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: The firm that I work at has been having financial difficulties due to market conditions, and last month, it laid off a few associates along with cutting everyone's pay. Given that there has not been any improvement, I'm afraid that as a first-year associate, I will be let go soon.

I haven't applied to any positions yet, and am torn as to whether it is a good idea to do so. First, I don't think that I have enough experience under my belt to be marketable. Second, the experience that I do have is somewhat limited by the fact that there have been few deals in the last couple of months. Third, I'm afraid of taking time off from work to go interview.

What if my firm finds out and therefore uses it as a reason to either lay me off or fire me?

Do you have any advice for me?

First Year

Dear First Year: I have been sugar-coating a lot of advice, for a long time, but I am afraid that market conditions do not allow me to do so any longer. So let me spell things out as they now are in the real world.

As you have told us, first of all, you are working for a firm that is experiencing financial difficulties and has now started laying off employees, along with cutting salaries. Based on what you see going on at the firm, coupled with the fact that there has not been any improvement in the economy, you have good reason to be a bit nervous that you might be part of the next round of lay-offs, especially since you have indicated that you haven't been doing much work in the last few months (not a good sign).

Your second concern has to do with the above fact that you haven't been doing much work in the past few months and since you are just a first-year attorney, your experience altogether therefore is really quite limited, which puts a strain on your marketability.

Lastly, you are afraid, however, to take any time off from work to go on interviews because if your firm did find out that you were interviewing, they could use this as an excuse to get rid of you.

Indeed, this is a dilemma.

But I think you should risk the firm finding out you are interviewing. To me, that is the best scenario here. What do you think is best? Do you think it would be better to wait until you are unemployed and then start looking for a new job with all the other unemployed first year associates? Don't you think you are a much more viable candidate while you are gainfully employed?

I think you are in a real pickle here because there are very few first-year associate opportunities out there at this time.

I suspect you are not at a BigLaw firm based on the description you have given of your current employer (although based on what happened last quarter with Thelen and Heller and a few others, I could really be wrong with that guess!). Being at a smaller law firm in your first year of practice, and not getting the experience that is so critical as part of a first-year associate's learning curve, you are at a distinct disadvantage to be sure.

Waiting to be unemployed will add just one more notch to the noose.

With the clock ticking until the moment your boss hands you your pink slip, does it really matter if they eventually find out that you might be interviewing?

I strongly suggest that you put together your resume, whatever it might be, and try to find any and all job interviews at this time. Don't wait until you are unemployed. Get out there now so that you can tell a future employer that you are looking because things are slow at your firm, not because you were let go. Get it? Best wishes.

Sincerely,
Ann M. Israel
President, Ann Israel & Associates