3 Laid-Off Ohio Lawyers Struggle to Find Work; 2 Others Land New Jobs

How bad is it out there right now for laid-off lawyers seeking new jobs? An article in Crain's Cleveland Business today paints a depressing picture.

Attorney Keith Barton lost his job as an in-house attorney at a nonprofit a few weeks before Christmas. He's trying to get a solo practice up and running so he can use his law degree. Meanwhile, to support his family, he has taken a seasonal job as an office supervisor at a tax preparation service. Three days a week he unloads trucks and restocks inventory at a local Target store from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m.

“I'm trying to cobble enough things together to keep paying the bills,” he tells the business publication.

Also struggling are labor and employment attorney Mari Zacharyasz, who was laid off in February from Roetzel & Andress, and Aileen Sexton Kopfinger, a 10-year real estate practitioner who lost her job at Taft Stettinius & Hollister this spring. Zacharyasz is hoping to get a government or human resources job, but thinks she may have to run her own practice out of her home. Kopfinger has sent out numerous resumes, but thinks she may have to move from the Cleveland area to find work.

“I don't have any money coming in,” Zacharyasz tells Crain's. “I just need something to get me back on track financially. This threw me into another realm that I never, ever thought I'd be in.”

Two other refugees laid off from an unidentified local law firm earlier this year have been luckier in their job searches. Hugh Kinast found a new position as in-house counsel at Sherwin-Williams. Phillip Helon started his own firm as a stopgap measure but discovered that he likes being his own boss, the article recounts.

Portable business helped make the difference for Helon: He says he took several clients with him, and can now offer them more flexible billing arrangements.

Related coverage:

ABAJournal.com: "‘Hester Prynne’ Seeks Advice About J.D. From Low-Ranked Law School"