Ann Israel is the legal profession's Dear Abby. A New York legal recruiter since 1979, Ann is a past president of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants. Advice for the Lawlorn is updated every week.

Q: I was asked to leave a boutique trial firm for performance-related reasons last April, right when the market tanked. At first, I could not find another boutique job -- only ones at Biglaw firms -- in my areas. Now even those are gone. I have used three recruiters, and none have been able to find me anything.

I am considering moving to New York, where there seem to be plenty of jobs. It has been six months, though, and I have basically been doing freelance. Is my career at a top firm shot?

To fill you in on my record, I graduated from a top 5 school, have a federal clerkship, am admitted in New York where I started at a top 10 law firm, have first-chaired a major arbitration and had supporting roles in other trials. I'm a fifth-year associate.

Dear Worst-Case Scenario: Oh boy -- all of this certainly couldn't have happened to you at a worse time. Job hunting in a down market is never easy, but it is particularly difficult when you are unemployed due to performance-related reasons. I am not really clear on what you mean by "doing freelance," but I have to assume your resume reflects the fact that for the past six months you, basically, have been self-employed. As a fifth-year associate trying to get hired back into a Biglaw firm, this does not look good.

It is true that in terms of credentials you will stand among the best of best, although you did not tell us about your grades from that top 5 law school. Nevertheless, you did graduate from a top 5 school, you have a great clerkship, you obviously are in the litigation practice area and you started out at a Biglaw firm. And, of course, the good news is that you are admitted to the New York Bar since you are considering moving back to a New York firm. What we don't know is how long you worked for that big New York firm before you moved out to San Francisco.

Why did you leave the Biglaw firm? Under what circumstances? How are your references from that firm? And what did happen at the San Francisco boutique firm that caused it to let you go? Were you given warnings to correct problems, or were you in over your head?

The biggest mistake I believe you made was passing up potential jobs at Biglaw firms last April. You had been dismissed from your job because of performance issues, you knew the job market in San Francisco had tanked and yet you were only interested in looking at boutique law firms. When you realized those jobs weren't happening, you should have grabbed up a Biglaw job. I can't believe you felt you could be fussy, given those circumstances. That, to me, shows a lack of good judgment.

I know I will get e-mail from people telling me that they would rather be unemployed than go back to a Biglaw firm. Really? Try being in this person's shoes for six months. And who could have predicted what was going to happen to our economy?

I understand you have not had success with the three different recruiters, and although it can't hurt to keep sending your resume out to recruiters, I don't think headhunters are the best route for you to take (obviously). Having been asked to leave your last employer and now, for all intents and purposes, being unemployed for the past six months, you are a difficult candidate for search firms. Your best bet is to start answering ads, checking on job boards, networking, speaking with your law school's career services offices and doing whatever else you can to get your resume out there.

Is New York the answer? There might be more jobs here right now, but being unemployed for six months does not make you the most viable candidate in the current candidate pool. It certainly doesn't hurt to work with a New York recruiter or two and network like crazy, and that is exactly what you should be doing -- leave no stone unturned here or in California. You need to get back to work, whether it is in a boutique law firm or in a Biglaw firm; with the job market tightening up, it could take a while -- don't give up, but do anything and everything you possibly can to get your resume out there. And as to whatever performance issues caused your dismissal at the San Francisco boutique firm, I hope you have given great thought to all of this so that those issues do not happen again in the future.

Best of luck!

Sincerely,
Ann Israel
President, Ann Israel & Associates