LAWYERSCHILE EL MUNDO INTERNACIONAL DEL ABOGADO

Rodrigo González Fernández y un grupo de egresados de la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad la Republica en Chile ha decidido poner al alcance de todo el mundo de la profesion legal importantes materias en Ingles para ir practicando el trabajo en materia de Tratados internacionales y que nuestra profesión estará en primera linea. Invitamos a todos a opinar, debatir, participar activamente.Es el primer blog legal en inglés de latinoamerica.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Where the Jobs Are

FROM LEGAL WATCH BLOG

Where the Jobs Are

Even though firms are laying off attorneys, pockets of opportunity remain for job-seeking lawyers -- they just need to know where to look, and also where not to.

For example, sending résumés blindly isn't likely to produce many results, particularly at this time. Over at The Am Law Daily, BCG Recruiter Dan Binstock is quoted as saying that he's never seen more résumés, and that even partners are beginning to look for other opportunities. At the same time, the Am Law Daily post points out that overseas markets are continuing to hire -- and associates might consider positions in law firm outposts in Asia or Dubai. In addition, there are also opportunities in U.S. markets outside of New York or other cities hit hardest by the bailout. For example, much of the oil-related work originating in the Middle East now winds up in Houston, and thus, the Houston energy and finance legal markets remain strong. There's also the possibility of work arising out of the economic rescue package -- though for now, the newly created Office for Financial Stability that will oversee the bailout doesn't have any plans for hiring lawyers.

And believe it or not, even now some firms continue to hire, says the Wall Street Journal. Firms with strong balance sheets are taking the opportunity to hire lawyers from competitors in areas such as mergers or debt offerings, which can help firms diversify during the downturn and explore new business opportunities. In fact, K&L Gates has been acquiring midsized firms during this period and has plans to grow aggressively during the downturn.

As for lawyers who are still employed, firms are trying to reassure the troops that their jobs are safe, reports a post at the Counsel to Counsel blog. But if associates have been idle for six months, they're well advised to start looking, irrespective of any assurances of work from the firm.

If you have any advice or insights for job seekers during this period, please post it in comments below.

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Posted by Carolyn Elefant on October 9,

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New Am Law Tech Survey Released

FROM LEGAL WATCH BLOG:

New Am Law Tech Survey Released

Via Ron Friedmann at Prism Legal, I learned that the 2008 Am Law Tech Survey is out, with a detailed summary at Law Firm Inc. This year, the study revealed that most firm IT directors are grappling with questions like:

-- What emerging technologies are worth investing in -- and which aren't ready for prime time?

-- Should increasingly tech-savvy attorneys be able to download software they find on their own, or should firms vet everything first?

-- Does the new generation of Web 2.0 tools -- blogs, wikis and social networking sites -- have a place in a law firm environment?

-- How can the enormous quantities of data lawyers generate possibly be managed?

As for the trends covered by the study, Ron Friedmann suggests that none are that surprising, and I'm inclined to agree. Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) continues to attract interest within firms, but still hasn't broken into prime time. Firms are dabbling in Web 2.0 and social networking (43 percent run one or more blogs; 24 percent use intranet wikis (Web pages that let users contribute or modify content), but these tools haven't reached the same penetration at large law firms as they have at corporations.

At the same time, firms aren't as focused on Web 2.0 or VOIP right now since most indicated that their major challenge is figuring out how to store and organize data. Some firms are exploring in-house options while others have, or are considering, outsourced data storage.

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Posted by Carolyn Elefant on October 9, 2008

Lawyer Couple Travels the World

Lawyer Couple Travels the World

Here's an interesting story about Shanna Singh Hughey and her husband Derek, two newlywed lawyers who've just returned from a year-long honeymoon traveling the world. Naturally, the pair brought their laptop and documented their adventures at a blog, One Year On Earth. To finance the trip, the couple sold Derek's house in Nashville and traveled frugally. And of course it didn't hurt that Shanna had a position waiting for her at O'Melveny & Myers upon her return. As Shanna herself noted: "Derek is looking for a new job, so knowing one job was waiting at the end of the road was such a gift [...] No jobs would be really difficult."

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Posted by Carolyn Elefant on October 9, 2008 at 09:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)