- Quickdraw McLaw
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It’s the middle of the calendar year, the state bar convention is this week, the July bar exam is only a few weeks away, and it is as good as time as any to take a moment and ask for your input on the state of the legal market in Las Vegas. Are things better or worse than they were a year ago? Is your firm growing or laying off? Is what’s happening at Lionel Sawyer a sign of the times? Are you seeing any trends that you think indicate where things are going? Is it time to switch practice areas or consider running for judge?
One recent job posting comes from Hire An Esquire, looking for lawyerpreneurs who have two years of experience at an Amlaw 200 law firm, have started a business, and graduated from a top 50 law school. Can these type of requirements be filled by the Las Vegas market?
UNLV is looking for an Associate Director of Career Development and Judicial Clerkship Coordinator. Can law students reasonably expect their school’s career development department to help them get employed? What’s the best way for new grads to find a job?
Any other thoughts you have on the state of the market?
I'm not sure how many people in Las Vegas have both worked at an Am Law 200 firm doing M&A and private equity, and also started their own company. I'm guessing the number is about 2 or 3. I'm not sure those people would want to leave whatever they're doing now to go work for Hire An Esquire (an entity I am unfamiliar with).
It seems like the Las Vegas market is really returning. My firm is very busy. However, I always worry that 2 or 3 of the bigger matters will end, and we'll all be back where we were in 2010.
Career development at Boyd would be tough. People only want to hire the top 10-20%, and the rest of the class thinks the career development office has let them down.
That's because this generation is full of entitled millennials who want to be told how great they are when they turn in terrible work product, and then sulk when told the product was below average. Rather actually put some elbow grease into finding a job, they just expect one to be handed to them like the participation trophies they feasted on growing up. Welcome to the selfie generation.
I am not a millennial, but as long as I have been alive (and much, much longer if literature is to be believed), people have been bemoaning the end of the world due to the poor work ether and/or values of a younger generation. Whether it was the hippies, Generation X'ers, Generation Y, Millennials, etc., it appears that it is human nature to look back upon youth with contempt and distrust but they will and do grow up and the world goes on. Which leads me to my next question – who do you think raised those youngsters anyway? Right – you and your friends!!!
Hah, I'm actually Generation Y, so it couldn't have been me. I'm hopeful that my generation will raise children with an idea of accountability instead of the losers the hippies created.
Gen Y is synonymous with millennials.
My firm, local office of 500+ attorney firm, is maintaining the status quo here in Vegas. Not hiring anyone unless it is to replace a current warm body. It's been this way for the last 2 1/2 years. Partners got to use to running lean and want to keep it that way to pad their wallets.
Get dem checks!
July 8, 2014 at 12:13 PM – You first. I definitely look back upon youth with contempt and distrust, mostly because I'm 57 going on 89, grey haired (my wife is kind and calls it silver) fat and bitter (although I'm still better dressed than you). Work ethic of "youth" (what ever the hell that is) really is lousy, except for my daughter who works very hard, but we'll give my wife 20% of the credit for that, my daughter gets 79.99% of the credit herself and I was the one who taught her the importance of color coordination. By the way, a lousy work ethic amongst lawyers can be easily remedied by saddling them with huge debt from law school and then making them work in a vicious cut throat shark pool. Welcome to America, the streets are paved with gold. But in the bigger picture, I'm sure Sam Lionel's grandparents thought his parents and their friends dancing the Charleston were signs of the coming apocalypse, so you'd probably be best advised to ignore my old man rants on this topic.
July 8, 2014 at 9:36 AM – You pretty much summed it up. I used to lecture (pontificate?) about this every year out at Boyd for several years, until I became persona non grata for hinting we live in a free market. Paid summer associate slots were are always the best track but even in good times were tough to come by. Students need to start working their 2nd year to get them. The best strategy in law school? Drink and dope a whole hell of lot less than the student next to you and while you're at it, work a whole lot harder than him and get a better law school rank. Make the frat boy do ID or Worker's Comp the rest of his life.
Lawyerpreneurs – No benefits, "co-working space" (no private office) and your clients will never be your own. Sounds like a third world sweatshop to me! It will no doubt appeal to some potential clients – why use overseas law firms for scut work when we have genuine U.S of A. attorneys working in some steel shed in the desert? Who do I call to buy stock?
The market looks good for those who SELL. That one was easy.
Jordan,
Out of curiosity, were you told you were a persona non grata at Boyd? I'm not trying to pry into private affairs, but that statement begs for a deeper telling of what happened.
Also, what's your guess on the number of Vegas attorneys that meet the Hire An Esquire hiring parameters?
July 9, 2014 at 10:42 AM – At first I deduced it, but over the next two years I confirmed from two different sources that the SBA didn't need no stinkin' greedy capitalist pigs lecturing. So the invites stopped. Part of it stemmed from the history of the lecture I gave each year; originally it was sponsored by the student Business Law Society, so the attendees were people that really were oriented towards a career in business (or who really wanted the free pizza). Then several student law organizations, changed, shuffled or disappeared and the SBA became the sponsor. Got a particularly left leaning SBA Prez one year who made it clear I wasn't welcome and it died from there. I thought next year I'd be back, but golly, I was wrong. Really wrong. Some of the snide comments about the last Dean and the fact that there was not one single Boyd clinic devoted to business law probably didn't help my case much either. Or my criticisms that during a recession, Boyd should do as medical schools do and cut back on admissions so as not to dump huge numbers of unemployables onto the job market.
As to your other question, in Las Vegas, none to almost none. Let me sum it up like this: I wouldn't take that on as a contingency search, I'd demand a retainer first.
I manage a firm with 7 attorneys and I am 40ish years old. I think without a doubt people my age and younger have become increasingly lazy and entitled. Obviously I think we provide a good working environment and place to grow as an attorney, but it seems people no longer want to work as hard, but expect more. I recently interviewed an attorney who indicated he wanted to be partner within 3 years, but and this is a big but, was not able to bring in clients and had to leave the office daily by 5 to pick up his kids because his wife worked until 7. Leaving at 5 is not an issue, but you better work from home, which he was unwilling to do and he wanted to come in at 7:30 to 8 everyday. I asked him whether he would give me equity in a company if I only worked 8-5 and did not bring in new business. He could not answer the question. Unfortunately, this is not an anomaly, rather it is becoming the norm. We want everything now. I call it the me generation. And yes, it is my fault too as I spoil my kids. I am an enabler. Shit we are all doomed.
I'm curious as this is something I'm struggling with in trying to grow my own firm. Once someone shows a willingness to bring in new business unlike Mr. 8-5 what kind of things do you do to help them develop new business? The approach I got from my "mentors" was to pretty much throw me into the pool and say "Swim!" It seems to me like there should be more that I can do to help those working for me develop that part of being an attorney (again, assuming they've showed the willingness to put in the necessary effort).
trade secrests
The highest billers at the firm I'm at are all first through fifth year attorneys. I think schools loans play into that.
One issue is that in law school we are never told what it takes to become a partner at a firm or to go out on your own and build up your own firm. Every law student who wants to go into private practice should be told that they need to build their own clientele. If you don't do that, no firm is going to make you partner and you'll never survive out on your own.
I kind of think it is incumbent upon the associate to decide whether he wants to bring in new business or not and start tapping his network to do so. But if you want to help an associate out, tell them to get into BNI or join the chamber of commerce or get involved in local charities. You can pay for their membership if you want to be nice, or give them 10-20% of whatever fee they bring in from their cases.
July 9, 2014 at 11:14 AM – Pardon me while I toot my own horn, but at Boyd at least they WERE told and in excruciating and brutal detail- until a few years ago. Reference my pity party above…
What it takes to become a partner in a law firm……hmm? House foreclosed on by strategically walking away????
Check…..
Male, incompetent attorney….
Check
Personal finances on the verge of bk, but I am a partner in a law firm, Yup, partner material
Having an affair or married to my current or former legal secretary, yup, partner material
Cannot cut the chord with my mother, yup partner material!
Bigger loser, personally and professionally, yup, partner material!
Treat female attorneys like shit, and talk to down to them, partner material, check!
The previous few posts just prove that only one thing matters for making partner: the size of your book (and I think this is true regardless of gender).
I knew size mattered … even though my EX girlfriend said it didn't …
Well, this horse has been beaten (flogged and beaten again) but Justice O'Connor has not given up the good fight http://iaals.du.edu/images/wygwam/documents/publications/OConnor_Plan.pdf
This would be a much better idea than what we have. The problem is how do you convince the voters.
I'm convinced. I think we justuse Halverson's (and Jones's and …) old campaign signs to remind the voters of the problems of our system
I would be very happy if Justice O'Connor could help us get rid of Pollock. He is the worst judge on the bench….family, district, JC, muni…THE WORST. He's so lazy. He doesn't read any of the pleadings. He makes rulings that are full of errors and then even after you point out his completely inaccurate recitation of the facts, he sticks with his rulings. He's an arrogant, lazy jerk who has no respect for the litigants or the attorneys in front of him. Poster child for why judicial elections don't work in NV.
Sounds like he didn't agree with your version of the "facts"
11:08 here – actually Pollock ruled and based his ruling in part on the relief requested by my client, except that the relief Pollock said my client requested was 100% not what my client requested and was in fact opposite of what my client requested. The relief my client did request was in the pleadings, written for all the world to see. So actually Pollock did get objective facts wrong…not just my version of "facts." But thanks for throwing your opinion out there 2:03. You're obviously a witty lawyer type and I'll bet you're a real lark at cocktail parties.
It is probably Andre' Haynes at 2:03. Andre' Haynes is Pollock's Public Relations guy. Andre' used to sign his name to posts but I think Mr. Haynes was losing the good judge too many votes when he used his name. Judge Pollock needs a better PR rep to shine the shit that he produces from the bench in Department J. Keep trying though Andre'. I love how the both of you idiots use the same PR photos on each of your websites. They are attractive women.
Noooo … Andre wouldn't go anonymous – he has already assured us that our speech is well protected. He would never slink so low as to anonymously support his candidate in order to conceal his obviously paid-for opinion.
Someone that is paid to support Judge Pollock would never slink to that level. I hope the sarcasm is apparent.
Poor Judge Pollock. He just follows the rules and makes objective rulings right?
I have no idea why everyone is so down on Judge Pollock.
I have some explanations. It always costs my clients that have to pay for the preemption of Judge Pollock. Which says a lot because then you run the risk of getting another winner in family court. But, when I get another winner aside from Pollock, I always tell the client that this could be much worse. You could have pulled Ken Pollock.