At some point in their careers, most attorneys get fired or are in danger of getting fired from their law firm jobs.

1. Listen to This Podcast on:
What to Do if You Are Fired as an Attorney from a Law Firm (or Wor
Are Going to Lose Your Job)
By Harrison Barnes from Los Angeles Office Managing Director
Listen to What to Do if You Are Fired as an Attorney from a Law Firm (or Worried You Are Going to Lose You
Podcast
At some point in their careers, most attorneys get fired or are in danger of getting fired from their law firm jobs.
The reaction you have to losing your job, or needing to find a new one, often determines the quality of the rest of
have seen countless attorneys who get fired--or who worry they are going to get fired--have a variety of positive a
reactions. If you react in a negative or over-the-top way to being fired (or the threat of this happening), you are on
yourself. I have seen many attorneys go off the rails after losing their job or having a negative experience in a law
never ends well. At work and in life, it is always important to react in a positive way when something negative hap
An Attorney's Armor
Getting fired, or experiencing the disapproval of a law firm, is very difficult for most attorneys. For the most part, be
attorney is a middle-class profession. Attorneys go to school to get degrees that enable them to work for others. T
dependent on what others think of them. When they are younger, it is generally important for them to please their
get good grades. They learn to impress interviewers, impress the attorneys they are working for, impress judges
litigators, impress clients, work hard (and be seen working hard), make sure they are seen in the office (as much
and do nothing whatsoever to mar their reputation.
An attorney's reputation is essential. To most attorneys, there should be absolutely no questions or issues with th
viewed negatively by anyone, especially employers or clients. These attorneys want to impress others and look g
time. There is nothing wrong with this mindset, but it can be extremely dangerous--especially if you are fired, or b
going to be fired. Having the right mindset is critical in terms of not just how you see yourself, but how others see
Attorneys are expected to look stable, to not show weakness, and to not have any chinks in their armor. I do not q
understand why, but I believe it has something to do with the nature of lawyering and being an attorney. Lawyers
represent other people--regardless of whether or not the person is guilty, or has done something wrong--stand th
straight face, and do everything possible not to convey the weakness of the person or their case. If an attorney lo
themselves, they are often seen as unemployable and problematic and not hired. Clients want attorneys represe
who are more in control, more stable, and more put together than they are--the best attorneys should look as com
formidable as possible.
Even worse than the opinion of other attorneys is the opinion attorneys often have of themselves when somethin
Instead of picking themselves up, they give up and are extremely disappointed in themselves. Many leave the pr
Others take government and in-house positions that are completely beneath them. It is sad and completely unne
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2. When to Say Goodbye
So, how bad is it? Is your career doomed? Here is a list of common law firm scenarios and the best ways to hand
You were spoken to harshly about your performance (and perhaps even warned that you are in danger of lo
or being fired). Young attorneys with less than 18 months of experience are typically spoken to somewhat negat
their performance because, as a rule, they are not yet trained--this is no reason to overreact. After being repriman
should increase their hours, stop making stupid mistakes, be more thorough, and do other things to improve their
The truth is that law firms do not want to have to hire your replacement unless they really have to--it is too expens
work, and they would prefer to fix a known than hire an unknown one. However, if these warnings start coming w
that you are a lousy attorney, or it seems clear your reviewers do not like you, it is cause for concern. If you are to
a good idea for you to look for a new position, then you are likely in trouble and need to take action.
You made serious mistakes that have damaged your brand irreparably in the eyes of the law firm. Getting b
party and doing something incredibly inappropriate, lying about something and getting caught, insulting a superi
too much time off, missing major deadlines, getting sued for sexual harassment or malpractice, losing the firm a s
client through incompetence--the list goes on. Perhaps you were careless and rushed during an assignment. Yo
before an important deadline. You have not learned how to turn down work and are not able to focus on the work
have. You are allowing your personal life to bleed over into your work life. All of these are actions that can damag
so severely that you will have to take action. Most law firms will fire you for these sorts of things, or if they do not, t
your ability to advance in the future.
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3. When this happens, it can be extremely upsetting to attorneys. Many feel like giving up. Perhaps you are a young
do not know what you are doing yet. You may not be working hard enough or billing enough hours. The law firm
to get you to quit because they do not have enough work. Whatever the reason, it is likely you will need to find a n
hopefully one where your performance improves.
You have upset the only attorney in the firm who gives you work, and you are in a niche practice area. If ther
attorney in the firm who traditionally gives you work and you upset them, you may be better off looking for a new j
common for law firms to hire associates, counsel, and even partners to work with one attorney in particular--and t
may run through a series of attorneys. If you find yourself on this person's bad side, you should take action.
The universal rule is that approximately one-third of people will not like us, one-third will like us, and the other on
care. If someone does not like you, there is probably not much you can do about it. Move on.
You have been laid off from a law firm and were given a certain amount of time to search for a new position.
off, you need to take action quickly. While there are recessions traditionally every eight years or so, law firms also
off for a variety of reasons because the work dries up. It may be through no fault of your own. But if this happens,
take action.
Just because a law firm does not have enough work does not mean that you should feel bad about yourself. It is
You have been shown the door and let go for reasons unknown. Sometimes law firms just fire people--often for
all. I know of one significant law firm manager who walked into an attorney's office one day and said to her, "This
cultural fit for us." She had no idea what this meant. They just told her they did not like her and asked her to leave
Attorneys get fired all the time for failing to pass the bar after a few attempts. If this happens, you need to study for
bar and then get on with your career.
You cannot control other people's reactions to you beyond a certain point. If there is something to learn from bein
it--and then move on.
You have been told that you are not going to make partner and urged to find a new job. This is very common f
associates. The law firm will tell them they should start looking, and that is that. It happens to almost every associ
in a large law firm beyond six or seven years. The tradeoff for receiving a ridiculously high salary at a large law fi
are young is being in a position where you are servicing large clients, working long hours, and will likely not be g
business. Eventually, it costs too much to keep you.
Law firms are businesses and make decisions like these every day. Do not believe the myths--senior associates
elsewhere. Move on.
Nothing has been said, but you have a distinct feeling that you are going to lose your position because you h
happen to others. It does not always mean that you will lose your position if you see people around you losing th
you should always ask to get a sense of your security. If you get vague answers or indirect statements, you proba
have much security and should start looking.
You have not been getting any work and you know that it is just a matter of time. If you are not getting enough
need to understand whether it is a short-term issue or something that is a reflection on you. If other attorneys in si
similar to yours are getting enough work, the firm may not be happy with your work. When this occurs, you should
the reasons why or start looking elsewhere.
There are plenty of firms that are very busy and have so much work that they do not have to play favorites. If this i
you may just be in a law firm that is a bad cultural fit for you. If this is the case, you should move on.
You are a partner who had their compensation cut, who was made a non-equity partner, who was only given
to build a book and has not succeeded, or a partner who has lost most of their business. Law firm partners lo
all the time. If this happens, you may or may not want to take action. If you can improve your situation where you a
should.
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4. If you are in a position where you do not have enough work at your existing firm, it may not be your fault. Regardl
case, you should do your best to find a new job.
You will have no work to do after a group leaves for another firm and takes all of your work with them. Attorn
leave law firms in groups, leaving other attorneys behind with nothing to do. If this happens to you, the law firm m
you as an "enemy" of sorts since you worked closely with the group that left. If this is the case, you are much bette
action than remaining where you are.
If a group leaves and does not take you with them, there is not much you can do. Law firms that hire groups typica
to hire attorneys who bring business with them--there is not much you can do about that either..
React the Right Way
How an attorney reacts to any of these scenarios is critical. Every day, I speak with, work with, and review the res
attorneys who have lost, are losing, or believe they are about to lose their jobs. Most attorneys have one of these
when something like this happens:
Reaction #1: The Attorney Picks Themselves Up and Tries Again.
If the attorney has not lost their job but is having a bad experience, they think seriously about staying where they
the problem--or they leave and look for a new position. If the attorney has lost their job (or is losing their job soon
aggressive, no-holds-barred search for a new position. Other attorneys just apply to a few law firms hoping for the
always better to keep pushing forward.
Consider the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, and his list of spectacular failures:
Amazon purchased a shopping comparison site, Junglee, and lost over $170 million. Amazon did not realize
purchased the website that it is was not a good idea to send customers to other sites to make purchases instead
them on Amazon. They eventually shuttered the site.
Amazon purchased a 50 percent stake in Pets.com and contributed a $50 million round of financing. The com
out of business in 2002.
Amazon invested $60 million in Kozmo.com. This company went out of business within a few years.
Amazon purchased the daily deals site Living Social for $175 million and invested another $56 million in the
company lost over $231 million when it failed.
Amazon purchased the company Quidsi for $545 million in 2010. This was the parent company of Diapers.com
Wag.com, BeautyBar.com, Casa.com, and YoYo.com. Amazon shut this company down in 2017, saying it could n
profitable.
More recently, Amazon launched the Fire Phone, one of its biggest product failures. Initially for sale for $199,
could not sell the phones and eventually slashed the price to 99 cents. Amazon lost $170 million.
Some other costly mistakes of Amazon and Bezos that cost the company hundreds of millions include:
Amazon Spark - An Instagram-like shopping platform.
Amazon Storywriter - A way for writers to create scripts for Amazon Studios.
Amazon Pop-Up Stores - Amazon started and then closed 87 pop-up stores.
Amazon Dash Buttons - These were buttons that people could push to reorder things whenever they wanted mo
Amazon Tap - This was the first Amazon Echo device and a mobile version of the product.
Amazon Pick-Up - This was a way for consumers to order things and pick them up at an Amazon locker within m
service was closed at the end of 2018.
Amazon Tickets - This service originally launched in the UK in 2015, with plans to open domestically. It was clos
Endless.com - Amazon started this online fashion retailer in 2007 and closed it in 2012.
MyHabit.com - This was Amazon's flash sale site that opened in 2016 and closed a short time later.
Amazon Webstore - This was a platform where small businesses could set up their own retail stores. Amazon cl
in 2015.
Amazon Destinations - This was a hotel booking site that Amazon started in April 2015 and shut down in Octobe
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5. year.
Amazon Local - This was a daily deals site similar to Groupon that shut down in 2015.
Amazon Wallet - This product allowed people to store loyalty and retail gift cards. It closed in 2015, just six month
starting.
Amazon Askville - This service, similar to Yahoo Answers and Google Answers, shut down in 2013.
Amazon Auction - This was Amazon's answer to eBay. It started in 1999 and closed a few years later.
Bezos recently got divorced, costing him more than half of his fortune and exposing his personal life in a Nationa
article. In another January 2019 article, a "friend" of Bezos' lover, Lauren Sanchez, stated that "Bezos is seriously
thinking of marrying her. He's already seriously stupid for giving up half his fortune for her."
Bezos has made an incredible number of bad mistakes--both personally and financially. Despite all of his failure
and does not give up. He realizes that failure teaches him lessons that will make him more successful in the futur
you fail, the more likely it is that you will not make the same mistake again. Too many people give up after making
and refuse to learn from them. Imagine if Bezos had given up when something bad happened to him?
Learn from Your Mistakes
The best weapon in your arsenal is resilience. If you are resilient and able to push through when negative things
are far more likely to succeed. Losing your job, or being under the threat of losing your job, does not mean you h
practice of law, go in-house, take a position that is beneath you, become a contract attorney, or otherwise--these
that traumatized attorneys do regularly. You are human and you will make mistakes. Bad things are going to hap
Like Bezos, if you learn from your mistakes and realize they are par for the course, you will serve yourself well.
Here is one of my favorite passages from the book Think and Grow Rich:
Darby's uncle had gone West to Colorado during the gold rush days and eventually came across gold ore. In
mining machinery to dig up more gold, Darby's uncle returned home to Maryland to secure financing for the m
While there, he also was able to enlist Darby's help. Once financing was secured, Darby and his uncle return
Colorado to work the mine.
Initially, things were going well. The first remnants of gold they discovered were shipped to a smelter, and the
provided a promise that they could have one of Colorado's richest mines. A few more gold discoveries like th
could clear Darby and his uncle of all their debt and leave them very rich.
Needless to say, they were hopeful as they continued to drill.
Then the unbelievable happened. The vein of gold ore they had been successfully drilling just disappeared.
they would find more gold Darby and his uncle continued to drill, day after day, with no luck.
Every day of drilling drove them both deeper into debt, and until finally, they both decided to QUIT! They sold
machinery to a nearby junkman and returned home.
The junkman wasn't convinced that their mine had no gold, so he hired a mining engineer to get an expert op
before breaking down all of the drilling machinery to be sold. The engineer's findings were shocking! He foun
vein of gold ore that Darby and his uncle had been seeking was just three feet from where they had stopped
The junkman decided to continue drilling and that is exactly where the gold was found!
This sort of thing happens all the time. People who stay in the game and keep drilling succeed. Those who give u
should not give up--ever. No matter what happens to you, think about how far you have come (going to law schoo
bar, becoming an attorney, and all the time you put in). Do not get "psyched out" by others who may lead you to b
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6. you should quit. That is their problem, not yours.
I know of several attorneys who have been fired from multiple positions that are now partners in major law firms.
I know of attorneys who have failed the bar multiple times, been unemployed for years, and then found new posit
major law firms.
I know of attorneys who have been sued for malpractice at their current law firm, lost, and are still there doing we
I know of attorneys who have been fired for not having enough business, went to new law firms, and built up hug
business there.
I know of attorneys fired for substance abuse and other issues who now have jobs with major law firms.
But I have also seen far too many great attorneys give up when bad things happen to them. I've seen partners, as
others give up at the first sign of major resistance in their careers--and leave the practice of law completely. This
thing in the world you want to do. If you quit or do something beneath you in response to a negative experience,
letting the firm or the people who were involved win. Do not let others define you. Take the negative feedback an
fuel, get angry, and use it to power yourself forward.
If you are under threat of getting fired from a law firm, instead of just looking for a new position and checking out,
can drastically improve your performance to save your job and become a star in your firm. You may want to find a
where you can be a star, but it is usually best to fix your situation at your existing firm when possible.
If you do not believe it makes sense to stay where you are, you need to search for a new position aggressively. C
visit LawCrossing, which consolidates every open position in the legal market, to find a new job. You need to do
search to find a new position when you lose your job.
Reaction #2: The Attorney Doesn't Accept Any Responsibility.
One sign of the most mature and emotionally well-developed people is that they learn lessons from everything th
them. You are going to fail. Everyone fails and experiences setbacks and makes mistakes. Sometimes these may
your mistakes, and other times, they are not. A willingness to learn from your mistakes teaches you how to appro
and what is essential in your next position.
One of the biggest problems with many attorneys is that they have massive egos. These egos have often made th
successful or were developed by the success they have had. However, these egos also tend to make them belie
right, and the firm and anyone else who has a problem with them are wrong. To protect their egos, these attorney
all sorts of rationalizations about why the other party is crazy, and why they are in the right. You need to set aside
yourself what you could have done differently.
In my dealings in the business world, I regularly run across sociopaths and others who happily steal money from
compunction whatsoever. Recently I was dealing with an accountant who I paid $45,000 to do some work for me
done the work and was refusing to do the job. I got mad at him for not doing the work, and he responded by tellin
"&%$# off!" and that he was not going to do the job just because I got mad at him. Moreover, he has refused to re
money. This is sociopathic behavior. He is justifying ripping me off and keeping my money because I got mad at
doing what he was paid to do--but he caused my anger by not doing the work in the first place. People play game
justify bad behavior all the time. I was watching a true crime show the other night. In the show, they were talking a
woman cheating on her husband. Both the woman and the announcer of the program were justifying her behavio
husband lost his job. This makes zero sense. The woman was at fault and looking for a reason to blame her husb
something that was under her control, not his. Blaming others for problems that you created is completely wrong.
Take Responsibility So You Can Fix the Problem
Whatever went wrong in your last position, it is crucial that you understand and take responsibility for what you co
done differently, so you do not make the same errors again.
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7. Here are some common mistakes that you may need to take responsibility for:
You may have chosen the wrong law firm to work for. Just as you have lots of options in the dating world, you h
options in the law firm world if you do your search correctly. You should be working with a group of people who w
you and the sort of firm that will advance your career. I have noticed that attorneys who work in mid-sized markets
markets, and smaller law firms rarely leave the practice of law. In contrast, attorneys who work in large markets le
practice of law quite frequently. If you are going to work in a major market for a large firm, you are more likely to e
adversity than if you work in a smaller market.
You could have performed better. If you were laid off from a firm, the odds are not everyone was laid off. What c
done to form better relationships with the people who had control over your career? You could have worked mor
could have done better work. If you are a more senior attorney, you could have brought in more business. All of th
lessons that you need to take--and fix--the next time around.
You don't learn your lesson. Many attorneys who make severe mistakes in their jobs never learn the lessons fro
mistakes. Instead, they make the same mistakes over and over again. The attorney who loses their job for being
the same issues at the next employer. The attorney who does not bill enough hours loses their next position for th
reason as well. Regardless of why you lose your job, you need to figure out what you did and learn a lesson from
Fixing the issues that created problems is generally the best solution to whatever issues you are having.
Reaction #3: The Attorney Believes They Must Need a Different Practice Setting and Focuses Only on In-Ho
Government Jobs, Smaller Law Firms (if they are Coming from a Large Law Firm), or Contract Attorney Job
Attorneys in this position tend to think that a different practice setting will be the answer, but generally it is not. Ev
and every practice area inside every law firm is different. Sometimes it can take a few moves before you find the i
you.
You need to ask yourself if a different practice setting is really going to take care of the issues that created your p
first place. The issues you experienced inside of one law firm will not repeat themselves if you choose the right la
time, or work in a law firm that is more conducive to what you need.
There are real dangers of going in-house or leaving a large law firm early in your career. In general, it is extreme
ever go back to a large law firm if you go in-house or work in a smaller law firm. Many in-house positions are eve
than law firm jobs.
The solution to the issues you are currently experiencing in your law firm may be fixed simply by moving law firm
When you move law firms, you have all sorts of choices.
You can move to a similar law firm in your market. This may be all you need to do. You need to find a law firm
healthier climate for you--whether that means more business, a better cultural fit, or more opportunity.
You can move to a larger or smaller law firm. A larger or smaller firm may be the answer. Smaller firms tend no
many hours--but keep in mind that some still do.
You can move to a law firm in a different market. Different markets have different cultures and demands. Small
typically do not require as many hours as larger markets.
There are tens of thousands of law firms around the country. Just because you have a bad experience in one law
market does not mean you will have a bad experience in another. You should clearly think through your options
the law firm world forever.
Reaction #4: The Attorney Chooses to Leave the Practice of Law Completely.
If an attorney loses their position or has a negative experience, they often choose to leave the practice of law ent
the most extreme reaction and it happens far more than it should. Just because you had a bad experience at one
mean you should consider leaving the practice of law.
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8. It is common for attorneys to have horrible experiences working for major New York law firms. They work very lon
relentlessly criticized, and often fired--or they are under constant threat of losing their positions. Instead of realizin
valuable experience in the most brutal and demanding of legal environments, these attorneys often make the mis
quitting and leaving the practice of law completely. I have seen this occur more times than I can count. It happens
the most talented attorneys you can imagine--graduates of top law schools who did very well there.
Recently I was working with the graduate of a top law school who was let go from a major New York law firm afte
there for only six months. He had been working for a junior partner and felt the junior partner was driving up the b
him do unnecessary work--when the legal answer was already clear. He brought this to the junior partner's atten
instead of being grateful for the advice, he ended up firing the attorney. Because this attorney had such little expe
had a difficult time finding a new position in the limited amount of time the law firm gave him to get a position. At o
during my representation of him, he mentioned that he was so depressed about the situation he was considering
seemed like an over-the-top reaction to something that I did not even really consider a mistake. When he did not
position after the four weeks the law firm gave him to find a job, he ended up quitting and stopped responding to
calls, and texts. He is not practicing law to this day. This makes no sense--none of it was really his fault. He just d
game as well as he could have.
Before you consider leaving the practice of law, it is always a good idea to remember how far you came to becom
how hard you worked, and how difficult it was. You also need to know that once you leave, your odds of ever gett
position are going to be quite slim.
What I Would Do if I Was Fired, or in Danger of Losing My Job at My Firm
I've been in the legal placement business for over 20 years. I've seen countless attorneys lose their jobs--and mo
do not take the right actions.
As a preliminary matter, it is important to understand that it is much easier to find a position when you are employ
unemployed. Once you are unemployed, it is much more difficult to find a position. Whatever your personal situat
the biggest mistake attorneys make when their career is in danger is under marketing themselves. If you are in da
losing your job or have already lost your job, you need to apply everywhere you possibly can.
When I am finding firms for my candidates, I will look at positions that are open and also research firms that have
practice areas that match what my candidate does. I also contact firms without openings to see if they have any in
candidate. I will make an aggressive and concerted effort to get my candidate to consider other markets around t
States, rather than just looking in their home market. I will also try to get my candidate to look at law firms of all siz
how you get a job--and you need to take actions like these when you are trying to find a position.
I recently represented a partner with a huge book of business who had two months to find a new position, due to
made that became public and was written about in the papers. I told him that because of this publicity, he would n
several firms in several markets. He refused. Although I was able to get him some interviews in his market with th
number of firms he allowed me to apply him to, he was never able to find a position because he would not consid
markets or firms outside his market. This was a huge mistake because when the two months were over, he did no
And then, because he was so disappointed in himself, he ended up leaving the practice of law altogether--anoth
I am working with all sorts of attorneys right now who refused to look at 1) other markets, 2) law firms unless they
opening, and 3) law firms of a specific size (large or small) because they have some very definite beliefs about th
should be working in, the size of law firm they should be working in, and how to conduct a job search. Many of th
do not find positions.
These examples come to mind:
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9. A life sciences patent attorney in Milwaukee with ten years of experience and no business who is losing a jo
attorney has applied without luck to the few possible positions. There are not a lot of positions for this type of atto
Milwaukee--or even in the United States. This attorney is only going to get a position with another law firm if they
markets.
A corporate attorney in a very niche specialty in New York City who is only interested in working for the mo
law firms and has lost his job. This attorney also needs to look at other markets or smaller law firms. New York h
people in this attorney's practice area who are employed and looking for jobs. Most law firms with openings are g
someone who is currently employed rather than unemployed. This attorney needs to either market themselves as
corporate attorney to smaller law firms in their market, or look at other markets where the law firms cannot easily
with those niche skills.
Regardless of your situation, I can tell you from experience that the best way to get a position is to market yourse
as possible. Law firms are businesses and if they have the work--or think hiring you will give them the work--they
A law firm does not need to have an official opening to hire you. If they have a possible need that you can fill, the
if they see your background and like you after meeting you.
LawCrossing offers many resources to help you find a new job:
You can find countless positions on LawCrossing by signing up here.
LawCrossing also has an archive feature where all of the old jobs on the site--millions of them--are available, so
search to find firms that have had openings for someone like you in the past.
If you want someone else to do the work for you, from searching to applying, try the LawCrossing Concierge serv
And, of course, I also recommend submitting your resume to BCG Attorney Search to see if we can help you.
Conclusions
No one wants to lose their job or live under the constant threat of losing their job. But this adversity can be one of
significant opportunities you will ever have to either learn or improve your career--or to fail even further. It is impo
that this sort of thing happens to almost every attorney at some point in their career. Realize that you are not alon
learn from your mistakes, not overreact, and either stay where you are or do an aggressive search for a new posi
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