Job Seekers

Recently, Am Law 200 firms have been hiring more for their labor and employment and mergers and acquisitions departments.

Numerous law firms have implemented layoffs, pay cuts and other austerity measures in spring and summer this year in response to economic pressures the COVID-19 pandemic has created. 

If there is a bright side to take from this pandemic, it is that law firm associates are facing brighter futures and a far less volatile job market than young lawyers who stared down the 2009 financial crisis. And attorneys at elite firms may even see their compensation boosted as firms look past survival and toward the talent war. 

In today’s world, general counsels have the chance to do more than just sit at the proverbial table. Standout legal officers are driving diverse cross-functional initiatives alongside chief financial officers and other members of the corporate C-suite. 

The technology is not new, but the move to the virtual world is. Remote, virtual law offices have been around for some time, but during this COVID Crisis many lawyers have been working remotely and that trend may be the way forward for those who are looking for more flexibility for more work-life balance.

When being hired as the head of a legal department, it is not only difficult for the new general counsel, whose arrival can send anxiety and uncertainty through a whole company. But there are things that general counsel can do to help ease the transition. 

Some small law firms may have chosen a successor. Most have not. Nor have they written a succession plan. Partners spend the majority of their time growing their practice.

A lot of associates at top firms are ecstatic to see that they will receive thousands of dollars in the form of special fall bonuses. However, given the precariousness of the COVID-19 economy, and the damage it has caused, are there ways firms can show appreciation for their associates when they are unable to give out bonuses?

As the new school year starts every law school professor looking for a position in the field has this question on their mind: Will law schools hire this year? 

The work created in the legal field when the COVID-19 pandemic first became a known threat in the United States—securing federal loans, as an example—may be silencing now. However, as the U.S. continues to cope with the consequences of the coronavirus, law firms are continuing to adapt their practice offerings.