When the market does slow down, however, lawyers often feel more anxious than relieved. Free time gives them opportunity to worry about decreases in salary and bonuses and even worse, being laid off.

There’s no point ruminating about what’s out of your control. Instead, focus on what you can control. Rather than panicking, channel your energy into activities that will showcase you in a positive light and will also double as career insurance should you ultimately end up in a job search.

Many of these ten activities will not only make you feel good, they will also serve as tools to enhance your resume and build your network.

Ten Activities Will Keep You Sharp And Make You Feel Good

1. Write. This is a direct way of getting your name into circulation. Writing articles can help with business development by establishing you as an expert in your field.. It can also distinguish you from other similarly situated candidates both in interviews and on your resume. Speaking of resumes…..

2. Update your resume. Many of us think of this as a painful process. In an ideal world, you would regularly update your resume two or three times a year—adding new projects, responsibilities and accomplishments as they happen in real time. For those of you who haven’t updated your resume in years, I recommend Make the Right Career Move by Rachelle Canter 1., an excellent book with invaluable chapters on resume writing. As you redo your resume, think about where you are in your career and where you want to go.

3. Organize your office. If clients walked by your office, would they be impressed or would they quickly retreat with a look of disgust? For those of you who haven’t sent a file down to records in years, now’s your opportunity. Invest some time to make sure everything in your office has a place where it belongs. Check the health and effectiveness of your filing system. Getting organized will be a huge help when things pick up again. Also, as you go through your files, you may discover topics on which to write, and accomplishments to add to your resume.

4. Focus on training. Rather than dashing to complete CLE credits before state deadlines, get them out of the way now. Better yet, offer to teach a CLE course. This will help establish you as an expert and will give you a chance to practice public speaking. As an added bonus, in many states presenters earn double the CLE credits. With the luxury of time, you can pick topics that actually interest you and are relevant to your career as opposed to settling for whatever is being offered. You can also use the time to work on your development areas. If writing has been an issue for you, get a writing coach. If you’ve been working on your negotiation skills, spend time with a colleague skilled in that area. Ask questions about your development areas and then practice, practice, practice. Keeping busy with non-billable time will look better than just having low billable hours—particularly when expectations around billable hours will be low anyway.

5. Get current. Now’s the time to catch up on all the articles, newsletters or books you’ve been accumulating. Look at your particular industry through the lens of the economy. What strategy can your clients adopt to steer themselves through tough times? What legal or business implications might they be facing and how can you help them? Even better, use your newly- enhanced knowledge of your area to connect with clients: spend time with and stay close to them. Show them you are just as concerned about their businesses as they are.

6. Practice business development. A dip in the economy is the perfect time to brainstorm: write down ideas you have for expanding your current client base or acquiring new clients. Don’t dismiss anything. Start building a strategy for each idea. Keep the good ideas and recycle the old ones while staying open to creative solutions.

7. Get involved. If you work at a firm, offer to interview new applicants for summer and first-year positions. Join firm committees or groups that you’ve always been interested in. Volunteer to mentor a new associate. All of these activities will establish your citizenship in the firm. As a former insider, I can assure you that being in the good graces of the recruiting and professional development staff is always a good idea.

8. Network. Make good on your promise to reach out to all the contacts you’ve been amassing. Look up the person you shared a panel with. Combine networking and business development by catching up with a former client or law school classmate; conversations like this might spark either a business development opportunity or an idea for a written piece. Reach out to someone who has a job you might be interested in. Network to catch up on what’s going on in your clients’ industries. Get involved in your local or state bar association and avail yourself of the tremendous networking resources it can provide.

9. Give back. Get involved in a pro bono case—particularly one that has meaning for you. This will give you an opportunity to keep your skills sharp while waiting for other work; you might even learn a new skill or two to use in an interview or job transition. Don’t restrict yourself to the legal field: volunteer for any organization you’re interested in. All of this can help your interviewing, networking and business development—while doing something good. For some ideas, check out www.probono.net or www.voa.org.

10. Recover! Don’t panic—use the time productively. Go on that vacation you had to cancel last year. Spend more time with loved ones. Read the crime novel that’s been collecting dust on your night table. Schedule long-overdue doctors’ appointments. Check in with your financial adviser. In all likelihood, the market will rebound and when it does, you’ll be in an energized and positive state of mind.

If you adopt my new favorite quote, “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional” (author unknown), you’ll start converting your nervous energy during slow times into productivity. Keep busy, stay on people’s radar screens, and become engaged in other endeavors. Focus on the overall value these activities add to your career and plan for ways you can make them part of your regular routine, even when the economy picks up.

Footnotes

1.) Canter, Rachelle; Make the Right Career Move: 28 Critical Insights and Strategies to Land Your Dream Job; Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated, 2006.

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Thank you, Melissa. And may your words inspire sabbaticals and not frighten parents!

- Helen
———-

Columbia, Indonesia, Poland, Laos, Argentina, New Zealand, and India. A wish list for some, a bucket-list for others. For me, they are but seven of the forty countries I explored in the same amount of time it takes to go law school. Graduating college with a communications degree and minors in business and African American Studies, I decided to further my studies with an MWS—a Masters in World Studies.

What better time to spread my wings and travel the world? I was 22, had no commitments, no career, and no cash. Perfect! Because I was a waitress during my undergraduate years, I had a valuable skill that easily found me jobs in Dublin, London, Sydney, and Auckland; what I earned underwrote my travels throughout those other 40 countries. OK, so maybe waitress/ traveler will not be my final calling, but these last three years have been pretty sweet!

First Year Curriculum: Europe

While others were learning about torts during their first year in law school, I was backpacking my way through Europe—an amazing number of countries on such a small amount of real estate! Every border crossing is a gateway to an entirely new culture, language, and landscape. I was awed by the Vatican, insanely disturbed by concentration camps, and swept away by the Alps. I ate all the Belgian waffles I could handle. A great choice for my first big trip abroad.

Traveling the lowest class on the Euro rail, I efficiently, if not always comfortably, traversed the Continent. Once at my chosen destination, it was a hunt for the nearest, cheapest hostel. “Cheapest” is self- explanatory; “nearest” was a necessity as my backpack grew continually heavier with each country’s souvenirs and latest European fashions. “Nearest” also important because of the neighborhoods in which hostels are generally located. [Not 5-Star! – HN]

For those not familiar with hostels, let me assure you that while they are not always the trendiest lodgings, they are a great place for young travelers. We arrive from all over the world, meet, exchange travel stories and share a bunkroom for the night. By bunkrooms, I mean one room with anywhere from four to fifty beds. [Not 5-Star! – HN] The hostels usually have kitchens, which is great for frugal travelers who can’t afford to eat out; kitchens also are a great place to gather and trade travel tips, learn about the cheap cuisines of the world, and pick up insider news on what’s hot and what’s not. By the time that first whirl through Europe ended, I had mastered the art of finding not only the cheapest hostel but those that were bedbug free [So not 5-Star – HN] and could knock out the basics in about eight different languages.

Second Year Curriculum: Central And South America

After that first big trip—my own personal first year of graduate school—I had the fundamentals under my belt. For my next year, equivalent to a second year of law school, I too looked forward to something more challenging and unfamiliar: Central and South America. Traveling south, my first stops were in Central America’s Guatemala and Costa Rica, then on to Peru, all before landing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a couple months of Spanish lessons and the Tango lifestyle! I rented an apartment and lived the Latino culture, which I embraced and loved. It was so completely different. Instead of working 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. as many Americans do, Brazilians may go to work at 9:00 a.m., take a two-hour lunch break, a little “siesta,” and then head out for dinner at 10:00 p.m. While in BA I did as the BA’ers do!

I enjoy a good football game as much as the next girl—a little tailgating, a little foolishness—you know how it is. However, if you think you’ve attended a great game I am here to tell you that nothing compares with a football (soccer) match in South America. I am talking about a whole new level of the term ‘fanatic.’ Braced with my newly minted Spanish language skills, I took off with friends for the match. After being mauled by the team hooligans waiting in line to get into the biggest match in Argentina, the police found us and escorted us, damsels in distress, to an entirely different section than what our tickets stated, because, basically, they were scared for our lives! No joke! (These are the tidbits one doesn’t write home to Mom. Ignorance is bliss.)

Having an apartment rather than staying in hostels made this trip completely different than the first. But more cheap hotels and hostels awaited as I took on the south of Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile—by bus. Suddenly, I missed those cheap Euro rail seats!

I became an aficionado of the siesta, visited the highest, driest desert in the world (the Atacama of Chile), followed the Inca trail and fell for a couple of cute South American guys. Yes, that’s part of it, too. Being a true passport piggy by now, I shed a few tears while boarding the adios plane from South America . . . but soon recovered as the plane was taking me to Australia where I would be working for the next four months. Bondi Beach in Sydney—not bad!

Third Year Curriculum: Asia

It’s now Year 3. Law students returning for their last and final year feel relieved knowing that school is coming to an end. I was making ever-bigger plans, trying to top my previous year and seriously hoping that my travels would never end. This was too much fun! Here’s what I did. I flew back to Europe for a six-month visit to my now numerous friends, hitting the countries I hadn’t gotten to before. I then hopped a plane to New Zealand, working in Auckland for four months where I had a blast and saved up loads of cash. What part of the world to soak up next? Southeast Asia’s Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.

Now my head is exploding! These are fantastic countries. I learned about Buddhism, trekked through jungles, visited remote islands, experienced the history of Vietnam, rode elephants in Thailand, and saw Angkor Wat at sunrise, which aroused every imaginable feeling—mostly wonder and humility. It was also extremely challenging to stay calm and patient (”Be the Buddha”) traveling through these countries as everyone wanted your business and would do almost anything to get it! “Hawkers,” I believe, is the term.

Final exam: India. This was miles beyond anything I’d yet known. The poverty is incredibly saddening, the Taj Mahal is incredibly beautiful, and the Indian people are incredibly friendly and welcoming. India is an adventure and experience beyond mere vacation. There are many countries in which you can kind of slide by; sometimes you don’t fully appreciate the culture or even notice the different life style. In India, you are forced to see, feel, and experience it all. It was my Master’s thesis, my final exam for my MWS degree.

A lawyer may be finished with school but is never done learning about the law. I too will never stop traveling and being evermore intrigued by the world.

At my ripe old age of 25, I reflect on my travels thus far, thinking about all the cultures and history I have been exposed to and seen. What a classroom, what a textbook! My post-grad degree in the World has changed my life, who I am, and whom I will become.

And Mom will never know all the details.

Melissa Pugh, MWS
Currently managing a restaurant in Deer Valley, ID, and, yes, pursuing travels up and down ski slopes.

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Fact #2: Despite the economic climate, some attorneys are growing their practices by bringing in new business and clients and, in some cases, expanding practice areas. These lawyers find more satisfaction because they’re working with clients they enjoy. They have more professional options and security because they know how to satisfy clients, generate referrals, and keep a steady stream of new work.

Fact #3: Rainmakers are the last lawyers to be cut and the first to be solicited for new employment. Client development and retention are key skills in today’s economy. No matter how times may change, if you can generate new work and new clients on a consistent basis, your practice will thrive.

Rainmaking isn’t a skill taught in law school, and far too often, lawyers fall prey to the mystique of the “natural rainmaker”—that if they don’t already know how to get new work, they can’t learn the skill. In fact, many lawyers secretly wish that they could simply provide excellent work product and let others get new business. That’s rarely an option in today’s economy for anyone other than junior associates in large law firms.

Networking Can Be A Natural Outgrowth Of Your Interests

Networking is a time-tested method of developing the relationships that lead to business. Unfortunately, networking often carries a vaguely distasteful image of crowded rooms in which aggressive people force business cards on anyone who will listen to their tales of business glory. Many lawyers (and certainly most introverts) who think of networking in that light shudder and resolve to try something less odious.

A lawyer once contacted me to ask how a nice but socially awkward introvert (her words, not mine!) could begin rainmaking. The lawyer, let’s call her Margaret, described her discomfort with small talk and braggadocio, both of which she perceived to be integral to business development success. Margaret further explained that she felt no desire to play golf and would prefer to make client connections due to her legal skill. Margaret’s quandary boiled down to one key question: “Can I bring in business and still be myself?” Especially because I consider myself to be somewhat of an introvert, I empathized with Margaret’s situation and shared the tactic that has always worked well for me: gaining contacts through substantive working groups of industry and bar associations.

Networking based on substantive work harnesses a lawyer’s technical skill, generates almost endless opportunities for conversation, and offers opportunities for attaining leadership positions. Because leadership creates the perception of expertise as well as increased visibility, lawyers who attain leadership roles have the chance to become known by the members of the association for their expertise without engaging in endless small talk at cocktail parties. Personal contact advances relationships, and using substantive work as a springboard for those conversations may feel more comfortable, especially for introverts and those who would prefer to focus on work. Through the substantive work, relationships grow and develop organically, often into professional friendships based on respect and trust, which sets the stage for client development.

Another advantage of this work is that it’s appropriate for lawyers at any stage of practice. More junior lawyers might take on a role in coordinating and assimilating others’ work, or they might find a way to work with more senior lawyers by writing profiles of the group’s leaders for publication in an association newsletter, for example. More senior lawyers are often in a position to be thought leaders who help shape the direction that the law or practice should take, and they’re often invited to speak or to write for the group. In addition, association work can yield mentorship opportunities that benefit both the junior and senior attorneys.

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In today’s economic climate, lawyers who bill hourly are facing significant price competition and pressures on profit margins because their business models do not translate their work into value as it is seen through the eyes of their clients. However, there are many things you can do immediately to add significant value to clients, prevent client attrition, and keep your profits in line through these tight economic times.

Explain Value In Pre- And Post-Action Reviews

A best practice for attorneys is to have clients define, in their terms and at the beginning of the engagement, what success means to them. This allows you to make sure their expectations are reasonable and that you understand what they really think they are paying for. Remember, they are not buying your time and effort. Make sure to have clients identify what they value, how they desire to work together with you, and what communication style they prefer: this way, you will be more likely to hit the bull’s-eye.

If you do not plan to change your pricing model anytime soon, this is a great way to keep your clients happy and reinforce your unique value. Many lawyers get so caught up in creating the outcome for the client that they forget to tell the client all of the great things that they did to get there, and I don’t mean in the form of an itemized bill.

Finally, before giving clients your bill, have a detailed discussion with them reviewing the process you went through. Reveal the thought and expertise that you put into the matter and connect that with the outcome that you achieved. Sometimes, you might even tell a story about how you successfully used a negotiating tactic with opposing counsel or explain that you crafted a unique argument to the US Patent and Trademark Office and prevailed. This will reinforce your unique value and keep clients from focusing on itemized bills for emails, phone calls, and vague line items that they do not understand or value. As a general rule, if you do not first reinforce value to clients, they will look at your bill to find it. When they don’t find it there, the first thing they will do is complain about line items—or even worse, say nothing and never return.

Designate The Scope Of Outcomes

If you’re a bit more adventurous, include in your engagement letter a definition of the scope of the project defined by desirable outcomes rather than by process. When clients see their own definition of success in your engagement letter, they will see that you “get it” and that you have your eye on their prize rather than on a process that you find intellectually stimulating. With proper communication, clients will understand that an outcome is not guaranteed, but they will also be significantly less likely to blame you for not achieving their desired outcomes if they know that you were aiming for the right goal to begin with.

Give A Value Guarantee

A few innovative firms have begun to offer a value guarantee to clients, ultimately putting the “perceived” power in the hands of the client. This may seem scary, but it isn’t. First, a value guarantee is not a guarantee about outcome. It is a value promise of the firm to make sure that what clients pay is ultimately no greater than what it was worth to them. This has several benefits: it keeps you constantly thinking of how the client perceives value; it also significantly reduces client attrition and complaints, and ultimately prevents you from losing referrals.

If you think about it, clients already have a value guarantee: we call them write-downs, write offs, non-paying or slow-paying clients, etc. By offering a guarantee, you create an incentive for clients to talk to you about what they value and how much they value these qualities. This is valuable intelligence for a firm to have. The alternative is a silent killer. All of the research we have done shows that unhappy clients are unlikely to tell you how they really feel, but they will not hesitate to pay less, not pay, or tell everyone they know how horrible their experience with you was. To a great extent, they already have the power to control your profits, which is why it’s a great practice to give them an incentive to address issues with you that allow you to maintain a long-lasting relationship and avoid the silent killer. Remember, it costs five times more to acquire a new client than to maintain an existing one.

Adopt Fixed, Value-Based Pricing

Fixed, value-based pricing is the most effective way to align your economic interest with the success of the client in a manner that can earn you significantly more in the long run. It’s also the most value-aligned pricing model that, done well, almost assures client satisfaction. There are a few firms nationally that have completely abandoned hourly billing in favor of this model, and many others are exploring the possibilities in light of the earnings pressures faced by the industry today. ¹

Value pricing is a form of fixed pricing that sets a price for work based on its subjective value to the client. There are significant resources online and in print to help professionals navigate the inevitable change to fixed-pricing in the market. ²

In order to price based on value, attorneys must work with the client up-front to discover the value-drivers, desired outcomes and preferences, and then carefully scope out an engagement around what the client wants to achieve. Next, ask your client to attribute a value to the engagement and get your money up-front. That way, you don’t need to manage your entire life in six-minute increments and you can work effectively and efficiently to achieve the outcome in a manner that increases, rather than decreases, your profitability.

Your client’s last memory of you will be your achievement for him or her rather than your bill. If you feel as if you need some courage to try this model, remember that the reason you are in business is to be profitable, not to make exactly the same profit margin on every job you do or to know exactly how many pennies you made on each engagement.

With careful scoping, great communication about value-drivers and good project management, you should be able to successfully implement a value-pricing system that will differentiate your firm and make you a provider of choice. As many innovative professionals have discovered, clients highly value what we do and are willing to pay a premium for certainty, allowing us to focus on value creation and quality lawyering instead of timesheets, billing, and collections.

In this economy, the uncertainty of hourly billing makes value pricing more compelling than ever before. After all, who can afford to write a blank check?

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Experience
Kathleen Brady is founder of Brady & Associates Career Planners, LLC a training and consulting firm specializing in the legal profession; and Kanarek & Brady, LLC, an outplacement consulting firm for attorneys. She has over 20 years of experience delivering career development seminars and counseling law students, practicing attorneys and legal administrators on job search strategies and professional development issues including communications skills, career planning, business development, delegating and supervising, delivering feedback, effective mentoring and time management.

Ms. Brady started her career in the Placement Office at Columbia Law School and went on to serve as Assistant Dean of Career Services at Fordham University School of Law; National Director of Staff Recruitment and Development at Jackson Lewis; and Manager of Associate Professional Development at Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, LLP. The experience she has gained working on both the employer and school side of the career development process enables her to provide valuable assistance and unique insights into the professional development of attorneys in transition.

Ms. Brady served as the 1995-96 president of the National Association for Law Placement and is a founding member of the NALP Foundation for Research and Education. She authored two books, Navigating Detours on the Road to Success: A Lawyer’s Guide to Career Management (Inkwater Press, 2005) and Jobs for Lawyers, Effective Techniques for Getting Hired in Today’s Legal Marketplace (Impact Publications, 1996) as well as numerous articles for The New York Law Journal, ABA Law Practice Management and NALP Bulletin.

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How a resume looks is just as important as the information it contains. To be most appealing, leave clean margins at the top, bottom and sides. The white space frames the information as a mat does a picture, and invites readers to spend time reading what you have to say.

At the same time, find ways to visually highlight your key accomplishments, leadership roles and honors using bold type, bullet points, underlining, and italics but use them sparingly.

Select Relevant Information

Rather than simply listing all of your skills and previous experience, think about how to make this information relevant to a hiring attorney who is mainly interested in your potential. The fact that you belonged to a club, fraternity, sorority or other organization during college, for example, merely signifies that you are a “joiner.” To emphasize the significance of your membership, describe your leadership capabilities, or explain what you contributed that made a difference. Hiring attorneys want to know that you are bringing something special and unique to their firms, and they are particularly interested in knowing that others have recognized your potential as well. The rest is superfluous.

Highlight any special skills or qualifications such as the number of trials that you first-chaired, NITA training, Guardian ad litem certifications, or any particularly relevant course(s) that you taught or in which you excelled.

How Long Should My Resume Be?

Although most advise drafting a one-page resume, this is often most apt for newly-graduated law students. If you are “chronologically advantaged”—that is, if you’re not new to the business world, don’t hesitate filling two pages. Otherwise, by withholding relevant past job experience, you risk unnecessarily eliminating yourself from the competition. Many law firms are looking for mature, stable, and grounded applicants who can navigate the world of work. Often, second and third career applicants offer just that.

If you are fresh out of law school and have had very little work experience to brag about, focus on your other strengths and accomplishments. Highlight your good grades in undergraduate school, your leadership roles, your promotion from hamburger flipper to supervisor, your awards, or the regularity of your summer jobs.

If you’ve moved from job to job more than just a few times, you should have addressed the reason for this in your cover letter, succinctly, in just a sentence or two. In your resume, simply list your jobs.

Make Yourself Come Alive On The Page—And Don’t Lie

Show that you are not one-dimensional. Good grades are important, but many hiring attorneys are also interested in finding applicants who have had substantive hands-on experience. Legal employers are looking for well-rounded applicants who can “hit the ground running.” The less time employers will have to spend “hand holding” you through the basics of your practice, the faster they can start billing for your time and theirs, which is always a positive for employers.

Present yourself as energetic and as a “gets things done” kind of person. Use the active voice in describing your activities. Where possible, show how you identified a problem, took specific action to resolve it, and what happened as a result. For example, perhaps you saved your former employer money, were responsible for an increase in business revenues by an impressive percentage, or successfully supervised a large group of people to achieve positive results. Say so—and use numbers.

Finally, and perhaps most important, be honest. Lying can’t be justified; firms have been known to fire liars right away. Never exaggerate your level of proficiency in a language, sport or other activity. If your dishonesty is discovered, your ethics will be called into question—and nothing is more important than your reputation as an ethical practitioner.

Should I Include References?

If references aren’t specifically requested, should you include them? The answer varies. Here’s one possible rule of thumb: if you are a law student responding to a job posting from a specific law firm that does not request references, don’t send any. Simply wait until they are requested and then type them up neatly under the title “References for Mary J. Smith.” Of course, there are always exceptions. If you have impressive letters of reference or extensive contacts, then, by all means, go ahead and list them or attach the letters so that they follow your resume.

If you have practiced for a few years, then include a list of references on a separate page behind your resume. Make sure all the names and addresses are correct (and correctly spelled), provide telephone numbers, state their relationship to you (professor or former or current employer at ABC Law Firm), and indicate the period of time that you have known each other. You can refer to this list in your cover letter. By all means, inform your references in advance that they may be receiving a call from your potential employer.

Do these tips seem too common-sensical? Do they sound superficial? Maybe—but a minor slip-up can make the difference between an interview call and a decline letter. You can’t control the grades you received, but you can control the product that you submit to a busy hiring attorney. Just as you wouldn’t show up for an interview wearing jeans and flip flops, you shouldn’t send out a cover letter and resume that aren’t the equivalent of a neatly pressed suit or dress and shined shoes. The impression that you make first is the one that will define you.

For more help, reach out to your law school’s Office of Career Development, whether you are a student or an alumnus. Draw on their expertise and desire to see you win the job you want. No doubt, you have a lot going for you. Make sure your cover letter and resume reflect this.

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We usually think of a voyage of discovery in terms of traveling to new places, seeing new landscapes. I certainly do. I’ve spent much of my life visiting new places, discovering what goes on there and who hangs out there. It’s my passion!

But Proust suggests that the real voyage of discovery is not accomplished by visiting or revisiting new places. He suggests that real discovery comes through having new eyes.

New eyes means seeing in a new way, with new insight, and from different perspectives, with a different focus. In doing so, we embark on a voyage of discovery in an entirely new dimension. Who knows?—we may stumble upon dragons (friendly, of course) swimming in this new sea! Beginning a voyage of discovery by definition means that we don’t know what we’ll find, that the voyage is unpredictable. And what makes it unpredictable isn’t that we haven’t been there before, but that we’re seeing with new eyes.
I like this idea; it appeals to me, and I can apply this to everything that I do, and to the world at hand. If we focus on discovering the world through new eyes, we can view recent events on Wall Street, Main Street, and even Pennsylvania Avenue in new ways. Certainly, we can travel the world with new eyes.

Voluntourism Translates An Old Idea Into A New Context

Journeying to extend the hand of kindness, understanding and compassion is as ancient a reason to travel as travel itself. Now we refer to this type of travel as Voluntourism. The opportunities are endless. In a world flattened by technology, world markets, air travel, and a 24/7 news cycle, we all know how much need exists. When curious travelers address this need, the results can be stunning. For a few hours, days, or weeks, travelers can offer up soft or hard skills, whether physical, technical, or social. Swing a hammer. Sort through recycled lumber. Read a book. Hold a child. Paint a school. Ride a bike. Count ants by day. Count turtles by night. Or simply take a trip knowing that part of the proceeds are going towards good causes.

This type of travel, once cynically characterized as Do-Gooder Travel, is now so mainstream that it’s almost overlooked. Behind every responsible travel company is a flow of cash that supports the communities in which they operate. Many offer programs that are wholly devoted to or include time to give a little back to people, plants, and animals; that support shelter, education, conservation, and sustainability.

Look at Natural Habitat Adventures. In the 1980s, fluffy white harp seals were endangered because the economy of the Magdalen Islands off the coast of eastern Canada depended on harvesting these animals. Nat Hab’s founder, Ben Bressler (who comes from a family of attorneys), took on the task of changing the Islands’ economic focus: instead of killing the seals with clubs, inhabitants built a sustainable economy by protecting the seals and creating a then emerging eco/nature-travel business. The islanders receive money in the long term by preserving the resource rather than destroying it in the short run. Still a hallmark expedition, Natural Habitat has educated thousands of travelers by giving them a first-hand experience of eco-tourism, and has kept money flowing to the Magdalens.

Today, Nat Hab is a poster organization for what you can do with sound business practices, a big heart, and an eye to what makes long-term green sense. It is the first carbon-neutral, worldwide travel company that also offers a choice of conservation benefits. Taking it to the next level, they have developed a practical way to not just neutralize, but reduce their footprint by including hybrid safari vehicles in their fleet—that run on used cooking oil! (Photo ©SMorello & Natural Habitat)

As Ben pointed out, Escape Adventures, specializes in active travel in western North America, also offers hybrid vehicles. “This company is a leader in the field and has become a collaborator and mentor to us,” he said.

Incorporate Volunteering Into Your Travel

Olaf Malvar is a pioneer—and a real-deal explorer. His brainchild, Explorers’ Corner, is a referral-only, high-end specialty adventure company. If the prospect of kayaking the Antarctic Peninsula, trekking the Caucasus Mountains, or paddling between the Galapagos Islands whets your travel appetite, then this is your community of dreamers and achievers. Olaf and his company support the indigenous peoples in their locales, especially the northern tribal communities, a fact that isn’t publicized on their website or in their newsletter.

Myths and Mountains, an inspired travel company that focuses on the people and cultures of the world’s high altitudes, was founded by Dr. Toni Neubauer who has a love for Asian travel. Toni also created READ Global, a nonprofit global organization dedicated to empowering communities by increasing literacy and access to education through the creation, advancement and leveraging of a replicable library-based model for sustainable economic development—in other words, it draws on the “teach a man to fish” model that reaches deep into the fabric of a people. This year, READ Nepal received the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 2006 Access to Learning Award. Toni also received the Walk the Talk Global Citizen Award. As a result of Toni’s efforts, you can go library to library with M&M on their Mountains, Monkeys and Books visit in Nepal. (You can also motorcycle the Ho Chi Minh Trail of Vietnam!)

Here are some other organizations that promote voluntourism:

Global Volunteers, headquartered in Minnesota. Bud Philbrook, an attorney, got hooked back in the 1980s—on his honeymoon—and eventually developed this amazing little company.

Classic Escapes works closely with alumni and non-profit organizations through their Global Philanthropy projects in Africa, Latin America, and Jordon. Founder Stacy Fiorentinos is passionate about bringing the world closer.

Cross-Cultural Solutions combines international travel with philanthropy. It’s perfect if you want to focus on service, adding travel on the weekends or before/after you volunteer. You can also check out uVolunteer.

If you want to feel good about the world, yourself and your travels, hop into a vegetable-fueled vehicle, pick up a paint brush, offer up your professional services and see the world with new eyes.Photo ©SMorello & Natural Habitat)

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You should think of it as the process by which attorneys acquire, increase and hone the knowledge, skills and attributes (referred to collectively as “competencies”), which you need to effectively “do” the work of lawyering and excel in the practice of law.

The Four Benefits Of Professional Development

Professional development helps us each become the complete lawyer in four important ways. First, and most obvious, it simply makes us better lawyers—more knowledgeable and more skilled. As our competence increases, so does our confidence. Perhaps just as important, our feelings of stress and risk decrease.

Second, because we are more knowledgeable and more skilled, we become more efficient, productive and profitable. We don’t waste time spinning our tires or reinventing the wheel. Even better, clients are often willing to pay more for greater expertise and higher quality work. Whatever the goal, professional development provides the tools that allow attorneys to take command of their work and their work-life.

Third, we create new opportunities and gain choices. We become more selective in choosing the clients and types of assignments we take on, and the people we want to work with. We have a greater ability to say “no” to the work we don’t want and “yes” to the work we do.

The fourth benefit is ultimately the most important: through effective professional development, we become self-actualized as attorneys, thus increasing our peak experience. In other words, we are more satisfied with our work efforts. By becoming more expert, knowledgeable, skilled, competent, and confident, we can dive deeper into each project, transaction, or case and take on more challenging and complex work. Quite simply, that level of engagement tends to make us happier.

Ten Core Competencies For Every Lawyer

As we progress through our careers, we must continually build and hone a range of skills and develop new areas of expertise to improve our job satisfaction and exceed client expectations. Professional development is more than learning the law and keeping up-to-date. As lawyers, we need to focus on a comprehensive set of ten competencies to ensure success and satisfaction.

The first five competencies relate to the legal skills essential to the substantive practice of law. These break down as follows:

Knowledge of the law (researching and finding the law, knowing general substantive and procedural law, developing subject-matter expertise)

Marshalling information (fact finding, questioning and interviewing, collecting and reviewing documents, e-discovery, organizing and categorizing information)

Analysis (critical review, reasoning, problem solving, understanding what facts mean, understanding what the law means, and applying the law to the facts)

Legal Expression (persuasive or objective oral and written communication of analysis, positions, opinions, arguments, and recommendations)

Practice skills (executing practice specific tasks such as, in litigation, taking depositions, arguing motions, and trial tactics; or, in transactional work, negotiating, drafting agreements, conducting due diligence, and counseling clients)

The other five competencies relate to the intrinsic professional skills that underlie a successful practice. These are:

Client service (building client relationships; understanding the client’s business, interests, and needs; providing advice and counsel; and building trust)

Professionalism (maintaining integrity and honesty, diligence, civility, ethics, diversity, mistake management)

Leadership (influencing others, supervising, delegating, collaborating, building consensus, envisioning, planning, giving feedback, and mentoring)

Business Development (creating and maintaining business relationships, networking, marketing, cross-selling)

Management (time management, planning and implementing tasks, organizing and managing one’s own work, organizing and managing others, and running the “business” side of the practice of law)

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Your goal is to preserve your relationship with the employer you’re leaving while still vigorously protecting your rights.

You’re Leaving Because You Want To Leave

In many ways, departing a firm voluntarily is more difficult than getting fired. Sure, you don’t experience the same powerlessness and embarrassment as when you’re told to leave. On the other hand, you still need to deal with colleagues who may feel betrayed by your departure, or who view your motives with suspicion, believing you want to steal clients or bring down the firm. Here are some do’s and don’ts about disengaging

Be prepared: It doesn’t hurt to brace yourself for a worst-case scenario in which your firm sends you packing the day you give notice. In this situation, the firm would close ranks and deny you access to your computer and files by deactivating your security codes and password. Of course, this means you would lose the ability to save what’s rightfully yours. To avoid this, before you give notice, save copies of all of your work product, e-mail messages, and any client materials you’re entitled to retain; and start bringing home the seminar materials, bar journals, and other publications that belong to you. Do this whether you expect your firm to react negatively or not.

Be considerate: Give your firm the traditional two weeks’ notice—if not more. Try to avoid giving notice in the weeks before a major trial or closing. Finally, assure your firm that you will continue to work long enough to finish outstanding work, or to brief a new attorney on the matter. Of course, your firm might decline your offer; in fact, they might ask you to leave right away. But at least you can be satisfied that you acted professionally.

You Are Asked To Leave

In these tough economic times, many law firms are downsizing, firing first-rate lawyers who in many cases have never before dealt with rejection. And let’s be honest—sometimes law firms act downright unlawfully, squeezing out female lawyers who’ve returned from maternity leave or forcing out older, better paid lawyers. If you believe that you’ve been a victim of unlawful conduct, consult with an employment lawyer. Bringing a lawsuit can negatively impact your career, but at the same time, our profession won’t improve unless those who were wronged step up.

If you were fired unfairly but not unlawfully, you may want to vent about your plight either internally or even go public on a blog site. Before you do, however, consider this:

Badmouthing your former firm can burn bridges, or even cause the firm to disseminate negative information about your performance. If there are skeletons in your closet such as client complaints or poor reviews, you might do well to keep quiet. Likewise, if you believe that others at the firm are sympathetic to your situation and might pass work your way or help you find a job, consider whether badmouthing your firm is worth it.

If you send an email to partners or others giving them a piece of your mind, assume that it will eventually wind up on the Internet. That’s what recently happened to Shiuyung Oh, a former Paul Hastings associate. Her firm downsized her, and then claimed it fired her due to subpar performance. Her email to others in the firm in which she explained her situation ultimately wound up on AbovetheLaw, a popular legal gossip website leaving Oh no choice but to go public with her complaint.

You don’t need to leave the firm with your tail between your legs. Express your disappointment or anger to lawyers with whom you worked but do it in a professional manner. This leaves the door open to repair or rebuild the relationship down the road.

Negotiate Benefits

When you leave your employer, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, you may be entitled to certain benefits such as compensation for vacation time or the right to purchase health insurance through COBRA. If you’ve been fired or you’re planning on starting a firm, negotiate vigorously for what you deserve; every little extra bit of cash can help alleviate the financial stress of the early days of starting your own practice.

Here are some benefits for which you should actively negotiate:

Vacation/sick days. Many attorneys who leave a firm or the government find themselves with three or four weeks of unused vacation.

Retirement contribution and bonuses. In contrast to vacation benefits, which accrue all year long, some benefits—like retirement contributions or bonuses—are distributed annually, usually in January or February for the previous year. If you’re leaving voluntarily, you may be able to time your departure so that you’re around when these benefits are dispensed. However, if you’re asked to leave late in the year, you may miss out on these benefits unless you speak up. Again, consult your employee handbook and HR manual. If you’ve already met the criterion for a pension contribution or bonus, then make your case for receiving it.

COBRA. Federal law requires employers with 20 or more employees to provide employees and their dependents the right to continue health insurance coverage up to 18 months after leaving a job. Even though COBRA requires you to reimburse your employer for its share of your insurance premiums, COBRA coverage is generally lower than what you could procure on your own since you can take advantage of your employer’s group rates. COBRA imposes strict deadlines for electing coverage so it’s up to you to stay on top of the process to avoid missing a deadline.

Unemployment. If your separation is involuntary, you probably qualify for unemployment benefits. Don’t be too ashamed or proud to take unemployment; after all, you’ve been paying into the system for as long as you’ve been working, so you might as well take what you’ve earned. After what you’ve been earning at your firm, unemployment doesn’t amount to much, maybe $300 to $400 per week for three months. But that may be enough to cover some bills while you decide what to do next.

Finally, even when you’ve been terminated from your position, you have some leverage in negotiating benefits. If your firm fears you might bring a lawsuit, it may try to avoid the possibility by placating you. Or one or more of the partners may feel so guilty about your dismissal that they will try to ease their conscience by giving you what you ask for. For example, if you’re forced out in the last quarter of the year, maybe the firm will pick up the tab for health insurance premiums through the end of the year. This would be especially helpful if you intend to switch over to your spouse’s plan, for example, and you’re not sure how long that process will take.

Divide The Assets

Departing lawyers must also determine what property they can rightfully take and what belongs to the firm. Disputes frequently arise at termination over rights—how to divide clients, and how to assess ownership of other assets.

Clients

As much as firms may want to keep clients, ethics rules impose some limitations that can level the playing field, at least a little.

In contrast to private corporations, law firms can’t execute non-compete agreements to prohibit former attorneys from soliciting existing clients. The ABA Model Rules of Professional Responsibility and every state bar take the position that clients have an unfettered right to choose their attorney.

And any practice which restricts a client’s ability to choose—whether it’s a non-compete agreement, a law firm’s ban on communications between a former attorney and firm clients, or a firm’s refusal to turn over client files so that a client can transfer to another attorney—will not pass muster under ethics rules.

Still, law firms have some wiggle room. Ethics rules don’t stop a firm from offering an existing client all kinds of perks to remain with the firm. In fact, ABA Opinion 06-444 held that a firm can ethically make retirement benefits contingent upon a lawyer’s agreement to sign a non-compete clause (ABA Journal e-Report, May 25, 2007).

In addition, the ethics rules impose limitations on departing lawyers. Both the ABA rules and most state ethics codes generally have rules on contact between a departing lawyer and firm clients. In many cases, ethics rules require joint notice to the client by both the firm and the departing lawyer. Follow these rules when you leave a firm to avoid protracted litigation over clients.

Property

While figuring out the division of clients, departing lawyers must also determine what property they can rightfully take, and what belongs to the firm. In some instances, technological advancements have rendered moot the work-product question. Most federal courts, and many state courts and administrative agencies, have transitioned to electronic filing. Consequently, you don’t need to concern yourself with the ethics of copying your firm’s briefs and motions when you can readily access many of them online at the court’s web sites after you leave.

Client files belong to the clients, so you can’t take them. But you can—and should—take copies of files if only to document your involvement in a matter if there’s a subsequent malpractice action or grievance filed down the road.

Intellectual property issues complicate the question of who owns work product. Though intellectual property considerations do not necessarily bar you from taking presentations, forms and software applications that you created for your firm for your own fair use, they may preclude you from licensing or otherwise profiting from those materials.

These days, departing lawyers may also face a fight over blog ownership. If you started the firm’s blog on your own server, you can likely claim ownership to the blog and take it with you when you leave even if your blog’s visibility eventually generated clients for the firm. By contrast, if the firm funds the blog and you simply contributed posts (possibly even without attribution), the firm would retain ownership—though nothing would prevent you from linking to your posts after you leave.

Last impressions matter as much as first ones. Whether you’re moving on to better pastures or you’ve been forced out, take care to leave your job with your most important asset intact: your reputation.

*Portions of this article are excerpted from Solo by Choice: How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be by Carolyn Elefant.

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When we start our careers, we are faced with new, overwhelming questions and we have very little experience or even understanding of the questions we are presented with to provide the best representation to the clients. My definition of success is approaching the point where knowledge and experience allow me to represent the client and add substantial value to the solution of their problems on a daily basis.

TCL:  What have been your greatest accomplishments?

I have spent substantial time through my career working on volunteer professional activities. My greatest accomplishment has been the fact that these efforts have been recognized and that I’ve been selected to assume leadership positions in several professional organizations.

TCL:  What have been your greatest setbacks or disappointments?

I cannot think of any substantial setbacks or disappointments in my professional career. Personally, I wish I were a better husband and better father, and perhaps a better person, but I do not know if these rise to “disappointments.”

TCL:  What influence did your mother have on your life?

Like many mothers, mine set the educational standard which applied to all of the children in the family. Without her influence, I question whether I would have completed the education necessary to practice law.

TCL:  What influence did your father have on your life?

During that portion of my professional career that he was alive, my father was my cheerleader and best promoter.

TCL:  What talents or natural abilities make you good at what you do?

My greatest talent is organization. Organization skills allow me to tackle complex projects which might be otherwise overwhelming. Whether it is writing an article or putting together a complex plan for a client, I have always been comfortable breaking the project into its component parts, and working on each part so as to accomplish the whole.

TCL:  What have you learned to do that was not a natural talent but has helped you be successful?

I was not involved in trial practice early in my career and as a result, the opportunities to develop verbal communications skills were limited. I recognized that problem and to an extent, substituted lecturing in continuing legal education seminars for other opportunities to teach myself how to communicate with others.

TCL:  What values do you hold in highest regard?

I have always admired those attorneys who never let the adversarial nature of their work overcome their civility. I most admire those attorneys who remain ladies and gentlemen through every situation.

TCL:  How would you characterize your personal style?

I am, by nature, a problem solver. Whether the problem is pursuit of a client’s objective or planning out the continuity of a professional organization, I go at it the same way. I hope my involvement causes the project or organization to run better.

TCL:  Do you have a personal vision, a positive picture of yourself in the future? If yes, what is it?

I enjoy what I do and would like to continue doing it as long as I am able. At the same time, I would like to have more time to travel and enjoy my grandchildren while they still appreciate me. My first personal vision is making minor adjustments in work balance as time goes along.

TCL:  What are you most interested in or passionate about?

Throughout my career, the only thing which could consistently draw me away from work was family. That continues to be the case. My only hobby is photography.

TCL:  Which life skills have you developed that serve you best?

The life skill which has served me best has been patience. Unfortunately, the life drawback which has been most difficult has been impatience. I guess it shows that life skills are much more difficult to deal with than the practice of law.

TCL:  Name one of your heroes (other than your parents) and tell why they are heroic to you

One of my heroes is unquestionably my wife. Her work is not in any way related to mine, but her approach to both her work and life epitomize my goals (usually unmet). She treats everyone around her with respect. She almost never loses her temper. She is always ready and willing to help anyone who needs it. She shows our children and grandchildren that they are the most important people in the world, while at the same time not letting them lose track of their goals and objectives. Most importantly, I see the same attitudes and skills growing in our children which come from exposure to their mother.

TCL:  What would a person starting out today have to do to get into your profession or position?

The only difference between a person starting out today and one starting out thirty years ago is a change in the work ethic. New lawyers today are less willing to devote the number of hours to work that would have been the standard in the past. New lawyers are more cognizant of the need to have personal lives and to devote time particularly to their children as they are growing up.

In order to develop a career however, the same skills and effort are required. The new lawyer needs to think carefully about his or her long term plan. Where do you want to be in ten years?  Where do you want to be in twenty years? Who are your competitors? Who are your mentors or desired mentors through the process? Any lawyer who is willing to devote extra effort to career development is very likely to succeed. Professional success is seldom a function of genius. It is more often the product of hard work, organization and assistance from key individuals who have gone ahead of you. It must be kept in mind that success is not an entitlement and it does not come to those who only expend their energies spinning their wheels in the mud.

TCL:  What magazines, newspapers or journals do you read regularly?

Besides general newspapers, most of my reading is either professional journals such as American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Trust and Estate magazine and the newsletters for the Trusts and Estates Section and Elder Law Sections of the New York State Bar Association. I also read photography magazine regularly.

TCL:  What Internet websites do you frequent?

I do not use websites very often in my professional work. I do on occasion go into the New York State Bar website or to the ACTEC website.

TCL:  What are your favorite books? What books have you read recently that you would recommend and why?

I have been a fan of Stephen King throughout his career. I am a recent fan of Nelson DeMille, and particularly enjoy audio CD’s of his works.

TCL:  What are your favorite films? What films have you seen recently that you would recommend and why?

The best and only film I have seen in the last few months was The Kite Runner. It is an excellent story of human weakness and adverse conditions with an uplifting ending. The only disadvantage was that it was subtitled. The movie was still worth watching.

TCL:  What is your biggest concern about life on the planet?

I worry about that asteroid we will discover some day in the future on its way to a collision with us.

TCL:  What is fun for you?

I most enjoy grandchildren, travel and photography (in that order).

TCL:  Who is the most successful person you know?

Kathryn Madigan (current President of the New York State Bar Association), an excellent lawyer and wonderful person.

TCL:  What especially galls you?

Lawyers who endlessly talk fast and hand out cards to complete strangers.

TCL:  If you had it to do all over again, what would you do differently?  Why?

I wouldn’t do anything differently, but I expect the mistakes would be slightly different for trying it over.

TCL:  What do you want to make sure you accomplish before you die?

Meet my great-grandchildren.

TCL:  Is there anything you’d like to add?

Thank you!

Michael O’Connor, a partner of the Syracuse law firm of DeLaney & O’Connor LLP, has been an adjunct professor in the Syracuse University College of Law, teaching a course on fiduciary income tax. He is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and its past state chairman. Mr. O’Connor is past-president of the Central New York Estate Planning Council. He is past chairman of the Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, and past Chair of its 5,000+ member Trusts and Estates Section. He is editor-in-chief of Estate Planning and Will Drafting, a book published by the New York State Bar Association. Among his community activities, he is immediate past Board chair of Central New York Community Foundation, Inc. Mr. O‘Connor received his law degree from Syracuse University College of Law.

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