Cellphones

Cellphones. Most people have one and we're accustomed to the convenience. I freely admit to having cellphone envy; I have a three year old phone that's capable of taking photos and text messaging. I hate texting so have it blocked, which means I can't send pictures anywhere, either. I don't use the photo feature very frequently anyway so it doesn't bother me.

Are you paying for more features than you use on your phone? Or paying a lot for extras that really aren't necessary? I was for awhile, but realized I don't access the internet (maybe I would with a different phone) and that I don't need to during the day. I could access my e-mail where I was working and usually had time to do so. If someone really needs to talk to me, they'll call. E-mail can wait until later if it has to.

Because my phone is so old, I started looking at new ones and have decided to hold off for now. I don't want to spend more than I am for phone service, especially when most of the features are purely for convenience. If I had a different phone, I probably wouldn't hate texting. I know I'd like to be able to go online from my phone, but really, how practical is that? Limited number of characters, tiny keyboard...nah, better to stay away from that.

I wonder if they still make a phone that's just a phone?

Contingency

Taking cases on contingency can seem like a lucrative deal. A Minneapolis firm, Heins, Mills, Olson, took in a gigantic payday after winning a big case for AOL/Time-Warner. Then they sued amongst themselves after some were dissatisfied with the way the payout was split.

In contingency matters, the client only pays if they win and these cases have the potential for a big payout; the downside is that firms spend months if not years working on the case before they earn any money. In the case of a guy I met on a review, he had a solo practice and took on a contingency case that was too big for him to handle. Rather than the big payoff he had anticipated, he ended up filing bankruptcy and doing document reviews to generate income.

Bottom line: be mindful of the amount of time and money involved when considering contingency cases. If you have insufficient cash flow and/or credit line, this may not be a good choice for you; it may be better to consult with experts to first determine whether you're financially solvent enough to take the case without it being ultimately detrimental to your bottom line. Will you have to hire staff to help with different aspects of the project, such as document review? Can you afford to front fees for experts? Is the case an area in which you have sufficient expertise?

If the answer to any of the above questions is no or maybe, you may do better for your client and yourself to make a referral to a firm better suited to determining the viability of the case who won't be bankrupted by taking it on. A classic example of contingency case is personal injury; firms taking these cases have a very good idea of the probability of a win going in. They only take cases they think they have a good chance of winning because it's on a contingency basis.

On the flipside, it's possible to get referrals from other attorneys and a case too small for a firm of any size to bother taking on could be perfect for that firm to refer to you.

Going Solo

Upon graduating from law school, most people focus on studying for the bar exam; law school is just a way to qualify. After taking the exam, there's a delay in finding out your result. If you pass, it's all good, except for that whole employment aspect. The lucky few in the top ten percent of their class will have offers from large firms. The rest? So difficult to know, especially in the current economy.

If you're looking for a job, many non-attorneys will ask why you don't open a solo practice. Some people do, especially in a bad market. Some of my classmates did, and are doing well; several went into an office share so they're actually solo practitioners but share overhead expenses, like receptionist, copier, etc. Most of these were married people, so didn't have immediate worries about a roof over their head or food in their mouth; their spouse has a job and can take care of those issues. One guy was single and said he'd never gone solo it if he was married because it's too risky. So it just depends on your interpretation of "risk." And most people start up a practice without a business plan.

Some people fall into it unintentionally; an acquaintance worked for a new firm for a year, after which she was told they could no longer afford her and offered her an office share. She took it but found it frustrating to transition from employee to solo practitioner and took a job with another firm shortly thereafter.

If it was me? I'd learn about running a business. There are classes, grants and loans all geared toward the small business person. You need an office, equipment, mentors and clients, together with the ability to collect on delinquent accounts; one of my friends was the collector for her husband's business and is very thankful that he closed it down and took a sales job with a larger company. Because it was construction, she could record a Mechanic's Lien against the property; that may not be an option for legal work.

Malpractice insurance may or may not be required by your state, but seems like a reasonable thing to have; ditto renters insurance for the facility in which you're working. If something happens, you want your equipment to be covered. And you need a back-up system for your data.

There are businesses that offer an "office presence" so you use their address and phone number and have someone answer the phone; in reality, it's more like those shared cars and bikes because you're paying for the illusion that your office is there and for a certain number of hours in the conference room as well as the person answering the phone. But it's only your conference room for that hour. That seems like a reasonable way to start a business because you can work at home or the library but still have a more official place to meet with clients.

I took a class from a solo practitioner who said that the first bill she paid each month was her student loan bill; her office was in her home so her business expenses were lower than if she had an outside office. I'm sure that worked fine with a home office, but might not be as effective if she had been paying rent somewhere.

Many solo practitioners work from home, at least at first since it's so much cheaper if you have the space and can stand to do so. Computer, Business line, Library or Legal Database Subscription and you're good to go!

Superstitions

It's superstitious. Cue Stevie Wonder. Was it superstitious to go to the Cathedral on the second day of the Bar Exam and light a candle? It wasn't my idea; there was construction so I asked to get a ride to the exam site with a classmate, whose husband was dropping her off. Not only did he drop me off too, he picked us up at lunchtime both days after picking up lunch! The second day he drove up to the Cathedral, primarily because it was an open parking lot. We went in and I lit candles for us. They're Lutheran and had no idea what I was doing. I just call it being Catholic.

I passed the bar exam my first try. So did my friend.

Don't Let Your Job Become Your Identity

In the US, we tend to self-identify by occupation so during times of unemployment or under-employment, we don't know how to behave.

OPI has published a book, among others, featuring it's top-selling color, I'm Not Really a Waitress. There's a reason this color resonates; so many people take jobs because they need to pay bills while they wait for their big break, whether that's in acting (a traditional career for waitstaff) or in some more mundane career. Waitstaff can make good money, so it's a great part-time job for those in-between times. I've had acquaintances who have spent years waiting tables or bartending while they went to school or sought the job of their dreams. You can make good money in these jobs, whether it's as a career move or survival mechanism. Others, who are tired of the daily office grind, fantasize about running off to work as a bartender in a vacation spot. This fantasy is particularly popular when people have issues with family.

It's important to know who you are, aside from your career. Elizabeth Roberts, of Tenacious Titans, reminds us that we shouldn't fall in love with a corporation because the corporation can't love us back, though it may appear to do so at first. Without a sense of self, corporate cutbacks can cause huge losses in self-esteem. Even if you're doing contract work because projects can last for a long time. I've known contractors who have worked for years on the same project.

I met someone at a networking group a few years ago and she had been offered a project that was supposed to last for a year and was her perfect situation. She turned it down. Why? Because she was looking for a permanent job and said she couldn't, in good conscience, take the job knowing she might leave before the end of the year. I told her that she shouldn't feel more committed than the corporation; if their needs changed, they'd have no qualms discontinuing her employment so she should have no qualms leaving if she found the perfect job before the end of the year. On her part, there was no immediate reason she couldn't work in that position for a year; it would be different if she already had fixed plans to go to school somewhere (and was admitted) or was moving too far away to work at that location.

One of the problems with contract work is that the contracting company wants committed workers; however, even if a corporation offers a 1-year contract, that doesn't guarantee work for one year. Things change frequently in corporate America, so your project could get canceled. I know a guy who started a project and a month or two later it was canceled and so was he. The person who had to let him go may have felt bad, but the corporation as a whole was focused on its bottom line. He's took advantage of the down time and planned a couple of trips. When he got back he was going to look for a new project.

There have been times when I've struggled with how to present myself; one of my colleagues just tells people she works at the big, giant corporation; while true, it's misleading, but avoids questioning and pity. I was at a political fundraiser, chatting with some guy. He asked what I did and when I said I was looking, he walked away. That was unimpressive.

Use what you've got

I'm trying not to shop much lately. And use up what I have.

I don't always look in my pantry before shopping, so sometimes accidentally stockpile things without realizing it. Right now it's garbage bags. But not the ones I like. My preference is for the ones with the pull ties so all you have to do is gather and tie. I'm out of those. And can't buy anymore for awhile.

If I do, I'll never use the three rolls of the ones I don't like; you know the ones. they're on a roll and have to be separated when you get to the end of the bag. I tend to over-fill the trash before taking it out, so these aren't my best choice.

I keep thinking the end is in sight, but eventually realized I had more than one roll of these things. Maybe by the end of Summer.

What to do?

Someday soon I hope to figure out what I want to do with my life. Document review isn’t it; my project is ending in a few days anyway. I have no idea where my next paycheck will come from!

I really need to figure out what I want to do with my life and my degree. What can I do that will make use of my education and pay me enough to live somewhere, diminish my student loans and eventually buy a house?

So far all I know is what I don’t want to do, which includes a traditional law practice.

See more progress on: figure out what i want to do with my life

What Generation do you Belong to?

Take Penelope Trunk's Quiz!

I was surprised to find myself part of Generation X! I don't twitter, have just started blogging and as previously discussed, don't text or have a smart phone. My phone is plenty dumb and I like it that way.

CLE Invitations

Last year, I was lucky enough to find out about a couple of free CLE's put on by law firms for their clients. I attended one and wasn't able to attend the other. The one I attended was by far the nicest CLE I have attended. I had stumbled across an announcement for it a few days beforehand and one of my friends called to see if they still had room. They did and let us sign up for it.

I parked somewhere near the venue, that cost less, and was given a free parking coupon for the venue's own lot with my materials. If I had only known! They opened with fruit, pastries, coffee, tea and juice. At breaktime the juice had been replaced with soda and power bars, granola bars and yogurt-covered pretzels had been added. Lunch was served in a separate room and was very good. I don't remember anything except the salad and dessert bar.

There were two topics so we divided by area of specialty. The speakers were attorneys from the sponsoring firm and they really knew their stuff. At their hourly billable rate, that's to be expected. I was quite impressed with the materials they provided and learned a lot during this CLE.

What I didn't realize is that now I'm on the invitation list for both the CLE I attended and the one at another firm for which I canceled in the end. I have received both e-mail and printed invitations for the CLE I attended and a printed invitation for the one I didn't.

Since I have already reported, I'm not sure I'll attend this one; the other takes place after the clock starts ticking for my next reporting period, so I plan to attend.

This is the kind of thing you can find out about through other attorneys or by looking at law firm webpages. These are both large firms whose CLE's are directed to one of their specialty areas. I'm really excited to have gotten invitations this year; I feel less like an interloper now.

CLE Annual Pass

I have friends who spend the money for an annual pass; be careful if you do this and find out the timing first; some passes are sold so they start July 1 and go through June 30, but are prorated if you buy partway through the year (then they want to sell you a pass for a year and a half, or one for 15 months).

That's not the pass to get. What you want is the one that starts when you buy it and goes for a year. In that case, you can buy a pass in March, take your CLE's for this reporting period (assuming your reporting period goes through June) and continue with the same pass, taking enough credits for the next reporting period. That's a good deal.

In my jurisdiction, the state pass is the one to get; the county I live in goes from set dates.

Anonymous Lawyer, past selection from the E-mail Book Club

Here's an excerpt from Anonymous Lawyer, which was a book club selection, provided by a friend.

ANONYMOUS LAWYER
by Jeremy Blachman

FROM THE BOOK JACKET:

He's a hiring partner at one of the world's largest law
firms. Brilliant yet ruthless, he has little patience for
associates who leave the office before midnight or steal
candy from the bowl on his secretary's desk. He hates
holidays and paralegals. And he's just started a weblog to
tell the world about what life is really like at the top
of his profession.

Meet Anonymous Lawyer. The summer's about to start, and
he's got a new crop of interns. But he's also got a few
things bothering him: The Jerk, his hitter rival, is
determined to beat him out for the chairman's job. Anon-
ymous Wife is spending his money as fast as he can make
it. And there's that secret blog he's writing, which is
just a perverse bit of fun until he gets an e-mail from
someone inside the firm who knows he's its author.

*New to the book club? Just click on the Missing Read
link below for any emails you may have missed. Go to:
http://www.emailbookclub.com/miss

=====TODAY'S BOOK=====================

Today We Begin a New Book!

ANONYMOUS LAWYER
A Novel
by Jeremy Blachman (fiction)

Published by Picador
ISBN: 9780312425555
Copyright (c) 2006 by Jeremy Blachman
To reference this email: ANONYMOUS (Part 1 of 5)
==============================

========

*This book contains adult language.

WEEK ONE
Monday, May 8

I see you. I see you walking by my office, trying to look like you
have a reason to be there. But you don't. I see the guilty look on
your face. You try not to make eye contact. You try to rush past me as if you're going to the bathroom. But the bathroom is at the other end of the hall. You think I'm naive, but I know what you're doing. Everyone knows. But she's my secretary, not yours, and her candy belongs to me, not you. And if I have a say in whether or not you ever become a partner at this firm--and trust me, I do--I'm not going to forget this. My secretary. My candy. Go back to your office and finish reading the addendum to the lease agreement. I don't want to see you in the hall for at least another sixteen hours. AND STOP STEALING MY CANDY.

And stop stealing my stapler, too. I shouldn't have to go wandering the halls looking for a stapler. I'm a partner at a half-billion-dollar law firm. Staplers should be lining up at my desk, begging for me to use them. So should the young lawyers who think I know their names. The Short One, The Dumb One, The One With The Limp, The One Who's Never Getting Married, The One Who Missed Her Kid's Funeral--I don't know who these people really are. You in the blue shirt--no, the other blue shirt--I need you to count the number of commas in this three-foot-tall stack of paper. Pronto. The case is going to trial seven years from now, so I'll need this done by the time I leave the office today. Remember: I can make or break you. I hold your future in my hands. I decide whether you get a view of the ocean or a view of the dumpster. This isn't a game. Get back to work. My secretary. My stapler. MY CANDY.

'#Posted by Anonymous at 1:14 PM'


Tuesday, May 9

I can barely do anything this morning knowing there's a living creature in the office next to mine. Usually it's just the corporate
securities partner, and he hasn't moved a muscle since the Carter
administration. But today he brought his dog into the office. Ridic
ulous. As if there aren't enough animals here already. We had fish
once. Piranhas. We overfed them. We threw The Fat Guy's lunch in the tank one day because he showed up to a meeting fifteen minutes late. The fish devoured it--turkey sandwich, brownie, forty-eight-ounce Coke--and then exploded. It made the point. No one shows up late to my meetings anymore.

But the dog arrived this morning and immediately everyone was in the hallway instead of where they belong, staring into their computer screens. Associates were getting up, out of their chairs, to go chase the dog, pet the dog, talk to the dog. Someone gave the dog a piece of his muffin from the attorney lounge. The muffins aren't for dogs. We don't even let the paralegals have the muffins. The muffins are for client-billing attorneys. They're purely sustenance to keep the lawyers from having to leave the office for breakfast. They're not for visitors. I made a note of the incident and I'll have a dollar-fifty taken off the guy's next paycheck.

The dog barked once. I told his owner to keep the dog quiet or I'd
lock him in the document room with the junior associates who've been in there for six weeks, searching for a single e-mail in a room full of boxes. There's an eerie quiet that normally pervades the halls of the firm, punctuated only by the screams of those who've discovered they can use the letter opener to end the pain once and for all. I'd like to keep it that way. We don't need barking to drown out our inner turmoil. Noise is for the monthly happy hour and the annual picnic. Not the workspace. The workspace is sacred.

I overheard The One Who Doesn't Know How To Correctly Apply Her Makeup say the dog really brings some life into this place. "I don't feel so alone," she said. I gave her some more work to do. She's obviously not busy enough. She's supposed to feel alone. This isn't the kind of business where people can go into their co-workers' offices and fritter away the morning chatting about the weather or the stock market or their "relationship issues." Or playing with a damn dog.

We're a law firm. Time is billable. The client doesn't pay for small
talk. Every minute you spend away from your desk is a minute the
firm isn't making any money off your presence, even though you're still using the office supplies, eating the muffins, drinking the coffee, consuming the oxygen, and adding to the wear and tear on the carpets. You're overhead. And if you're not earning your keep, you shouldn't be here.

The dog shouldn't be here, except he's probably more easily trained than some of my associates. If I get him to eat some incriminating evidence we need to destroy, I can bill the client a couple hundred dollars an hour for it. If I can get him to bark at some opposing counsel and scare them into accepting our settlement offer, that's probably billable. If I can get him to pee on a secretary, it won't be billable, but it's entertaining nonetheless. Hardly matters. Having a dog in the office is almost as ridiculous as holding the elevator for a paralegal. Inappropriate, undesirable, and it WILL NOT HAPPEN when I become chairman of this place, I guarantee you that.

'#Posted by Anonymous at 9:25 AM'

Travel for Document Collection

If you travel on business, be aware that the planes are getting fuller and customers are dissatisfied with service. My business travel experiences have been good.

Going through security can be a challenge but some airports are letting people self-select their security lane based on whether they're expert travelers, casual travelers or families. It'll be interesting to learn how effective this is.

I fly Northwest nearly all the time; when I travel, I'm not in charge of the arrangements but when you're at the hub, that's what happens. If you take Continental, they still fling you a muffin on an early flight and peanuts later in the day. NWA uses self check-in so all you need to do is swipe your card and hit a few buttons; you can change your seat if there's something better available and check your bag, which I recommend unless there's a compelling reason not to do so. So much easier to get through the airport and on the plane with less stuff.

I love the wheeled cases but when everyone is loaded down with stuff it makes life difficult. I get on the plane with a purse only and am very happy because the overhead bins are stuffed with multiple bags from the same person. I understand that sometimes people are carrying things that can't be checked, but a lot of people bring their wheeled bags to avoid waiting at baggage claim.

My baggage claim experiences have been remarkably good; I rarely have had to wait more than a few minutes, partly out of sheer luck, partly because I get to the airport early and seem to be rewarded with good luggage karma.

Most people seem to know that they need to take their shoes off and laptops out, but there are still people who don't know that full-size products are no longer allowed in their carry-ons, so get taken away for a more comprehensive look. Security usually goes pretty fast, unless it's right before or after a holiday; I allow plenty of time all the time though, because it's impossible to know how busy the airport will be.

I'm also turning into an airport snob because my home airport, MSP, has a lot going on. There are local and chain restaurants as well as stores. Real stores, not just those with souvenirs, magazines and snacks. You can buy clothes, luggage, electronics, books, lottery tickets. Pretty much anything.

It's a shock to wait in other airports because so many of them have the souvenir/magazine/snack shops, a couple of fast food places, a few sit down restaurants and a bar, along with a book store that's it!

I have had the dubious honor of having traveled to client sites for Document Collection trips, in which my role was to sit through a meeting and to look through paper files on someones desk. For my first trip, I was given flight and hotel information so just met my party at the airport on the designated day. There was a bit of a mix-up between the agency and the document review center; neither advised me that for travel I would front the hotel and be reimbursed for it later. Each thought the other would tell me. Fortunately I was able to pay for the hotel; it was a Hilton and was $250/night! That was a bit of a shock. We drove to another city the following afternoon and stayed at a Hampton inn for $130/night, and the trip leader told me to leave it on the corporate card. Which was good! I had money in savings so would've been fine, but wouldn't it have been nice to be told in advance? The review center was quick in reimbursing me; I had a check hand-delivered the next week.

It was quite interesting to participate in the document collection process; I went on more than one trip and found the experience varied depending on the size of the group and the person in charge of it. Some groups went out for dinner together and it was high-energy and fun; other groups had lower energy and were just fine too.

The basics: Persons who potentially have relevant information are identified, either through position; perhaps they're a decision-maker such as CEO, Corporate Counsel or COO or through interviews with others who identify by name people with whom they interact who may have relevant information. Relevant people are interviewed by the litigation team or by National Discovery Counsel, as well as being interviewed by the document collection team lead for information regarding electronic information they use and where it's located. After the interview, the document collection people go to the persons workspace to collect information; the computer is mapped and information from it is e-mailed to the people who work directly with electronic information collections and paper documents are reviewed for relevance, anything that might be relevant is collected. Once documents are collected, they're boxed up and labeled for direct shipping to the entity responsible for scanning and dumping them into the system.

Once that happens, they go through whatever the process is on your particular review; I have worked on reviews on which documents were assigned by a document analyst and others where we just added our name to a table together with the completion date. Most reviews seem to have a quality component so review twice before they're sent to the firm to be reviewed yet again.

After that? No idea, unless I read about it in the paper later. Sometimes I have.

Free Speech

Fox News recently ran an article about a Dutch cartoonist's arrest for violating hate speech laws. Satire is dead. At least in The Netherlands.

Necessities

If you're a new attorney, doing contract work, you're most likely doing a document review in a big room somewhere with all the other unemployed attorneys in your area, at least the ones who aren't in one of the other big rooms full of unemployed attorneys, clicking on documents.

If this is what you're doing, finances and rules permitting, you need an MP3 player. If you're one of the three remaining people not to have one, I know a few people who have gotten them on deal of the day webpages, such as 1Saleaday, ThingFling, Woot and Stootsi. These are the best things to have when you're working on a document review.

They reduce outside noise, including the hum of computers, and the crunching of the person next to you or across from you. And greatly help with sanity. Mine isn't fully loaded but I keep changing it up a bit; right now I have a lot of jazz and am not really in the mood for jazz so will likely change the mix next time I think of it.

I have an i-pod but have not yet succumbed to the lure of i-tunes; first, I have a bunch of cd's, second, I get more bang for my buck at my local independent record store, buying primarily used cd's.

It seems like a luxury, but it helps the day go by much faster.

Snacks

Last year I worked on a project with this guy who would come up, sign in to his computer and immediately go out for coffee and a muffin or doughnut. He bought lunch every day and would go out for more coffee and a snack later. We did the math one day and figured he was spending at least $20/per day! Just on lunch and snacks. Granted, he took the bus so didn't have the big parking payments, but still!

That was a firm with a wonderful environment. On our first day, we were given a tour of the firm and they provided internal maps so we knew where people sat! They provided coffee, tea, cocoa and lemonade/iced tea packets. I understand that people have preferences for coffee, but in a place that provides good coffee? Not the place to go out.

Generally I'm trying to eat better and made a huge pasta salad this week; I cheat and just use Italian salad dressing to mix with my veggies and pasta. I also have a sandwich and some fruit.

I try to keep snacks with me so I don't go to the vending machines. They're on all the floors here so it's easy. And they just got new ones so have a whole different mix of sodas, which I don't drink anyway; however, they have this new siamese-twin machine with juice, water and iced tea products on one side and snacks on the other. A whole machine full of beverages but the iced tea is diet. My preferred snacks are gone, so less temptation there for me!

I brought almonds and dried cherries in a bid to have something healthier for me. And try to bring a lot of fruit. Which doesn't always rule out the vending machines. Sometimes you've got to be bad.

Stress

Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers. Getting addicted to painkillers would be awful! Especially when it puts your career in jeopardy. Stress and addiction affect a disproportionate number of attorneys.

LCL can help you. They have volunteers who have experienced the same things you're going through right now. And the one in my area has a free CLE in their office in June. It has typically been an Elimination of Bias course, discussion addiction and the need to get help for it. A prominent attorney is featured in the video and was also in the class I attended.

If you have a gym membership and have the time to go and can afford to keep it, do so. Exercise is helpful in reducing stress. Even walking can help.

What Happens if Your Client Punches You?

In Minnesota, if you punch your lawyer, you forfeit the right to court-appointed counsel.

I wonder if that's true everywhere?

Insurance

Car Insurance, Renters/Homeowners Insurance, Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, Life Insurance.

It's important.

I didn't get any quotes for car insurance, just signed up with my parent's insurance company. I've had good results but haven't needed a lot from them; I've had a few tows, glass replaced and the big payoff was for hail damage. I pay every 6 mos. instead of having automatic monthly payments; I'd rather know I'm paid ahead and have one less bill to worry about. I buy renter's insurance through the same company and get a discounted rate.

I know too many people who have had bad results with insurance to shop around. There was a bad storm last summer in my friends neighborhood. Everyone else was getting roofs and siding replaced because of hail damage. Not her. Her insurance company initially denied her claim entirely, then were only going to pay for part of the damage. There were big lawsuits about 10 years ago because of other companies doing the same thing; bottom line? If you have to replace siding that's a certain age or is newer but can't be matched, you have to replace all of the siding. Same with roofs. This poor woman had to fight for several months with her insuror before they paid.

I buy medical and dental insurance through the agency through which I'm working. I had several options and went for the lower cost one. One of my colleagues wonders why I pay for dental; out of pocket expenses can be high, even with coverage. He goes to the local dental school and pays much less. The trade-off is that it takes longer because the teacher has to look at you too. That's an option for anyone near a dental school.

I'm signing up for life insurance today. I have no dependents and no consumer debt; however, I have a co-signer for my private loans, who really shouldn't be on the hook if anything happens to me. My plan is to buy sufficient whole-life insurance to cover that debt and my funeral expenses. I'm getting old.

Networking

If you're attending any law-related events, make sure to chat with people and talk about what you're looking for. Ask for meetings. People love to talk about what they do and will be happy to share their information with you. They'll also be happy to refer you to others who might have information for you.

Also contact your Alma Mater's career services office for names of attorneys who work in your area of interest. Start by calling them and see what happens. Ask for a 15-minute meeting. I was given 8 names and only struck out with meeting one person; I had to leave a message with someone else and she clearly should not have told the school that people could contact her because I called back after a few weeks and never heard from her.

While you can't expect a job out of a networking meeting, you can expect to learn more about career tracks, whether you'd be interested in work that person has done and how to start. You might also learn about volunteering opportunities, which is another way of meeting people.

When you meet with people, be sure you're on time, dressed appropriately, have a card with you and write a thank you note. I know, I sound like your mom. Mom was right though; I prefer to send hand-written thank you notes but have been chastised by a few people for not sending e-mail. No matter which you do, there will always be someone who complains about the method, so just do what makes sense to you.

It might make the most sense to use paper in some situations and e-mail in others. Always thank the person for their time and the contacts they've given you. They say that 80% of jobs are filled through networking so you have every reason to network.

Document Review Projects

I was thinking about the first document review project I worked on. It was a big warehouse in an anonymous location, filled with unemployed attorneys, working on a project for corporate America. We were treated like Kindergarteners, and dumb ones at that; we had a handler leading us to meetings, we didn't have access to that area without her. She made fun of the Associates, Partners and Outside Counsel, yet was one step above us; a document reviewer who had been promoted and was now in charge of a group of document reviewers.

I hear she's still there; I'm not sure whether there's further upward mobility, but I guess it's a steady check that comes with benefits and that can be important. Still, it's a soul-sucking atmosphere and I can't imagine continuing in it.

According to the Washington Post, we might not need to be concerned about that, what with the rise in legal outsourcing to India.

Debt

When I finished law school, I had student loans and credit card debt. I compounded that by buying a new car (the car I had was 13 years old), getting a clerkship, consolidating my credit cards with my credit union and racking up more credit card debt.

Now that my consumer debt is gone, I'm focused on reducing my loans so I can achieve my dream of owning a home. In my case it's likely to be a Condominium or Town House. To that end, I'm paying much closer attention to my spending than I used to. I try not to buy bottled water, instead, I bring water from home when I run errands. Sometimes that's a water bottle, other times I just take a glass of water with me. It fits in the cupholder.

I try to be realistic and don't expect perfect behavior; I have strict goals for 4-5 months at a time, then loosen it up for a few months. I know I'll have trouble if I prohibit buying anything so try to be reasonable about what's okay to buy. While I'm not a lipstick junkie, II allow myself to buy certain things, like Clinique products for the recent bonus. I try to limit myself to buying lunch once a week, but that doesn't always work out. You have to be able to go out with friends and happy hour specials are the perfect way to do that.

I'm also saving money so I have a cushion in the event of catastrophe or lack of work. I'm qualified to make contributions to a 401K and am doing so.

I'm also trying to be more diligent and consistent in looking for a full-time permanent position.

On Friday I got my economic stimulus deposit and am only waiting to get paid this week before paying off my little loan.

Saving Money

Other than taking CLE's consistently and either finding free classes or going to lunches to stretch out-of-pocket expenses, here are ways I save money:

I'm working somewhere that provides coffee, tea and ice water. I try not to spend money on bottled beverages and mostly drink water anyway. Today, someone left a plastic bag full of tea, including my favorite! I had no shame in taking my favorite to my desk. I didn't hoard the tea the company provides.

Bring lunch from home. I'm boring and can eat the same thing for lunch every day, or else bring leftovers from supper.

Shopping:

Don't go to Target. Period. Especially not Super-Target. I swear there's a $50 minimum purchase. If you MUST go, bring a list and stick to it. Most of the things I need from Target are in the grocery store's pharmacy department. They may cost a bit more but in the long run I spend less money.

Stop hoarding. I don't know what you hoard but I'm sure you hoard something. For me, it's bath products. I have soap, lotion, body wash, etc. and am forcing myself to use my stash. I'm down to two bars of soap and one bottle of body wash but have about 8 bottles of lotion. I'm not replenishing my supply until I run out. It's frustrating because sometimes I'd like to buy a new product, like these, but I have to wait until I actually need more product.

At the grocery store, stay around the perimeter where the fresh foods are. You'll need to make the occasional foray to the middle, for staples like flour and oil, but most of your needs can be met by sticking to the outside lane. It's less convenient to cook actual food, but it tastes better, is better for you and is cheaper in the long run than the pre-packaged foods. Don't neglect the coupons, both ones in the newspaper and the ones at the store. My grocery store sometimes has two for one meat coupons. That's a great deal!

My friend is selling books and cd's to used book and cd stores. If you have recent clothing that's only gently worn, selling it at consignment shops is an option. There are a couple of really nice ones where I live; my other friend bought a suit with its tags still on at one of them!

Shopping at consignment shops will reduce your clothing budget but you can also find bargains at thrift stores; I bought a wool sweater from Nordstrom with its tags still on for $9 at the thrift store this winter. If you have time and are patient, you can find great stuff!

Tightening the belt is difficult but needs to be done.

Government Agencies host CLE's

Government agencies may host CLE's for their staff. If you have a government contact ask about free CLE's. No reason not to; it's your taxpayer dollars at work. Because government agencies don't necessarily pay for CLE's for their staff, your contact is in the same boat as you are, trying to get credits without spending a ton of money. While they're geared toward the needs of government attorneys, it's interesting to get another perspective.

My state Attorney General's office hosts CLE's regularly, most often in the middle of the day (12-2) for two credits. It isn't terribly convenient for me, but it's intended for those working in state agencies that are close to the site.

I don't have any Federal contacts, but would not be surprised to learn that Federal agencies also sponsor free CLE's intended for staff. Ask and you may be pleasantly surprised.

Resumes

I won't bore you with telling you how to write a resume. Keep in mind that it really is a work in progress and no matter what you do, there will be those who like it and others who hate it. Not a big deal either way. As long as your spelling and grammar are correct, not a problem.

I'm sure everyone is aware that there is resume information available at your Alma Mater, both of them if your undergrad and law school took place at different schools, as well as the library, bookstore and internet. No doubt you have a friend who could look at it for you as well.

Please do have someone look at your resume before you send it. You'll have fewer typos get through that way. I once got a call from someone who had received my resume and noticed an error. She wasn't the hiring manager but called and asked if I wanted her to throw it away and re-send a corrected copy.

Yes, please!

I didn't get an interview for that job, but it reinforced the need to check with a fine-tooth comb. Don't rely on spell-check because it doesn't care; if you use a word, it can't differentiate between that word and the one you meant to use.

Do what you love and find out if the money will follow...

Interesting blog on following your passion, and whether money will come with you.

I read "do what you love and the money will follow" many years ago. I still have a copy, not the original, which went to a friend who subsequently started a business, but a copy from a thrift store that I bought more recently. I had given the book away, along with a few similar, because I thought once I went to Law School my problems would be solved.

What I didn't realize is that once the original set of problems was taken care of, I had created another set of problems. Where I live, there's an absolute glut of attorneys. Several law schools pump out an aggregate of about a thousand each year. The vast majority of these graduates want jobs locally.

Unknown to me before law school, it's a pure numbers game. I'm one of many who was not in the top 10% of my class, took and passed the bar exam, have loans to pay and need an income. So I'm doing contract work.

There are several legal staffing agencies. Of these, I have worked for three. I think a new one starts up about every 6 mos. There are several facilities designed for document review projects, sometimes they're all full. Right now we're in a lull; I know of a few places that have continuing projects and got a call about a project starting this week. One of my friends actually got a tip from a staffer of one agency (who had no work) about a project another agency was staffing.

While the work isn't glamorous or fun, it's a paycheck. Right now, that's the important thing. Some people are remarkably positive in their outlook, others resent having to do such menial labor to make ends meet. I'm somewhere in between, but I'm on a good project and it's much easier to come to work here, in a positive environment than to some workplaces I have gone to.

I'm in a much less precarious financial situation now than I was two years ago when I started work as a contract attorney and am thankful for that. Now I need to focus on what to do with my degree. What makes sense for me? What makes use of my education? What am I passionate about? Where can I earn enough money to support myself and my student loans?

Flawed Judicial Appointments

The New York Times had an interesting article on the appointments of 46 Judges dealing with patent law since an unconstitutional rule change made in 1999. More work for document reviewers? Who knows.

Business Cards

You should always carry business cards with you. I made mine at home from a Hewlett-Packard
download. I have a color printer anyway, and had to buy clean edge business card paper and I was set. I bought a giant pack of 50 sheets at a warehouse club for about $20 so am probably set for life.

The beauty of it is that each sheet has 10 cards on it so if you don't really like the card, you're not committed to it beyond the 10 or 20 you've printed. The linked cards are printable on both sides so you can have contact info on one side and a blurb about what you seek on the other side. That way you avoid lugging your resume with you all the time but are still able to put people in contact with you easily. And it looks more professional than....ah, uh, I don't have a piece of paper.

Much like a resume, your card will be a work in progress and will take a few tries before you really like it. Don't worry about that.

I won a flash drive at a professional happy hour at which we were asked to put our cards in a bowl for prizes. Wouldn't have won without the card.

Alma Maters

It's safe to assume that your Alma Mater sponsors CLE's. If you're in the area anyway, you might want to see what they have; mine mostly has 1-credit breakfasts that are cheap and are taught by faculty. They also work with a non-profit for an inexpensive all-day Saturday class. Once in awhile they have something in the evening, and sometimes those are free programs. Start early and these one credit classes can add up fast. They're great for networking too and I've gotten some very helpful contacts by going.

The other law schools in my area also sponsor CLE's but have half-day and all-day classes that cost a lot more. It just depends on where you are and what they have.

Don't forget to attend alumni events as a networking tool; have cocktails and chat with attorneys. Many of them will have jobs and contacts so may know of open positions or other attorneys who work in your area of interest.

Learning about the rest of the world, via volunteering

Yesterday I mentioned that volunteering can be a side-effect of free CLE's.

Volunteering, in itself, can be rewarding. You learn something new about an area of law and meet new people. For those of us who grew up as spoiled Americans, it can be shocking to learn exactly how spoiled we are. Anyone with a middle-class upbringing (even lower-middle-class like mine), is spoiled rotten compared to much of the world, and many people in the US.

If you felt deprived in comparison with classmates from your high school, for the most part, food, clothing and shelter still weren't an issue. You might not have had designer clothes, may have bought everything on sale, only got new clothes at the beginning of school, for Christmas and when you went to camp, shopped thrift stores or got hand-me-downs, but if you had a closet full of clothes as is typical of Americans, you had much more than Americans living below the poverty line and people from much of the world.

While I know poverty isn't limited to other countries and that particularly in inner-cities, people don't always have enough food, there are programs in our schools that ensure kids get breakfast and lunch. In some countries, none of that exists; not the required schooling, not breakfast, not lunch. Even if you think you're poor because you can't afford to go out to eat or can't afford anything but Denny's or Waffle House? You're not poor. Even if all you buy is PB&J and Ramen products. You're still not poor. Especially if you think you're poor but still drink pop out of 20-oz bottles. Even if all you buy are the 2-liter bottles.

Meeting people from other countries can be a revelation; I once worked on a project with men from an African country. I swear to you, their objective was to create a non-profit in the US and use it as a method of overthrowing the current government in their country. These men had great, grandiose, all-encompassing ideas for their organization, which would've dwarfed the Red Cross and United Nations combined. They couldn't help it, most of them had worked for one of the former governments in their country. Which is one of the reasons they came here. They had some great ideas but no concept that they needed to start small because they needed to get funding. I guess they just assumed that great amounts of funding were readily available, since that's what they'd had before their leader was deposed.

Most volunteering won't involved groups like that, just one person who has a problem whether it's criminal in nature, they've been a victim of a crime or are in need of assistance in getting their asylum application or refugee status approved, or a common, garden variety of immigration law question. In any case, you won't be left on your own and will have the opportunity to gain mentors, experience and feel relevant to society by helping someone else.

Other Benefits of Non-Profits

There are many social justice non-profits out there with a need for attorney volunteers. To that end, many of them host free CLE's with the caveat that you agree to take at least one case for them.

These organizations can range from your Bar Association's volunteer lawyer arm and the local legal aid office to immigration organizations, The Innocence Project in your area, human rights advocacy organizations, anti-torture advocacy groups, immigrant group organizations (designed to generally help a group from a particular part of the world with its resettling in your area) to church groups.

If you attend their CLE's, many of which are half-day classes, you're expected to take on a case. Fear not, baby attorneys and neophytes in these areas of law, you will be paired up with a mentoring attorney, who will not do the work for you but who will work with you, answer questions and point you in the right direction.

This is a great way to make contact with working attorneys and actually feel relevant to the world at large. While it won't help pay the rent or your student loans, it will help you feel like you're actually making use of your law degree as you do whatever else it is you're doing to to facilitate the care and feeding of your student loans.

Non-profit Organizations sometimes have lunchtime CLE's

Non-profit organizations sometimes have free CLE's, most commonly at lunchtime. They're usually hosted by a law firm that provides a free lunch. Lunches will vary by firm and can be: box lunches from Au Bon Pain, wraps and chips with brownies, or really nice catered lunches with china.

The program is typically related to the Non-profits area of expertise and are sometimes very interesting. I've attended several put on by two different programs of the same non-profit.

Program A takes place at a firm that has filed for bankruptcy and will have a giveaway item, such as a tin of firm-labeled mints or firm-labeled lip balm. I'm currently using the firmbalm and really like it. I wish I knew who made it so I could find it in the store (or the private labels it's made for). They also have firm-label water, but it seems like everyone has that these days.

Program B takes place at a different firm and has more involvement from that firm; I think they have an associate who is a board member of the NP. Their topics are more interesting than those in Program A, but they had wraps, which were fine; great salad; fabulous breadsticks and really boring brownies.

Neither of these is as nice as the lunch I went to for the Freedom Project, which was a catered lunch at a big firm. Great program and the best lunch ever. The Freedom Project has a great forensics CLE coming up in MN, which takes place at the BCA. If I hadn't already reported I'd spend the money on this. I'd love the Firing Range Breakout Session!