Monthly Archives: June 2009

Cynde Hirschtick Munzer is a senior partner in the Business Organizations and Transactions Group of Arnstein & Lehr. She has more than 20 years of experience representing businesses in a broad range of sophisticated business matters, including asset and stock acquisitions and dispositions, mergers, joint development agreements, license agreements, and real estate matters. She has represented some of Chicago’s leading financial institutions, as well as Fortune 500 companies, privately owned companies, family owned businesses and entrepreneurial businesses.

What is the biggest challenge for female lawyers due to this economy?

The biggest challenge is that not nearly enough female lawyers have been able to become “rainmakers” and control their book of business, compared to men.  And, when the economy gets tough, the attorneys who do not have their own books of business are more at risk for lay-offs and compensation cuts since the firms need to focus the financial rewards on the attorneys who have portable books of business they could take to another firm. Another challenge is in this economy is that for those attorneys who are not laid off, there is quite a bit of pressure to demonstrate your value to the firm, and that means maximizing your billable hours. For women lawyers who may have family demands, this makes things even more challenging.

What are three pieces of advice for female lawyers so they can better position themselves for advancement in the legal profession?

My three pieces of advice are as follows and are gender-neutral, and apply to both men and women:

1) Be persistent and tenacious in focusing upon and achieving your goals;

2) Develop solid work relationships and good working synergies with other attorneys within your firm. You could rely upon these other attorneys to provide business matters for you to work on and also provide solid support to you on matters that you bring into the firm.

For example, Howard Swibel, who has been on our management committee for the 23 years that I have been at Arnstein & Lehr, has served as a mentor to me through the years. He has brought me on some interesting matters, such as the recent Midway Airport privatization when our firm served as local counsel for the successful bidder on that project. Howard has also been very helpful to me on some of the matters I have brought in for my own clients.

Another example is one of our newer lateral partners, Michael Gesas, who joined our firm last year. Michael is one of the city’s premiere bankruptcy and workout attorneys.  He has been helpful in getting me involved in that area, since I am a transactional attorney and that’s where most of the transactions tend to me these days…in the distressed asset and workout area. Michael was extremely helpful to me last year when I brought in a bankruptcy matter on behalf of a large publicly held company, and he in turn has bought me in to help him negotiate on behalf of his clients who are transitioning into deals out of bankruptcy. It has been a two-way street with both Howard and Michael, and that is exactly how optimally it should work!

Network outside the firm and develop relationships that could lead to business, perhaps not immediately but down the road.  Networking has become a way of life for me…it started out as something I embarked upon to reach my business goals but it has helped me tremendously as a person. Some of my best female friends are those whom I have made through networking since we tend to have a lot in common and I wouldn’t be the person that I am today if not for those friendships!

What advice do you have for female lawyers who may be nervous about networking?

Go to the bookstore and read books on networking…there’s some very good ones out there.  For example, one of the books I have recommended is called “How to Work a Room”.  Also, she should definitely stay current on business events.  I read the Wall Street Journal every day and highly recommend her getting a subscription to the publication.

For me, networking has been a survival technique. I am basically a very shy person, but I have learned through the years to put that aside and build relationships with prominent people in the business world that could lead to business down the road.

There is a female associate, who wants to someday be a leader at her law firm.  What should she be doing?

She should focus on developing her own book of business that she controls. This may not necessarily mean that she must bring in her own clients from the outside. Instead, she can work hard and build relationships with the firm’s existing clients who may come to rely upon her skills and expertise, particularly if it is in an area of expertise that not many other attorneys in the firm have.  If this is a larger client of the firm, establishing this type of relationship can help the female associate advance within the firm.

Dana Hill is a large law firm attorney who is transitioning to an alternative legal career.  Dana has practiced for 10 years and has been in transition since early 2009.

When I first found myself on the job market and was telling friends and colleagues about my situation, many people expressed to me the fear that their job was in jeopardy.  After a number of these conversations, I figured out an appropriate response to their concerns.  I would suggest that they should think about the people they would call to ask for help in finding a new job and if there were people on this list who they had not spoken with for a long time, then they should call them up now to say hi or get together.  My thinking was that it is much easier to ask for help from someone with whom you have had recent contact than from someone you haven’t spoken to in years.  This activity would also provide the fearful jobholder with a sense that they were doing something about a situation that was otherwise out of their control.

Initially in my job search, one of the hardest things to do was reaching out to people for help.  I quickly realized that pride and embarrassment would hinder me.  I also realized that nearly all of the people I encountered who found out about my situation wanted to help me – I just had to tell them how.

One effective method I used for requesting help from colleagues, particularly ones with whom I had not had regular or recent contact, was to send them an email stating the following:  my position was recently eliminated; I wanted them to have my new contact information; a description of the type of job I was looking for; I was interested in meeting people in this type of job; and thanking them for any help.  I also attached my resume.  While meeting with people face-to-face is best, this email communication was effective for me in getting the message out to a large number of people.  As my job search continued, I could contact them again to ask more specific questions.  It also provided a great template email for sending to new contacts that I made.

In sending out this email to old friends, I had a very good response rate.  In one instance, an attorney who represented a co-defendant in a case I handled let me know that she was leaving her in-house position to transfer to another division.  She suggested I applied for the job and put in a good word for me.  I applied and interviewed before the job was posted.  I would not have found out about this opportunity if not for contacting her and letting her know how she could help me.

By Chareen B. Goodman, President, PMP®
Consulting By Goodman, Inc.
Check out their blog at http://consultingbygoodman.wordpress.com

The biggest challenge most people have when it comes to networking is answering the question: What Do You Do?

Dana Hill is a large law firm attorney who is transitioning to an alternative legal career.  Dana has practiced for 10 years and has been in transition since early 2009.

Upon finding myself on the job market, I quickly realized that I was going to need professional help in focusing my search. I was fortunate to receive outplacement services from my employer. While my assigned job coach was knowledgeable generally, she was not a lawyer and did not have any expertise in the legal market. I turned to a private career counselor. Though pricey, I thought the investment was worth it.

My coach helped me narrow the types of legal jobs that I would find fulfilling. She also provided me with a concrete strategy for finding job opportunities through conducting informational interviews. By identifying the jobs and companies that I was pursuing and then meeting with people in those roles, I was able to learn how to better present myself to potential employers and hear about job openings from inside sources. In some instances, my coach provided me with referrals to her contacts for informational interviews. Once I applied for jobs and got interviews, we practiced interviewing skills.  Her feedback provided guidance on how to handle tough questions and helped me control my distracting mannerisms.

Overall, my coach’s expertise and reassurance gave me confidence. I felt motivated to accomplish tasks before our next meeting.  More generally, our sessions provided me with a sense that I was doing something – a key factor early on when I felt a little lost and overwhelmed.

A job coach provides support, but I would not recommend using one to bemoan your situation. A coach is best used for looking forward, not at the past.

If you can’t afford a private job coach, then the career office at your law school or undergraduate university is a great resource. The alumni counselor at my law school career office provided me with both practical advice and emotional support.

Dana Hill is a large law firm attorney who is transitioning to an alternative legal career.  Dana has practiced for 10 years and has been in transition since early 2009.

The best job search strategy that I’ve used is developing a “buddy” relationship with a colleague in the same situation. My friend Ina and I worked at the same law firm and involuntarily ended our employment there within six weeks of each other. At work, we were in different departments, but attended the same weekly exercise class, so we already had a familiar routine and supportive relationship.

Our “buddy” system includes weekly meetings, on the phone or in-person, during which we update each other on the networking, searching, applying, and interviewing we performed that week. We share information about networking events and seminars, and sometimes attend them together, like we did for the Attorneys in Transition events; pass along job postings; and refer each other to people we know that can help the other.

Our teamwork has paid off when we have helped each other prepare for interviews.  Interview prep takes a lot of work and you can’t do it on your own. Answering Ina’s questions out loud showed me that I needed work on even some basic questions.  Her positive feedback helped me maintain my confidence.

Aside from substantive assistance, our meetings keep me motivated.  For example, there was a morning when I had planned to attend a job seminar at 9 a.m. in the Loop, but when my alarm went off I really didn’t want to go. Knowing that Ina would be there gave me that extra push I needed. Another time, I procrastinated on applying for a position that was below my experience level, but when Ina called me on it I applied that day. (While I didn’t get that job, I did get an informational interview with the supervisor – nice!)

Lastly and most importantly, it is wonderful to have a friend who knows what I am going through.  I have down times. But talking through them with Ina helps me get over it and back to thinking positively.

I haven’t heard this strategy mentioned in any of the many seminars on effective job searching that I’ve attended, but I counsel others to adopt it.