Reply to DH didn't make partner - dealing with imminent major reduction of HHI

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This might be a great time to leave this area.[/quote]

Really? Not very helpful advice.
First of all, they are thinking of becoming a Fed and this is the best place to look. Secondly, this is where the jobs are, so why limit your chances by moving away?

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For a Fed job, DC is a good location, but not the only one. But, as other posters have pointed out, getting Fed jobs is very challenging right now. The contraction in the legal market has been going on for a while - so many positions have already been recently filled and those who have them aren't leaving, the government is not expanding and everyone is looking at what will happen when the Republicans take over the next Congress and a Presidential election in 2 years. The future is uncertain from a budgetary perspective in government right now.

If you think that outside of the government this is the only place to find legal jobs then you have no idea what you're talking about. DC is a very high cost of living area, and if DH is going to be making less, than a lower cost of living city would enable them to afford more and get more out of OP's nursing salary.

To go in house will almost certainly involve going somewhere else. DH should be on LinkedIn and should go through high school, college and law school alumni directories. Build a spreadsheet of all contacts and priority sort them by probability that they might be able to help. Start contacting them. Let them know that DH is considering making a move and ask if they can recommend someone that he should get in touch with.

OP said that the firm isn't going to focus on her DH's practice area. That provides a viable story to take to mid-sized firms that might have a similar practice, especially if DH has a relatively portable book of business (he must have some if he expected to make partner).

If DH wants to try other mid-sized firms, he should put together a business plan for how he would move to another firm and the steps he would take to grow his business.

Here's an outline for the one I did:

I. Summary
   A. Professional Credentials (paragraph description of DH's expertise)
   B. Professional Objectives ( be realistic. Something like "I am looking for a lateral partner position, most likely an initial “contract partner” or similar non-equity partner position with objective metrics and a clear track to equity partner.")

II. Personal Info (resume-type summary)

III. Current Practice (more detailed description of everything he does at the firm as part of advising clients, etc.)

IV. Personal Financials (last 3-4 years)

(table: Personal Billing Rate, Billable Hours, Total Comp)

V. Client Billing History

(table: list clients and billings based on actual origination or billing credit allocated)

VI. List of Current Clients and history of relationships with current clients

(explain the depth of his relationship to provide evidence that there's a good chance he will be able to bring them along)

VII. Transactional Highlights (if DH is not a transactional lawyer then modify this to apply to his type of practice)

VIII. Internal Practice Development, Marketing and Cross-Selling

(this is how DH will apply what he does to the new firm, so it is somewhat target specific. Look at the target firm's website, practice descriptions and clients. How could DH help expand what the firm does for its existing clients? How could DH cross-market the firm's abilities to his portable clients? Go practice area by practice area to show how DH could integrate and support what the target firm already does)

IX. Marketing

What does DH do now to market himself? Does he blog? Write articles? Speak at events? What professional associations is he a member of that enable him to show off his expertise and attract clients?

What near-term marketing events does he plan to attend? What is the cost of attending and what budget would he need?

Good luck.
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