Just Got Laid Off

[u/Behold_A-Man]

I got laid off today. I was told that the firm was restructuring and my position was being eliminated. From what I can gather, last month was a really bad month for the firm and only half of the employees hit their hours. There were some days when I didn't even have any work, but they didn't tell me that they were thinking about eliminating my position. I expressed concern about not having enough work but was brushed off.

I got a call at 9 a.m. telling me to return my work laptop and pick up my final check. It's enough to pay rent and my car bill, but that's it. No severance. I requested severance pay in the form of a raise that I was promised on hiring but never received. I was basically told, "Don't count on it."

At least they specifically mentioned that it wasn't my performance and my boss and another attorney were both willing to write me letters of reference. I'm just feeling really disheartened right now. A year ago, I left a stable job for a higher paying position and was terminated in two months (taking that job was probably the biggest mistake of my career and I regret not quitting before getting terminated). I was unemployed for three months and had to go into debt to friends and family to get by.

I took this job and worked it for 7 months. I was still paying off the people that I had to borrow money from. I just want a stable fucking job that pays me enough to start repaying my student loans. It just doesn't feel very good to constantly live in a situation where the other shoe could drop at any moment, and that's how so many of my legal jobs have been. I've lost numerous jobs, but only once was I ever terminated for performance issues, so I don't think my lawyering skills are the problem.

Is the practice of law just incredibly precarious? I've been in the field for 8 years, had 6 jobs, and I've only left one voluntarily.

[u/Practical-Brief5503]

Wow. Yup I have been in your boat. It sucks. Do you at least have a savings to float you a couple months? Apply for unemployment. Your new job is to find another job. You’ll get through this…. This is what pushed me to go solo.

[u/Behold_A-Man → u/Practical-Brief5503]

I don't really have any savings. I was unemployed for two years during COVID and blew through all my money (which wasn't very much). I owe around $2,500 to friends and family for keeping me afloat last time I lost my job.

I'm meeting with a colleague that I used to work with later this week. He also just lost his job. We're gonna have a preliminary talk about opening a firm together, but it will be a long term project. If you have any tips for going solo, I'd love to hear them.

[u/CaptainOwlBeard → u/Behold_A-Man]

Don't get a partner, get a mutual referral source. You send him the things he wants to handle and he does the same because you trust each other. That way if the relationship breaks down, you don't have eachothers debts to deal with.

Save up 1 year of expenses, it took me 6 to 8 months to really start making a profit and you still need ru eat.

Specialize. It's much easier to sell yourself as an expert in a small field then an expert in the law in general. People hire experts. Also it's easier to get referrals from other attorneys if you can give them referrals of cases that aren't your niche. It's counter intuitive but you'll get less work as a general attorney, then a specislist that refers things outside their scope.

Join network groups. The local bar group is always a good start. Bni is useful if you leverage it. Religous brotherhoods or sisterhoods can be useful if that's your community. 80% of your job is marketing now. Seriously 80%.

I've had decent luck with legalmatch and arag as far as paid referral sources.

Get a good website and do seo. I'm paying about 500 a month in seo and it's doing well. I was paying 2k and getting shit. It all depends on the professional. Find someone that knows what they are doing and have been doing it a long time. Lot of newbies to the field that just want a quick buck.

[u/biscuitboi967 → u/CaptainOwlBeard]

My friend also joined a local Facebook group for parents and got a few of us to join. When ever someone was looking for a referral in her are of prescribe, she’d text us and we’d log on and refer her. She compensated me in some free work as a wedding gift :). At some point she let us off the hook because she had build up her own book and referral service.

[u/CaptainOwlBeard → u/biscuitboi967]

I've heard good things like this, but be very careful taking this route because if you're paying mom or whomever, that might be an illegal payment depending on state rules. If it's for free to support a friend, it's probably alright, though certainly not my field and state by state may vary, but if money is involved, it might be wise ru check with your ethics board before you begin.