Job Seekers

As a way to avoid completely shutting down legal proceedings, court systems across the United States have adopted more remote proceedings during the pandemic. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court upended tradition when it moved oral arguments to a telephone-based venue for the first time in its 230-year history.

About 32% of in-house lawyers were uneasy with using videoconferencing before the pandemic. 

After years of hard work, Rachel Elsby of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld made partner this year in the firm’s intellectual property litigation practice. 

There are new top lawyers who are taking the helm of legal departments as businesses reopen (and reclose) corporate offices and retail locations across the U.S. 

Vince Chhabria had always opted for in-person interviews with law students hoping to be chosen for a clerkship with him, who sits on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. 

It is commonly said that law firm associates need to treat the partners they work for the same way they treat their clients. Call it the “golden rule” for advancing in a firm. 

Hiring for in-house legal counsel spiked in May and stayed in line with Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, which showed more legal jobs were added to the economy recently despite the threat of a possible recession, according to recruiters who spoke with sister publication Corporate Counsel. 

The coronavirus pandemic has created unprecedented personal and professional challenges to nearly every individual around the world. The U.S. economy has come very close to a halt and almost every business now finds itself in a tough position financially and operationally. The legal field was not spared, and law firms of all sizes are feeling their way through a contracting marketplace. 

There have been many conversations between attorneys about an expected flood of businesses filing for bankruptcy due to the COVID-19 economic slowdown. However, Texas commercial bankruptcy attorney Howard Rubin has not seen this yet, though he noted this could change in the coming months. 

Due diligence into their target law firms by lateral candidates is even more important in the post-COVID era. The way a law firm handled the economic shutdown and reopening, as well as its management and financial posture afterward, are vital considerations when determining which firm would be the best fit for the candidate and, for partner candidates, her clients.