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Forget St. Barts and Be Grateful You’re Working, Columnist Tells ‘Exhausted’
Posted Aug 18, 2009 11:54 AM CST
By Martha Neil
"Exhausted" from overwork and thinking that layoffs might be imminent, an attorney has written to the Dear Abby of the legal profession, asking whether this might be a good time to quit a law firm job and take a vacation.
The answer to that question, says New York Law Journal columnist Ann Israel at considerable length, is no.
As thousands of laid-off lawyers seek new jobs to no avail, due to the dismal economy, partners looking to hire an attorney are not likely to be positively impressed by a prospect who has voluntarily left a job to spend a few weeks suntanning in St. Barts, Israel writes.
"I sit in my office day after day, month after month, taking phone calls from attorneys who, through no fault of their own, are out of work because of this economy," she says. "They would give anything to be exhausted from overwork, to have any work at all right now."
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Comments
anonymous
Aug 18, 2009 12:48 PM CST
Ann is right, but I disagree with her blame the victim mentality. Just because the economy sucks doesn’t mean this guy should just suck it and work 24/7 and never seen his kids. Why not confront the structural reasons as to why their is an obscene oversupply of lawyers? Young lawyers should organize against the ABA and the law school cartel which is trapping young people under a mountain of non-dischargeable debt, while allowing the outsourcing of tons of entry-level work to the third world. Just sucking it up isn’t the only answer.
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Esq.
Aug 18, 2009 12:49 PM CST
Who writes these articles?
You can take a brief vacation without quitting your job. And if you feel that layoffs are imminent, either start looking or stick it out to the end.
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B. McLeod
Aug 18, 2009 1:14 PM CST
Really, #1? Young lawyers should what? It is too late now for them to not go to law school, right? How are they going to “organize against the ABA and [mythical] law school cartel”? Why would they even want to, since it cannot, at this juncture, help any of them in the slightest?
As for Ann Israel’s response, who put the burr under her saddle? The premise of the letter was that the “associate” feels pretty sure the cut is coming anyway. Isn’t the “associate” in a better position than Ann Israel to make that assessment? Why does she assume the “associate” is wrong in thinking layoffs are looming? What if the firm is a completely unreasonable, underpaid sweatshop? I don’t think anyone is obligated to stay in an unprofessional practice environment to the bitter end, just out of respect for the legions of unemployed castaways who can’t pay their debts.
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Esq.
Aug 18, 2009 5:16 PM CST
I said stick it out to the bitter end, as that way you’d still qualify for unemployment. Either way you need to look for a new job.
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Steve
Aug 18, 2009 5:18 PM CST
It’s a sad commentary that a recurring theme with much of the layoff news is that attorneys in mid or late career are still lacking the financial footing or confidence to just start their own practices, either solo or boutiques formed from other layoff victims.
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James
Aug 19, 2009 10:58 PM CST
Not everyone’s cut out to be a solo Steve. Sadly it takes more than simply being laid off in big law to be successful.
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B. McLeod
Aug 19, 2009 11:46 PM CST
So I suppose some are just destined to loll around in a tent city forever, fatalistically bemoaning how they can’t get a job and were not “cut out” to be a solo. Too bad. It’s going to take a lifetime of digging ditches to work off those loans.
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Darryl
Aug 25, 2009 7:30 AM CST
I have worked in small firms, as a solo, and in-house. I’m in my late 40s and about to lose my in-house job due to down-sizing. I could have quit when I received the notice but chose to stay with the company because I have a family to support. It’s not a lack of confidence to go back out on my own; it’s a lack of desire, combined with the hope that I can get another in-house job with a consistent paycheck and benefits. Maybe if I were young and single I would think differently but I agree with Ann Israel: if you’re in this situation, stick with the job until either you’re let go or you find something else. Don’t voluntarily put yourself in a spot where you have to explain a gap in your resume.
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