1. Career Transitions for Lawyers For LAP Counselors

2. First interview-get job history, from their very first job to date Tell me about the job that you enjoyed the most Talk about their time line-most Lawyers can be placed in about 3 months-if they really want a job Some Lawyers don’t really want a job Find out about their self imposed limitations-the box exercise

3. Money parameters-average Lawyer makes 78k-small firms and solo Lawyers make less-large firm Lawyers make more Geography limits-Law jobs are very unevenly distributed-some Lawyers will not move even when in dire straights-northern areas and Alberta seem to be easy to get a job Prestige, power and recognition- ego and entitlement are huge

4. Irrational commitment to a poor choice-I took 7 years to get here and by God I won’t do anything but private practice Other limitations-suspensions, disbarment and non members- there are actually many jobs that don’t require a membership Structure is important-I like to see clients once a week and each week they have an assignment

5. Lawyers should have “What color is your parachute” and “What can you do with your law degree” as texts General plan as follows 1.Assessment-Lap has many and WCYDWYLD has many-focus should be on Values and basic drivers 2.Skillscan is often helpful 3.Some general areas can be determined from this

6. 4.It is unrealistic to be specific at this stage If a general area can be found it is time for Informational Interviews which are critical Clients should have several versions of a resume and cover letter at this point- samples are in WCYDWYLD Clients should be encouraged to make 2 applications per week-also apply first judge later should be the rule-almost all lawyers under apply and underestimate their abilities

7. Getting out of a fog exercise Most clients need encouragement in large doses at every stage Main objective is to keep them on track and keep focusing on the goal Main problem is complacency or putting job search on the back burner Emphasize the networking and warm contact-most jobs will be found through networking

8. Headhunters only work for in demand areas and they tend to want younger lawyers Good news-it is a great time to looking things are booming and government is hiring Motivated Lawyers will get a job or at least some great leads within a month Clients really value the support Depression is a common side effect of unemployment

9. Tough cases: lawyers that have serious mental health issues or personality problems usually don’t interview well If they are getting short listed but not hired they need work on their interviewing skills –do rehearsals If they are not getting short-listed they may need help on resumes and cover letters, or they may be under applying

10. The reality is that it is a numbers game you need an average of 30 applications to get 3 shortlists to get one job Most lawyers will have 1 or 2 shortlists for every 10 apps Note: applying for jobs that they are grossly over qualified for usually backfires