Job search strategies: Ways to go

Aurora Donnelly is a solo practitioner always looking forward to the next exciting transition.

This weekend I had drinks and shared a wonderful, or I should say, two wonderful wooden slabs of exotic cheeses and ham with two attorneys from my past. (If you post a comment, I might even tell you where this great place is).

Both worked with me on a document review project almost 10 years ago, when I had just completed law school and passed the Illinois bar and had not come across my first “real lawyer” job. The group of 10 of us on that project formed a close bond, which for some of us has held, more or less, since then. Thinking about our conversation, I am reminded that of the many ways to go with a law degree. Lately, I have been focused on only two ways: working for someone else, i.e., another lawyer or law firm practicing law the old-fashioned way, or working for myself, as a solo practitioner, practicing law the old fashioned way.

My two friends from this weekend are both working in somewhat non-traditional areas of law, one for a legal association and the other in a law firm, but not engaged in the active practice of law as we think of it. Both seem happy with their current work situations and are doing well. Another example is the previous blogger in this space, who recently went on to be a law professor.

But all this brings me to thinking about how wonderfully versatile this law degree is. We have what could be loosely termed a “franchise” that is transferable into a variety of work situations. I have been reading about the work of a “contract attorney”, in the broadest sense of the word – helping other attorneys and law firms in a number of ways. In my case from covering cases in court for Spanish-speaking clients to offering legal language services to other law firms, such as interviewing non-English speaking clients on the firms’ behalf, conducting Spanish-language depositions, interpreting foreign documents, etc., the ideas go on and on.

There is much useful information on these topics online and helpful links on this site and others to tap into. I am encouraged and excited thinking about my law “franchise,” my own small business, and developing it in ways that satisfy me and make deep use of my talents and experience.  Each of you have your own special areas of knowledge and skill, and thinking about how to make the best of those for your own “franchise” can give you a whole new perspective on the topic of transition.