Careers
Marathon No Problem for Laid-Off Lawyer, But Finding New Job Is Harder
Posted Aug 14, 2009 2:46 PM CST
By Martha Neil
Lynne Zagami has never been afraid of a challenge.
As her resumé notes, she wrestled for four years on her high school's boys varsity team. Last year, she completed the Boston Marathon.
And, after being laid off from a $170,000-a-year job as a corporate associate in the Boston office of Brown Rudnick, she mapped out a game plan and approached the hunt for new work with the same dedication and drive that have helped her succeed throughout her life, according to the American Lawyer. The magazine article is reprinted in New York Lawyer (reg. req.).
But now, nearly nine months after she got the word on Nov. 19, 2008 that she was going to lose her job, the 31-year-old Smith College graduate is still looking. She has set up an office in her living room and has landed a temporary job as a paralegal. Meanwhile, she has $125,000 in student loans after graduating from New York Law School, the magazine recounts.
"But I do try to keep everything in perspective," Zagami says. "Over a potentially 40-year career, this is just one year that sucks."
- How B of A’s GC Got Fired: Leave Now, and Leave Your BlackBerry Behind
- Schools Ranked by 'Super Lawyers' Produced
- Law Firm Price Wars Break Out as Some Try ‘Loss Leader’ Bids for Work
- Five Questions for Law Firms Abandoning Lockstep Compensation
- Judge Jails 2 Attorneys for Contempt in 4 Days
- Reed Smith Will Ask Nonequity Partners to Pony Up Possibly 15% of Pay
- Court Deputy Ordered to Apologize or Face Jail After Taking Lawyer's Paperwork
- Skadden Jumps on the Bonus Bandwagon
- ABA Executive Director Resigns
- Nasty Attitude to Co-Worker, Naughty Word in E-Mail Cost 2 Their Jobs
Should Supreme Court Justices Be Able to Review News Accounts Before Publication?
Comments
donb
Aug 14, 2009 5:15 PM CST
this person was a former biglawyer.
Big Law is available only to a small percentage of all lawyers. But the legal professional media seems to love focusing inordinate attention on biglawyers.
Why is that?
Flag this comment
B. McLeod
Aug 14, 2009 6:00 PM CST
Yes, Ms. Zagami is a former servant of the Dark Side, but I would guess that was because of the loan balance. Soldiering on, she will probably eventually find something, and be OK, but that something will probably not be in BigLaw.
My guess is that when BigLaw begins to recover (if it does), the ranks will be refilled not with castaways (who are now marred by a patina of “unsuccess”), but with shiny, new Tier 1 graduates. BIgLaw worships image, and the shiny, new graduate who has never known any failures will look more like a “winner” than experienced lawyers who were put out of work during the downturn. The latter will be, to BigLaw, just like 7+ year attorneys with no “business book.” They have travelled in a heathen place of “unsuccess” and cannot readily be received back unto the bosom of BigLaw. And so, donb (@1), most of these castaways have now joined the mainstream of the profession, and I do not see why anyone should hold their past against them.
Flag this comment
Attorney
Aug 16, 2009 9:22 AM CST
I don’t mean to offend the paralegals who I am sure will comment but here it goes. Why would an attorney work as a paralegal? This women has a few years of experience, why not start your own business or law firm.
Why would you work as a paralegal, legal assistant, or legal secretary and you are an attorney? This is demeaning. I have a friend who can’t pass the bar exam (6 attempts) and works as a paralegal. Her self-esteem is in the toliet and she constantly doubts her self-worth because of her work environment and title.
Take a position outside of law but for heaven’s sake don’t take a paralegal or assistant position and you are an attorney. Have a little class about yourself.
Flag this comment
James
Aug 16, 2009 10:10 PM CST
to #3…
Kind of a harsh assessment don’t you think. Not everyone can simply start their own firm. Doing so simply because you have a law degree and nothing else to do in a down economy is courting disaster. Being a paralegal may do a number on one’s self esteem but think about it. You’ll actually be working around attorneys and lean the nitty gritty of practicing law. Couple that with your legal education and that person has a good hands on education for when the economy gets better.
Flag this comment
Rath
Aug 17, 2009 2:59 PM CST
#3 – That is an easy position to take when you are not unemployed and don’t have $125,000 in student loans hanging over your head like the proverbial Sword of Damocles. Ms. Zagami worked as a paralegal prior to attending law school so she probably does not share your quixotic attitude about what is only a temporary measure to help meet expenses, not a lifetime commitment. If you can’t understand why someone in her position would be willing to take on such work under current market conditions then you are completely out of touch with her situation in particular, and reality in general.
What kind of business do you suggest she start with at least $125,000 of liabilities in a tight credit market? What position should she take in lieu of temp paralegal work when there is no work available for her as an attorney and jobs in general are scarce? Perhaps she should work as a waitress at a steak house like Bobbi-Sue Doyle-Hazard?
Also, no offense to your friend, but there is an infinite difference between a licensed attorney who practiced as an associate at 2 Big Law firms and is taking on any work she can to pay the bills as a temporary measure due to the recession, and a law school graduate who is working as a paralegal because she failed the bar exam six times and would be unmarketable as an attorney in any economy.
Flag this comment
Add a Comment
We welcome your comments, but please adhere to our comment policy.
Commenting has expired on this post.