Raise Your Hand If You Have No Work
(And offer suggestions for dispelling boredom.)
Back in December, we conducted a survey focusing on how busy those of you who work for large law firms were. The results were somewhat comforting. A majority of you said work at your firms was not slow, and 78 percent of you said you weren't afraid of losing your job.
That was about seven months ago. Have times changed? In addition to all the recent law-firm layoffs, here is some anecdotal evidence that they have:
Given the hard economic times, you guys should do a story about associates that have no work. And I'm not talking about light billable hours, but NO WORK.I work for [a large firm] and I'm currently relegated to surfing the internet, reading ATL, and looking for new incarnations of ceiling cat. I've begged and pleaded with partners to give me work, but to no avail.
I'd be curious what other associates around the country who are slow are doing to drum up work or, better yet, kill time.
Have any suggestions for this frustrated reader? This person already knows about legal blogs as a procrastination aid. Given the uncertain economy, online shopping binges probably aren't smart. IM'ing with friends at other firms is fun, but not everyone has that option.
If you know of other ways to pass the non-billable time -- and please, safe-for-work proposals only -- feel free to share them in the comments. Thanks.
(96) Comments
FIRST to admit boredom....
Yawn.
Fark.com
Go to the U.S. section of www.cnn.com and read all the deranged crime-related stories that happen.
Not surprisingly, the funniest ones occur in the South and Midwest.
addictinggames.com
pro bono
firm memos
summer associate lunches & activities
Read The Onion.
Send out resumes to firms you think might have work. SERIOUSLY. Before SNR's actions become the new standard. You'll sitting on your ass for 2 months in lieu of severance when you get officially 'separated.'
What? Your mentor, that really nice partner you have drinsk with, says everything is ok? Why would he tell you if it wasn't? They put all the risk in your basket. Is he gonna pay your salary if he's wrong (for more than 3 months that is)? Haven't all the law firm managing partners been on record as saying Partners would take the hit before layoffs and everything is fine and we value our staff etc. etc. roughly 3 months before they cut 5% of the workforce?
I'm not joking kiddos.
Find good non-billable tasks to do, such as writing an article or write a speech/powerpoint for yourself or a partner. Swing down to your marketing department and ask for some ideas.
bibliomania.com
pro-bono work
write an article. it's an easy way to get your name out there and distinguish yourself from the other drones who are surfing the web.
If you want to enter legal academia, this is a great time to work on articles / your job talk.
4:11(1): I completely agree. Take the time to research another gig. When I was mysteriously idle at my last job for a little while, I figured it was either the firm or me that was the problem. Didn't really matter, I knew that it was a bad sign.
Also, load up on pro bono work, if that's possible. It's legitimate work that you can use later to fend off boring work.
sue someone. or report area storeowners with questionable business tactics that you've experienced to the Better Business Bureau. and of course...SEND OUT RESUMES.
Tough-Love:
Without a doubt, it's partners' job to provide associates with work. That said, when times are tough, it's not enough to just ask for work. A firm isn't going to cut everyone and they're not going to keep lawyers on a random basis. In other words, only the best will stay.
Perhaps it's not a coincidence that you have no work and that you're looking for ways to kill time. The real go-getters don't just beg for work; they create it. Listen to the posts above and do pro-bono work or write an article. That way, worst case scenario you can establish some skills, talking points, and credibility so you can get a job when your firm starts to cut its underperformers. Either your firm will appreciate your use of your downtime or your prospective employers will. How impressed will they be that you know how to spend a day surfing the net?
Attend CLEs.
Attend CLEs or catch up on CLEs on DVD.
My advice would be to polish up the ol' resume. The bottom line is this, if you have nothing to do, it is because the partners are starving you off. It sounds harsh but it's reality. If you have nothing to do, spend your time on careerbuilder.com and not ATL.
www.CHILLABLEHOURS.com
www.truemomconfessions.com. Very entertaining. I can spend a whole day reading them.
www.CHILLABLEHOURS.com
I fifth the CLE stuff. Take advantage of all the things your firm covers gratis - get admitted to any federal court you can, do CLEs, etc. Also, go to bar association events, alumni events, etc. that, again, your firm will likely pay for. May as well take advantage of your downtime to broaden your contact base.
I also recommend going to the gym during the day, if all else fails, or just enjoy going home early for a month or so.
soak your tingly bits in icy cold green tea.
1. Eat a pork chop
2. Grow a moustachio
3. Repeat as necessary.
Plant a herb garden
Take up crocheting
Learn a new language
I was very busy until May, and then things got slow. I've been concentrating on a pro bono case, a partner asked me to write an article with him, and I'm writing my own article, in addition to the relatively small bit of billable work that's coming in. Oh yeah, I also read ATL......Hopefully things will pick up soon...
and just what are people putting in their time entries!
here we go again: trying to make a story where there simply is NONE. of course work is slow for some, but when you ask those who are slow to comment on their slow work climate, they will come out in droves...add to them the envious masses who don't have jobs to begin with (and, quite naturally delight in sharing their misery) and you get the illusion of "slowness" simply to create a story.
as always, most big lit depts are humming along. if there's any lesson to be taken from the economy over the past 30 years, it's DIVERSIFY - your investments, your work.
here we go again: trying to make a story where there simply is NONE. of course work is slow for some, but when you ask those who are slow to comment on their slow work climate, they will come out in droves...add to them the envious masses who don't have jobs to begin with (and, quite naturally delight in sharing their misery) and you get the illusion of "slowness" simply to create a story.
as always, most big lit depts are humming along. if there's any lesson to be taken from the economy over the past 30 years, it's DIVERSIFY - your investments, your work.
articles are nice if you wanna be a prof, you're at a v15 firm, went to a V6 school, and had top grades. maybe clerked already too...
but they don't bring $$$$ into the firm and partners don't really care about the added lines on your website bio. They really don't.
Unless you become an expert in a narrow field of law, that has clear business applications, don't waste your time. Unless you really enjoy it, then have fun. But a 1st Amd article or godforbid something controversial (see Harvard Law Avenger) will not get you anywhere in BigLaw.
PEACE
Passing the time: Pillage the Village. It rocks. http://www.xgenstudios.com/play/pillage
How can we DIVERSIFY when law firms make money when they pimp us out as SPECIALISTS?
Go tell the structured finance partner who hired you that you want to try some litigation or antitrust or even just work with another partner a bit. Then come back and tell us about your severance package. But don't double post it jackass
moonlight at a plaintiff's firm. Will give you a cushion when you get laid off and will give you an opportuntiy to see new places to develop defense work
Trivia.
http://chillablehours.com/2008/05/28/join-our-trivia-team/
O-R-G-Y
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www.wikiwaster.com
i did shitloads of pro bono work when my BigLaw firm couldn't come up with billable work. nevertheless, they laid me off in march! they said they picked me as opposed to the guy in the next office because I wasn't on enough matters and could be 'easily separated.'
now working at a smaller law firm where i do much more real lawyer stuff.
Hi - 5:39 here again - I might also add that it's a good idea to become "tight" with the partners who run your department. I got most of my work through partners who weren't the type to go to bat for me (or anyone for that matter) and who weren't involved in the decision of who to lay off.
I was just fired from AU for masturbating on the girl sitting next to me in Civ Pro who was sleeping.
Ask partners if you could shadow deals (or cases, if you are lit). Say you don't want to bill, you just want to stay up on things and keep developing. That stuff can grow into real work before you know it.
/Only works if you are junior...
Step out to see a movie in the afternoon. And work on your resume.
Approach a Cravath associate and ask if you can be his errand boy and fetch his dry cleaning.
1. Polish your resume; reach out to your friends at other firms.
2. Research other professions - maybe something out there is better than this.
3. Take advantage of the free time. Go to a museum. See a movie during the day. Catch up on netflix. Read some books you've been meaning to read. Get out of the office and enjoy the time while you have it!
ebaumsworld.com - - Texas Holdem. I've been on there a lot . . . unfortunately.
Pro Bono, Resumes, talk with all the HH's who call you up, schedule your doctor's appointments, do all your CLE. After that:
Packrat on Facebook. GoFugYourself, and online sudoku.
BIGLAW to modern portfolio theory!
www.lemonparty.org
yeah - it's been pretty fucking slow on my end, too.
layoffs are actually a sign of good, proactive firm management responding to the rapid changes in the economy...better to layoff 10% than kill a firm
I have definitely logged a few Chillable Hours over the last few months. It's a pretty cool site.
Things have definitely been slow for me at D&L since January. Billed less than 100 hours in Feburary, and since then billable work has picked up, but I have gone out and picked up serious pro bono hours (probably doing 50+ a month now).
I worry about my job every day. I've been working with a recruiter but the market just isn't good for my specialty right now. What can you do? Stay busy. I try not to surf the web (CNN and NYTimes aside) and try to research questions that had come up previously on billable matters that I couldn't justify finding answers to at the time.
better to layoff 10% than to kill a firm? well, obviously...
but only an idiot or a SNR partner (not mutually exclusive sets) would say that is the issue- that set up is a false choice.
is it better to hire people so that you can support in nromal cycles? not abuse them to 2500 hours, then when it would only be 1700 hours fire them? and realize that it is still a good base and that these people have value? that they contributed to the value of the firm?
more so. what is going to happen when in 3 years there is an upcycle? firms keep wanting to grow, yet T14 schools aren't growing. And what will happen to all the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years fired? Those are the mid years firms will need in 3 years. But they will have left firm life, left the law, and not be available when that upcycle hits. So because of bad management by V10-100 firms all those lawyers will be gone when this temporary downcycle is over and the undercurrent upcycle hits or moves above the general trend line again. And they'll be fucked.
well, whatever... biglaw sucks big time
(1) Learn an area of law I am interested in (besides my current specialty);
(2) Work on creating a website for my own shop after I leave my current firm; and
(3) Avoid any doc review assignments.
Plan a three month vacation and try like hell to get laid off with severance.
Everyone at my firm is very busy; even corporate. I suspect most of the Vault 5 firms are the same. Good luck to everyone else.
11:03 is the best post of the thread.
www.polijam.com
11:19: Go f*** yourself. You're obviously oblivious. I work at a V5 firm and we're (relatively) quiet.
I am a mid year associate (transaction). Before the slowdown,I had initially intended to quit in about two years at most. But even though I have thought about quiting, I am afraid I am going to get laid off very soon.... I know I would be emotionally devastated and feel like a failure if I actually get laid off. Quiting and being let go just ain't the same. These days I mostly spend my time surfing the internet and reading a book. I've asked for work for a few months now, but my whole department is slow so there is nothing anyone can do. So I think it is a matter of time for me to get laid off. The little assignments I do get occasionally are not enough to motivate me to work with enthusiasm again.
So should I just accept the fact that I will be laid off and take it easy or should the go-getter in me bother with a head hunter to look at my options (at least for another year or two)?
115 am - but why, pray, would so called elite firms have such ridiculously large summer classes if they were not busy and looking to "expand"?
NY to 190!
Dammit, I work in litigation and I really wish things would slow down. From my vantage point, the shitty associates are loving life because no one gives them work, but good associates are still swamped as ever.
9:03AM=2L
9:31AM - try taking an interest in your work rather than treating it as a homework assignment. Make yourself useful. As a young associate you're cheap. If you do a decent job and make the partner's life easier you will get more work. Or you and the other half-assed associates can complain about "not hitting your minimum." You should have stayed in school and gotten an LLM if you didn't want to work.
See if the other offices in your firm have work in your area of practice. This is actually good information either way.
hulu.com. watch full episodes of good tv.
Look for a new job!
8:18 - Tell me you aren't that stupid. Law firms exist for one reason, to make money, not to have the happiest associates, not to work on the best cases, simply to make money. What do you think the relative cost of having large classes of associates is to the firm? It is a pittance to keep the recruiting budget as usual since only a tiny percentage of the new hires will ever make partner anyway. The people who should be most nervous are the associates who are not partners. They cost a lot more and expect a lot more.
8:18 - Tell me you aren't that stupid. Law firms exist for one reason, to make money, not to have the happiest associates, not to work on the best cases, simply to make money. What do you think the relative cost of having large classes of associates is to the firm? It is a pittance to keep the recruiting budget as usual since only a tiny percentage of the new hires will ever make partner anyway. The people who should be most nervous are the associates who are not partners. They cost a lot more and expect a lot more.
8:18 - Tell me you aren't that stupid. Law firms exist for one reason, to make money, not to have the happiest associates, not to work on the best cases, simply to make money. What do you think the relative cost of having large classes of associates is to the firm? It is a pittance to keep the recruiting budget as usual since only a tiny percentage of the new hires will ever make partner anyway. The people who should be most nervous are the associates who are not partners. They cost a lot more and expect a lot more.
I heard that Cravath is slow, and so are their associates.
Pro bono...take on a case or seven
How about, and I know this is a very weird thought, actually trying to get some business for yourself? You know, developing contacts, following up on clients you have worked with, joining a social group? Even if nothing comes from it, you'll at least be developing contacts. You probably will not be bringing the next Visa IPO, but no one else over there is either.
Post your email address and I'll send you some of my crap. I'm going to bill for your time, but at least you will have something to kill the time.
Wake up. You must be one or a combo of these: a lousy attorney, moody, difficult to get along with, complains constantly, a boor, etc. etc. Your fame precedes you if you're not receiving assignments. If you're that good, partners will be fighting to have you work on their cases. I know I would.
Wake up. You must be one or a combo of these: a lousy attorney, moody, difficult to get along with, complains constantly, a boor, etc. etc. Your fame precedes you if you're not receiving assignments. If you're that good, partners will be fighting to have you work on their cases. I know I would.
"So should I just accept the fact that I will be laid off and take it easy or should the go-getter in me bother with a head hunter to look at my options (at least for another year or two)?"
Start looking. Getting laid-off isn't the end of the world, but it's so much better on one's psyche to leave than get asked to leave. Also, people gossip and, invariably, everybody finds out who got laid-off. Again, not the end of the world, but I'd recommend looking and eventually quitting so that your departure can go down as your choice, not the firm's.
"try taking an interest in your work rather than treating it as a homework assignment"
Or, realize that your work is boring you to tears and start thinking about what wouldn't. I beat myself up for a few years in BIGLAW b/c I just didn't give a shit about my work. I switched firms and practice areas and I'm much, much happier.
"Wake up. You must be one or a combo of these: a lousy attorney, moody, difficult to get along with, complains constantly, a boor, etc. etc. Your fame precedes you if you're not receiving assignments. If you're that good, partners will be fighting to have you work on their cases. I know I would."
Jesus. Law people can be sh-theads. Who says that it is someones fault if they have a light caseload? Instead of insulting, why not encourage. I am really rethinking going to law school.
4:24 - don't be simple. People have a "light case load" because they are not good attorneys. Think about how you would dole out work if you were a Partner, and you might start to grasp why some people "get" work and why some people "don't get" work.
4:24 - Don't rethink going to law school because of the comments you read. These people are telling it as it is so grow up. I'm a senior secretary at a big law firm. I can tell you this: the best and brightest attorneys are so busy they can barely breathe.
The marginal ones? Take a guess...
3:21 and 4:24 - Disagree. I'm at biglaw and see plenty of good people sitting around with nothing to do, including partners. It's a mystery as to what summers will be doing.
The notion that the current lack of work has to do with being a "marginal" worker or a "lousy attorney" or "difficult to get along with" is complete nonsense. There is an industry wide downturn, period. Don't attribute it to performance issues like Paul Hastings did.
The notion that the current lack of work has to do with being a "marginal" worker or a "lousy attorney" or "difficult to get along with" is complete nonsense. There is an industry wide downturn, period. Don't attribute it to performance issues like Paul Hastings did.
I AM 424, and I approve this message!
The notion that the current lack of work has to do with being a "marginal" worker or a "lousy attorney" or "difficult to get along with" is complete nonsense. There is an industry wide downturn, period. Don't attribute it to performance issues like Paul Hastings did.
I AM 424, and I approve this message!
10:34: I agree, there is an industry-wide downturn. However, there is still work to go around but not as much. If you're a partner with precious few matters, you'll probably choose your best associates to work on it. So yes -- in some way, when it gets down to the nitty-gritty, performance is a huge factor. Don't fool yourself.
3:07 PM - I have often found that partners do not necessarily choose the best associates but those they are most comfortable with, which I guess in their eyes are the best associates. There are plenty of otherwise high performance associates sitting idle through no fault of their own. If you have five outstanding attorneys and there is work for only one then it becomes luck of the draw or being liked by the right partner at the right time.
Get pregnant (if you are female).
totally late posting, but i disagree with negative comments about publishing an article. i published one at my old firm, and at least one partner went ape-shit about it: sent reprints out to a ton of clients with a cover letter saying it came from one of the firm's "top associates". no idea if publishing would save your job or not, but if it comes down to the guy who published an article, or the one who spent the month playing video games, the choice is clear, no? also, its a LEVEL APPROPRIATE thing for you to be doing. as an associate, you're not going to be going out and organziing and giving CLE presentations for clients yourself, right?
And then there are the partners who are slow. They do what is best for them - horde the work, and only use the cheapest labor. I've even seen them try to use a paralegal as an attorney. The paralegal was pissed.
Take some initiative and write an article.
Read the writing on the wall - it is in boldface and about three feet tall. CYA - It's time to send out resumes and take active steps to find a firm with work to do.
Read the writing on the wall, indeed!
1. Update your resume. You're lucky that your firm is aprehensive about simply canning associates who don't measure up in some way. Use the time wisely.
2. Choose the best examples of your most recent work and redact names and other identifiers that would immediately mark you as clueless if you used them as samples of your work. Feel free to add facts and update law that will make you appear better than you were when you actually argued the motion. It will hone your skills for next time.
3. Take on pro bono work in an area that is of interest to you. If you have never done work in this area before, ask the legal aid coordinator who assigned you the client to pair you with someone who has the appropriate experience from another firm. Most of the specialists are happy to log the pro bono hours without doing the grunt work. And it's a great way to learn AND network.
4. Writing a law review article is good--if you have an interest in the sort of particularly wonkish areas that are routinely favored for publication by scholarly journals. If not, find out which partners have cases pending that have the potential to become "high profile." Offer to write an article for the local fishwrap on the subject of viatical settlements, Hatch-Waxman, or whatever, and how it impacts--or could benefit--the average reader. One of the biggest mistakes that litigators make is failing to educate the potential jury pool about the subject of the litigation. When a client is paying $650 per hour, they expect not only exceptional representation, but damage control, as well. And rightly so!
5. Blogging is probably still the next "new thing" in law. (It takes the old farts awhile to warm up to this sort of thing because many of the senior partners are math-impaired "technotards.") Some firms will regard it as a plus; others not so much. Just remember that the internet is like herpes; nothing you post ever really goes away. One potential hire for a fourtune 500 firm's in-house counsel pool was quickly crossed off the list when the legal secretary assigned the task of running Google searches on all of the applicants located said applicant's MySpace page--under her name--which featured the video she submitted to a reality TV show. Let's just say it was bad, and leave it at that.
6. Other than that, make sure you put in at least the minimum number of hours expected at your firm each day/week. Do NOT f*ck off on the Internet using the company computers.
7. Work out so you appear to be less of a health risk to your potential employer's health insurer when you interview. Also, and I hate to say this, potential jurors are often shallow enough to assume the better-looking attorney has more credibility.
8. Develop a side legal specialty that can see you through a layoff. Writing letters for debtors is an arcane specialty that takes little skill and promises short-term growth; $25 here, $100 there--sooner or later it adds up to real money. Straight cash. Advertise with handbills or business cards in convenience stores and supermarkets. Judgments and writs is another.
If your co-workers have work then you are about to get red carded. So start looking for a job. You get one shot with most firms and if you just start firing off your resume without planning you will blow it. Carefully look for postings, ask colleagues for leads. And as other people said do something useful while you're ducking for cover. For god sakes do not post your resume on careerbuilder or any website. Once you post your resume it's over - no recruiter will ever work with you and you have no control over who sends out your resume to whom (and i am NOT a recruiter). And do not have gaps in your resume - which is why you want to look now.
Call a client and get more work.
What is CLE?