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State Bars Offer to Help Lawyers Cope With the Recession
The National Law Journal
May 01, 2009
Internet-based seminars about interviewing skills.
Lunchtime strategy sessions for out-of-work attorneys.
CLE courses that focus on broadening skills and staying profitable in tough economic times.
State bar associations are broadening their programming and launching initiatives to help attorneys manage through the down economy. Their efforts touch on everything from assisting attorneys who have been laid off to helping attorneys market their services and manage flagging practices. Some of the programs are entirely new and are a direct response to the struggles attorneys face because of the economy. Others -- such as additional job listings and dues waivers for unemployed attorneys -- are expanded versions of resources that state bar associations offered members before the downturn.
Some bar associations have simply taken existing resources and packaged them online as one-stop shops. The State Bar of Texas has a "Resources for Tough Times" page on its Web site that offers information about career issues, professional development, stress management and practice management, among other things.
"We pulled it all together on one page when the economy started to go bad," said Texas Bar spokeswoman Kim Davey. "You want to make things as easy as you can for people right now."
Earlier this year, the American Bar Association surveyed state and local bar associations to find out how the recession has affected their operations and what they were doing to help members cope. Most respondents -- 72 percent -- reported that they now had dues waivers and payment plans for members facing financial hardship, while 34 percent offered career counseling and 21 percent offered personal counseling.
"There is such a need out there, and I feel a responsibility to help," said Lauren Wachtler, a partner in the New York office of Los Angeles-based Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp and chairwoman of the New York State Bar Association's Committee on Lawyers in Transition. "I also feel like bar associations have a responsibility to help out."
The New York Bar's program was originally intended to assist attorneys who have left the profession voluntarily, but now it focuses more on those who have been laid off. Last month, the committee launched a five-part series of free webcasts dealing with issues such as answering difficult interview questions, developing a networking game plan and selling oneself during an interview. The first webcast in late April remains available to watch at any time online Wachtler said.
"I had 50 people in my office in person for it, and another 350 registered to watch it online," Wachtler said. "There was a lot of interest."
The State Bar of Georgia recently debuted a free luncheon on the fourth Wednesday of each month to provide out-of-work attorneys with career guidance and tips on job seeking, as well as in dealing with the strains of unemployment.
Georgia Bar spokeswoman Sarah Coole said that each session is limited to 40 participants, and that nearly that many people showed up for the first lunch on April 22. The first session focused on how attorneys can use the programs offered by the Georgia Bar to assist in their job search.
Still other state bar associations are offering educational sessions that address the changing climate and how attorneys can overcome the obstacles it presents. According to the ABA's survey of state and local bar associations, 49 percent of respondents said they were offering CLE sessions focused on fee collection, efficiency in law firm management, bankruptcy, financial planning and foreclosure law, among other things.
For example, the State Bar of California plans a CLE program in May entitled "IP in Troubled Times," with sessions that include "Doing Business in Tough Times" and "Opportunities & Exploitation in Troubled Times and in Bankruptcy." A Web seminar will be called "Law Firm Management & Marketing for Tough Economic Times."
The Massachusetts Bar Association has added a number of programs to address the economy, one of which was a 12-week "Critical Skills" series, said Marc A. D'Antonio, the organization's senior program manager. Geared toward general practitioners, each week the seminar series tackled a different recession-related topic, including bankruptcy and employment law. The series was so popular that it spawned six spin-off sessions.
"Anything we can do proactively to address the needs of our members, that's our role," D'Antonio said. "We should be giving them the resources they need to keep the doors open, whether that's networking opportunities or through education."
