I have been receiving lots of calls lately from young lawyers seeking to enter the field of civil rights who are having a hard time finding a supportive work environment. I am saddened to say that lately, many of the firms I see hiring are ones that have developed some big red flags. They are known for working their associates to the bone while simultaneously failing to provide them the training and support they need to succeed. Of course, this is not universally true. But it is far too widespread in every niche of our industry, and the civil rights field is not immune from it.
It also seems like no matter the amount of turnover at those firms, nothing ever changes. Why not? Because there will always be a law student or recent graduate willing to go through the gauntlet for the opportunity to break into the practice.
So, what should you do if you want to break into the field but are unwilling to put yourself through the ringer?
Build Relationships
First off, you all know my thoughts about relationship building. Do that. All of the time. And don’t just “network.” You need to build real relationships through a variety of mechanisms, from grabbing coffee or meals to joining diversity bar organizations and local boards. And yes, you can do all of this remotely through phone calls and videoconferencing. Or meet for a socially distanced get together.
You might be thinking, how does this help if you don’t want to work for these people’s firms? Well, many people make wonderful colleagues and mentors who are not the best supervisors or managers. In this case, relationship building is not meant to land you a job at their firms, but instead to set you up for what is coming next: starting your own firm.
Work for Yourself
Yes, I know that working for yourself is a terrifying thing to consider, especially when you’re a newer or younger attorney. However, I personally know many successful attorneys who started their firms straight out of law school. It was through their relationships – including their willingness to be open and vulnerable with mentors – that they were able to succeed.
These entrepreneurial men and women called their mentors every time they had a question or needed help. And I mean every time. From calls asking whether a potential case showed promise to ones inquiring about filing a motion without screwing it up.
And that makes sense. If you were working for a firm, you would absolutely expect to have someone walk you through your first (several) online filing(s). You would be part of large group discussions about the potential value of a case, and how to investigate it further. You would have an active role in case strategy discussions, receive feedback on your writing, and be able to bounce around ideas for oral argument.
You are not precluded from having these experiences if you start your own practice instead of joining an established one. Sure, it can be much more difficult and uncomfortable to rely so much on third parties and their generosity of time and advice. But that’s the entire point of building real relationships instead of simply networking to try and land a job.
Contract Your Labor
If you go out on your own, there are other ways to continue learning (and earning money) without taking on a case from consultation through litigation. For starters, you can offer to do contract work for other attorneys in the same field when they are in need of short-term help.
It is incredibly common for a firm to hit a heavy work period where having contract labor would alleviate a lot of stress. These are firms that do not have the ongoing work to hire an additional associate, but that may be financially able (and willing) to pay for some of your time by the hour. And guess who may think of you right off the bat? Those mentors you’ve been connecting with from the get-go.
Granted, hourly rates in the civil rights field are incredibly low ($30-50 per hour here in Denver, depending on the organization), but they are generally on par with or higher than most associate’s hourly rates when breaking down their salary on a 40-hour-per-week workweek. With that said, don’t forget that contract work is meant to be supplemental, not your primary source of income.
Offer Unbundled Services and Limited Scope Representation
Another way to earn money right off the bat is to offer unbundled services or limited scope representations. Perhaps someone feels uncomfortable going through the administrative exhaustion process on their own and they are willing to pay you by the hour to advise them. Or maybe someone needs help challenging a denial of their unemployment benefits.
Even if you reduced your rate to $150-$200 per hour, you would still earn steady but slow income taking on this work. And these are precisely the types of smaller matters that many more established attorneys turn down. If you make it known in the community that this is the type of work you’re willing to take, you will certainly get a lot of these referrals.
Co-Counsel
Finally, a great way to learn from others while running your own practice is to co-counsel cases. Co-counseling allows you to partner with others in a way that somewhat mirrors being at a firm. You now have people to bounce ideas off of, to split up the work, to moot oral argument, and to help you with even mundane tasks like filling out subpoenas and summonses. Of course, you need to find people who will see the value in partnering with someone so new to practice, and that’s precisely why relationship building is so important. It’s also likely that if you perform strong contract work, it could lead to a co-counseling relationship down the line.
The Takeaway
While I know it’s scary, opening your own practice is a real option if you want to practice in your chosen field without subjecting yourself to a toxic work environment. It takes a huge leap of faith, but so does anything worth pursuing.