Meet one of our speakers

Meet Sandra Bishop, one of the speakers at the Aug. 26 Attorneys in Transition event. She took some time to answer a few of our questions.

What do you hope people learn from your presentation?

That you have to prepare to manage the entire interview process in order to maximize the opportunity for a successful interview.

What advice do you have for unemployed lawyers?

Remember 90 percent of the professional opportunities garnered are through who you know, not by what you know.  No, not even through the Internet.

You have to learn to distinguish yourself anew in the market.

Competing in today’s market requires a renewal of ambition and energy.

Learn to market yourself and ask for business everywhere you go!

Developing key client, or potential client-relationships is critical.

Consider offering your services to do seminars, conferences, industrial meetings, etc.  The upside is that you can begin to become known and can “work the room,” especially if you are trying to develop new niches.

How can lawyers make themselves more marketable in this tough economy?

That perhaps the time has come for attorneys to consider developing many small niches to add to their current repertoire, ensuring a larger base, and subsequent increased revenues.  Now is the time to consider trying to capture a new area or market with one of these niches.  i.e. real estate tax law, liquor license law, construction/ mechanics lean law, technology/ privacy law and/or food sanitation/ safety law.  Or, consider becoming a house counsel, working for insurance companies, banks, government; or, consider the opportunities which may result from the incredible dollars flowing into many markets/ industries from the 2009 Federal Stimulus plan.

What is the biggest mistake lawyers often make when interviewing for positions?

Resting on their laurels and stressing old accomplishments/ wins rather than defining how their skills, experience and expertise will fit into the position/ corporation that they are interviewing today can derail the interview.

Don’t walk into an interview acting smug or thinking you “have it made” or “know it all.”  Class, dignity and humility, in addition to being qualified for the position, are the hallmarks of an uptown attorney interviewing for positions in today’s market.

Not doing your homework.  Whether it is checking out the history of a firm, the stock price of a corporation, or the over-all sense of what the company/industry does and how they do it, BE PREPARED.