Passion.  If you pursue your passion, you will not only succeed, you will be happy.  Cynthia Pladziewicz, Chief Development Office at Thompson & Knight in Dallas, advises “It’s important for a lawyer, I think, to be happy being a lawyer. There are different areas of the law that might better fit with their passions and their skills that could make them happier.”


The take-away: (1) don’t be discouraged by the “doom and gloom” articles; (2) you have made a wise investment that gives you career options; (3) identify your passion; and (4) allow that passion to motivate you to be creative in achieving a happy and successful career.

Your Success As An Attorney Does Not Depend On An Exam Grade.

In law school students incessantly worry over grades because the traditional law school mantra is: graduate with top grades and you will be a successful attorney. This requires acing law school exams. Then students enter the “real world,” which could care less about exam grades.

Mike Maslanka, managing partner of Ford & Harrison in Dallas, wrote in his Work Matters blog that law school exams fail to measure the skills necessary for law practice. He says “The lawyers I want working with me are those who have my back like I have theirs; who possess the character to speak up when they think I am wrong or am missing something; and who understand that being quiet and saying nothing is not the safe choice. Perhaps law schools were never meant to teach these qualities, but wouldn't it be nice if they tried?”

How do you develop those qualities? Here are my suggestions:

1. Get a mentor. Find an attorney whose character and attitude you admire.
2. Step outside of your box. If you are fearful of public speaking, try out for Mock Trial or Moot Court, or join a Toast Masters. If you shy from leadership positions, take on a leadership role or apply for a leadership class. Whatever you do, do what makes you uncomfortable – it will help you grow.
3. Consistently volunteer for a non-profit organization. Being able to help those less fortunate has a humbling effect and builds integrity. I have volunteered for Legal Aid of Northwest Texas since February 2006. Every time I volunteer I have the same feelings of “I am blessed,” and “I have a responsibility to help others.”
4. Put yourself out there. Take a strategic risk in law school or your career that could end up in rejection or possibly, failure. That risk could also lead to success. Either way, take a risk despite your fear.

Law school grades may get you an interview or an initial job, but they will not help you succeed in practice. As my mentor, Cordell Parvin, frequently says, “knowing the law is the price you pay to play in the game.” The other qualities are what will determine your success as an attorney.

Don't Give Up - You Will Get Your Tour Card.

Two days ago the Texas Board of Law Examiners released results for the February 2010 Bar exam.  This is similar to getting your Professional Golfers Association (PGA) tour card by completing their Tour Qualifying Tournament (Q-School).  Upon completion, golfers receive a "tour card" granting them membership to compete in elite golf tours like the PGA, LPGA, and European tours. 

But how many golfers do not get their card the first try?  Veteran professional golfer Jack O’Keefe was one of those golfers. O'Keefe turned pro in 1993 but did not finish Q-school on his first try. Almost three years later O’Keefe finished Q-school - on his second try.

Why am I sharing this with you?  Because I want you to know it is not the end of the world if you do not pass the Bar the first or even second try.

Believing in yourself is key.  Know and believe you are a good player, do not be discouraged, and more than anything- don't give up.  Your determination will pay off.  A good friend of mine is a perfect example of this mantra.  He took the Bar in July and did not pass.  Was it defeating?  Of course.  But as my friend said, he brushed himself off, evaluated what he could do different, and put his determination into action.  He was on Tuesday’s pass list.  Another good friend took the Texas Bar for the third time in February.  He was on Tuesday’s pass list. A successful attorney I know at a large firm told me she took the Bar three times before passing.

There are many similar stories.  My point – not passing the Bar is not the end of the world nor is it a reflection of what type of attorney you will be.  For those getting ready to take the July Bar – remember this.  Believe in yourself, don’t give up, and know you will get your tour card.