Now that is not supposed to sound like some sort of life-sentence, it is in fact meant to give a bit of hope to those junior lawyers who are in fear of seeing their ambitions cut short by the current economic crisis. Simple Justice has considered this idea with particular insight:

"You are lawyers.  You were lawyers before.  You are lawyers still.  No one can take that away from you.

What you are not is employed.  What you are not is on the partnership track.  What you are not is guaranteed to get that partnership invitation when your class turns 10.  Things aren’t working out the way they told you they would?  Bummer."

The post, more of which is set out below, was a response, an extension even, of another post by Brian Tannebaum, a Florida lawyer has happened upon an interesting idea in his criminaldefenseblog . Although American obviously, we thought his ideas might resonate with Lawyers here too. "Lawyers", Brian argues, "cannot be laid off."  Only tools can be laid off,

"If you are laid off, you are not a lawyer, you are a tool, a device, a big or small firm expendability. Check yourself…

Lawyers have clients. Clients have lawyers. If you are being laid off, you have no "client" to speak of. You are part of a team of lawyers that can handle the client, or your client is worthless to the firm. You are irrelevant to those you work for, and who you really work for is not a client, it is other lawyers.

Time to think about working for clients. Isn’t that why you wanted to become a lawyer, or were you one of the L.A. Law watchers merely entering this profession for the mahogany desk and nice views (paid for by your firm)?

The country is filled with people calling themselves "lawyers" who entered this profession for the wrong reason. Maybe it’s not such a bad idea that they never really achieved what they perceived themself to be, and now find themselves looking for work, as "lawyers.""

Going back to Simple Justice and their extension of the idea:

"It was a given in my youth that one of the greatest things to be was a professional.  The reason, I was told, was that no matter what happened in the world, no one could ever take your profession away from you.  Once you possessed the learning, the skills, the knowledge, it could never be taken away.  It was yours forever."

"Brian’s lesson is that you have only seen yourself up to now as an employee, a cog in the wheel of profit per partner.  When you stand in the well of a courtroom, no one cared what firm monogram was gold-leafed onto your brief bag.  You were a lawyer, if only for the brief, shining moment.  You spoke in a clear, stentorian voice, and your case rose or fell on your words.  You, and you alone, stood between your client and disaster.  Did it make you feel alive?  That’s what it feels like to be a lawyer.

Only employees can be laid off.

Lost your job?  Great.  Now you can be a lawyer.  Your mother will be so proud."

Your thoughts…