Career Transition Blog for Lawyers

Alex Pareene, writing for The New Republic, has published a rare takedown in a national publication of a specific large law firm partner. The subject of the article’s criticism is Neal Katyal, who served as Acting Solicitor General under the Obama administration. On December 1, Kaytal, now a partner at...

Having spoken with plenty of lawyers who refer to large law firm culture as "soul-crushing," news of a former Cole Schotz associate who recently railed against the firm on social media and in public blog posts didn't come as a total shock. Unfortunately, Myles MacDonald, in seeking to "feel human,"...

A report from legal recruiting heavyweight Major, Lindsey & Africa shows a widening gender wage gap among partners overall, but the details of the data bring to light strategies women lawyers can use to close it. The "old boys' network" that could be to blame has already accounted for many...

Bloomberg reported last year that lawyers had become a minority in the U.S. Senate for the first time ever. Following data from the Vital Statistics on Congress, first published in 1953, the article cited work by Stanford's Adam Bonica, which found that the Senate had included a lawyer majority since...

An article published last week by the American Lawyer took a brief look at what success means in a legal services industry that almost always mandates long hours, inevitably taking time and attention away from other interests and pursuits. The article centers around the questions of an associate at what...

As a law student, I learned about stare decisis. As a business litigator for almost ten years, I saw that judges applied stare decisis—unless they didn’t want to. As a career coach for lawyers, I know that many lawyers rely on precedent too heavily when they think  about making a...

I know a whole lot more about running a business than I did in 2004, when I left the law to start Successful Career Strategies, Inc. As a career coach for lawyers I have in the intervening years talked to hundreds of lawyers who expressed an interest in becoming business...

What’s the single easiest step most people take to look for a job?  Send a resume to a position that has been posted online. What’s one of the least effective ways to find a new job? Send resumes for positions that have been posted online. The Internet age has brought...

“But it didn’t take long for to realize he wasn’t happy as a lawyer.” This sentence appears in the biography of someone who became famous.  As a career coach for lawyers,  I know that this is one of the happier sentiments that you can voice about someone.  And what makes...

Being multi-talented can be a disadvantage when a lawyer tries to figure out what kind of career change they want to make.  As a career coach for lawyers, I have talked to many clients who have a multitude of talents and interests.  They almost have to many choices.  And that...

Lawyers who are considering making a career change face a recurring question:  How can I tell whether the alternate in which I am interested is a career or just a hobby? As a career coach for lawyers, I meet lots of lawyers who have a wide variety of interests, ranging...

Are you in the right place on the planet?  In the context of career transitions for lawyers, that’s an important building block. In my experience as a career coach for lawyers, geography is a relatively minor issue for most, and a very important issue for perhaps 5%-10% of the attorneys...

One of the underappreciated aspects of successfully changing careers as a lawyer is understanding what work pattern suits you best. As I’ve mentioned previously, attorneys who consider changing careers often think in terms of job titles.  That is a mistake.  The better approach is to evaluate potential positions in terms...

There is a self-fulfilling aspect to answering this question.  Lawyers who believe that they are too old to make a career change don’t.  That doesn’t mean, of course, that making an effective career transition is simply a matter of mental attitude.  The physiological effects of aging are real, and many...

Resumes are the most overrated job search tool, especially for lawyers. For too many attorneys, sending out resumes has become synonymous with looking for a job or changing careers.  This is unfortunate because, as a career coach for lawyers, I know that resumes have serious drawbacks, including: The most successful...

You hate your law job. That’s the one thing of which you are sure.  But how do you know whether that’s just a phase?  This is the question that any potential career changer (whether or not you are an attorney) has to answer. As a career coach for lawyers, I’ve...

1.  Make Your Current Job Better.  As a career coach for lawyers, I know that too many attorneys who dislike their jobs act as if they live in a world that is binary. There are only two choices; either they stay at their present job and accept all the shortcomings...

If you talk to lawyers who are dissatisfied with their jobs, you will often hear them say the following phrase: “But I can’t afford to . . .” Some feel they can’t afford to leave the practice of law.  Others perceive that they can’t leave their law firm partnership.  There...

When lawyers think about making a career change, they often make a common mistake.  They evaluate potential alternate jobs and careers based on their job titles.  They will say things (to themselves and others) such as, “Being a journalist might be interesting” or “I wouldn’t like to be an actuary.”...