The knives are out, and your neck is ripe for slicing. Firms are on a firing spree, and the first to go are the young 'uns. Offers that once looked golden are tin, and the good times have turned bad quicker than you can say "Thelen," which earlier this year pushed its start date for new associates to January 2009. And you, poor thing, have the unfortunate luck to be interviewing right in the middle of the bloodbath, like a herring caught in a blender.

But there are a few things you can do to improve your odds and avoid the unemployment line. While a tightening legal market isn't good for anyone except clients (remember them?), it can present you with some hidden opportunities if you know where to look and fear no evil.

First, don't despair. As a law professor and practicing lawyer, I have seen my share of downturns. Although the market may be bad, it's never as bad as they say. The wheels of commerce never stop grinding; they just slow and, occasionally, roll over people.

Some departments, like litigation and bankruptcy, even thrive. It's not that there's less work for lawyers; there's just less of a certain kind of work -- the kind that costs a lot or can't be justified by a big deal at the end of the road. Take a breath and tell yourself no one ever starved with a law degree -- as long as they could order takeout.

Second, don't look only in the usual places. Because the big firms are often the first to feel the effect of clients' parsimony, they are often the first to start letting go. Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, for example, has already had its second round of layoffs. The wise job-hunter will cast a deeper net, focusing on firms with niche practices that have not been hit by the downturn or groups within firms that have not been popular. Restructuring, anyone?

Third, be patient. The delays in start dates and the slowdown in hiring will leave many people unemployed late into the year or even after graduation.

"Make a mental -- and financial -- plan that the job-hunting process will take six to eight months," says Meg Reuter, assistant dean for career planning at New York Law School.

I know students who are planning to travel and teach English while they wait for the doors to open at the law firms where they have offers. When life gives you lemons, make reservations.

Fourth, take a meeting. Take lots of meetings. Networking is more important than ever, which means talking to everyone you know and even people you don't.

Reuter suggests joining a bar association committee in a practice area that interests you.

Internships and externships can also help introduce you to people who know people who know people. Now is not the time to be embarrassed to call old classmates who are working and even alums you have never met. Get on the phone. [For more on networking, see "How to Get Noticed by Potential Employers."]

Fifth, dress for success and carry a resume -- at all times. During recruiting season, you never know whom you might encounter. Don't be shy about stepping into an open interview room and introducing yourself.

When all else fails, there's always another year of school to consider. While this may seem to be postponing the inevitable, an extra year can give the markets time to recover (or collapse further) while polishing up your credentials with an LL.M. or other post-graduate degree. More school can also defer student loans and other harsh realities of adult life. Best of all, more school means more teachers, which means more job opportunities and security for the person who needs it the most: me.

Cameron Stracher is a professor of legal writing at New York Law School.