Legal Blogger Finds Being Laid Off Was Tougher Than She Imagined

Legal blogger Sarah Klem says she had sometimes imagined how cool and confident she would be if her Philadelphia law firm ever laid her off.

Klem, who called herself “Philadelphia’s favorite legal assistant” on her blog, The Devil Wears Brooks Brothers, says reality was very different.

“I was struck dumb,” Klem writes in a column for the Legal Intelligencer. “It was the others in the room that were gracious and articulate as I just sat there, blinking occasionally. I was numb. I was being rejected. Sure, I have faced rejection in relationships several times, but I am lousy at relationships. So in those cases, failure and rejection are to be expected. I thought I was good at work; failure was never an option.”

After the bad news, Klem went to her sister’s house, where she ate cupcakes and drank lots of wine. The next day, Klem’s mother advised her to take the next couple of weeks off and figure out what she really wanted to do.

Klem knew the answer. She wanted to be a writer. “So, now I am living my dream. It is not quite how I imagined I would get here, but I am here and I am going to make the best of it,” she writes.

She admits her dream is optimistic, especially for her. She advises lawyers facing job losses to keep their perspective and consider volunteering. The economy will eventually improve, she says. “In the meantime, scale back on your expenses the best you can, freshen up your resumé and, while you wait for callbacks, read all those books you have heard so much about, or go see those movies everyone was talking about. Do the things you haven't been able to do when you had to worry about billable hours.”