Jobs in India for US Lawyers?

The growth of LPO in India may provide one source of jobs for American lawyers who are looking for adventure!

Large Firms Beginning to See Value in LPO?

When legal work began to be outsourced to India, it was presumed that corporate counsel would be the most willing to employ the strategy to control legal expenses. Small firms were presumed to also be interested because LPO provides a ready and scalable workforce that is not on the regular payroll (i.e. small firms would be interested because it gives them a way to staff up temporarily for larger matters).

But one LPO asserts that large firms are beginning to use LPO as a way to pitch business to corporate counsel. By offering corporate clients high quality services at better rates, a few large firms now see LPO as a way to differentiate themselves from the competition.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

It may be harder than ever to leave a job that you don't like. How can you drop off into the abyss when times are so bad? Well maybe the thing to do is to think about the worst case scenario (i.e. what is the worst that can happen if you do quit). If you can live with those consequences, then maybe you should pull the plug. For more on the subject (written before the current recession was in full gear, click here.)

I'm Now a Twit

Actually, the correct term is tweet. You can follow me at counsel2counsel .

A Hint About My Next Moves

My most recent article in MLW gives a preview of what I will be doing next. More to follow.

Go With Grace

To my readers, I will be in transition until the beginning of April. I am not sure how much I will be posting until then. I have left my position at BCG Attorney Search in order to pursue some exciting new directions. More in this space in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you some thoughts about giving notice when you leave a job.

Working for someone else always involves some element of compromise. No supervisor will ever do things exactly the way you like. During the course of your employment, you may have the chance to voice your differing views on how business should be done (or how law should be practiced). But standing at the exit door is not the place to voice your criticism. Rather, it is a time to be thankful for the positives. On that note, here is the letter of resignation that I submitted to the CEO of BCG Attorney Search:

It is with sadness that I write to hand in my resignation, effective immediately (March 16, 2009). For the past four years I have had the privilege of working with some great people at BCG and I have learned a tremendous amount about recruiting. I have even earned a good living in some of these years.

Unfortunately, 2008 was not one of those years and 2009 is not shaping up much better. At the same time, I believe that there are much better ways that I can serve the legal community at this time.

Please let me know how I can effect an orderly transition of my candidates to other BCG recruiters.

If you would like to reach me by phone, please try me by cell phone at 617-851-2319. Starting today, I will be using my personal e-mail account which is legal@seckler.com .

Sincerely,

Stephen Seckler

Great Days Ahead for SmallLaw?

Sometimes you're the windshield
Sometimes you're the bug

...Dire Straits

What a difference five years can make in the legal profession. Beginning in the 1990's, many pundits were predicting the demise of mid-sized law firms (too small to really serve international clients, yet too big to maintain the efficient and cost effective delivery of legal services).

Then large firms continued to raise their rates every year and associate salaries grew dramatically. And now that many businesses are cash strapped and looking for ways to reduce costs, Biglaw is not sitting so pretty. Corporate counsel are rejecting ever increasing billing rates and looking for ways to control legal spending.

Partners who do not need an international footprint to serve their clients are beginning to understand this as well. So we are now seeing a small (but noticeable) reverse migration from Biglaw to SmallLaw. While this doesn't mean the death of BigLaw, it does mean that the legal profession will continue to be in a state of flux in the next few years. In some cases, BigLaw will continue to be the "windshield". But make not mistake about it, SmallLaw should no longer be seen as the "bug".

Voice Mail Messages: Yes or No?

If you are trying to do more networking these days, you are in good company. The ranks of unemployed lawyers keep growing and networking is a good way to uncover jobs and project work that may go unadvertised. But what happens when you are diligently making your networking phone calls and you keep getting voice mail. Should you leave a message? Here are some suggestions from a consultant who advises professionals service providers on selling.