Discovery Resources

Monica Bay, editor-in-chief at Law Technology News, asked me what advice I had for the newly laid-off. Her article is full of advice, including mine, and can be found here. This article expands my thoughts on how to survive and thrive in a down economy, which are based on my own, hard-won experience. I graduated from college in a dying steel town in Western New York – at a time when steel stopped being purchased for “cost plus” and non-union and foreign plants had begun to change the landscape. I then went on to graduate from law school and decided to be an entrepreneur, learning many hard lessons along the way. Thirty years later, here are my thoughts on how to find your way to a new income stream:

1. Grieve the loss of your job or company.

Professionals in our community, whether from the larger legal or very specific electronic discovery area, tend to run hard, against multiple deadlines, constant interruptions and rapidly changing priorities. When email dwindles and cell phones go suddenly silent, the extra time can be an invitation to open your heart wider or to shut down. The loss of a job is stressful, but you will not land a new position if you are still angry or sad about losing your old one.

Use the benefits offered through the EAP (Employee Assistance Programs) still available to you. If you do not have access to EAP, consider getting professional assistance on your own to help you move through your grief (and the anger that covers it) quickly. Most health plans cover mental health at some level. I can recommend a weekend course that will walk you through a process to grieve any loss.

2. Re-establish your connections with family and friends.

While it is tempting to shut down your heart, it is now that your family and close friends will want to be connected to you. Their love and support will sustain you through the job search. You may have had to put family and friends on hold during the last few years when you were consumed with school or work. They will be happy to see you, the person. They will do wonders for your confidence. Make sure they know how to support you. Avoid gossip about other layoffs or about your former employer, which keeps you tied to your old identity and generates more negative energy.

3. Remember you do not equal your job.

Look at yourself as a whole person (see point 2). Take some time to rediscover what you love to do. Are you happier as a hands-on techie? Or are you a relationship-builder, an analyst, a writer or a trial lawyer? What experience (paid or unpaid) do you have that can be applied to this or other fields?

4. Create or increase personal well-being practices.

Besides grieving your loss, reconnecting with family and friends and rebuilding your confidence, there are other personal, well-being practices that can help you hold your center during the job search (and on your next job when the litigation tsunami hits). Easy, low-cost, high-impact practices include:

• Daily prayer or meditation.
• Writing down dreams or first thoughts and keeping a journal.
• Daily exercise and nature walks.
• Reading inspirational materials.
• Gardening and smelling the roses (or other fresh flowers).
• Taking care of any personal, deferred maintenance through COBRA (doctor, dentist, taxes, etc.).
• Reading business literature, like books by Napoleon Hill, or magazines like Fast Company and Fortune.
• Watching the Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith or The Kid with Bruce Willis.
• Reading Tom Peters on creating your personal brand.
• Researching new career opportunities. Lynda Falkenstein’s Nichecraft and Barbara Sher’s Wishcraft can help frame your activities toward a new gig.

5. Reboot your finances.

If you know you are about to be laid-off or are concerned about your job, there are a number of things you can do to maximize your finances until you land your next gig, including:

• Consider asking your firm or company if you can work as a contractor on project or part-time basis to keep income flowing longer.
  Check with human resources and see if you can lower your tax withholding before your final check. This check will include severance and vacation and will assess taxes based on your working all year.
• Investigate COBRA versus individual, short-term healthcare insurance policies. If you are young and early in your career, an individual plan may be less expensive. If you are over 50, AARP may offer lower-cost insurance.
• Find an IRA, self-directed or otherwise, to roll your 401K into as soon as possible to avoid the tax hit. Take a loan or distribution from it only as a last resort.
• Look for liquid assets. If you do not have a personal rainy day fund, create one. Whole life insurance allows you to borrow even without good credit. Sell artwork, cars, books and collections to raise cash.
• You may be able to qualify for new government programs for mortgage relief in the form of lower payments by way of lower interest, or longer-term or lower principal (make sure you are current on the mortgage). You may be able to refinance a paid-off car. Consider asking grown children living at home to pitch in, even if it means earning minimum wage. Everybody works!
• Apply for all benefits due to you. In some states, you can apply for and report in for unemployment benefits online. Take advantage of food banks, and look into state programs to insure you and your children if COBRA or purchasing your own health insurance are too expensive.
• Take a look at past tax returns. Get J.K. Lasser’s Your Income Tax to see if you have missed deductions. You can amend your tax returns going back three years to recapture taxes paid with newly found (and documentable) deductions.
• Do not ignore student loans. The lenders will work with you. These loans NEVER disappear, not even in bankruptcy.
• Deal with your credit cards. Make sure you submit any old company expenses right away, so you free up cash to pay the cards. Let’s face it: people in our industry tend to use credit cards liberally. When the music stops, it is critical to get current. (Talking to myself here.) Look carefully at any credit card offers for zero interest. They may help short-term, but these days the term is usually very short. For financial impact, stop using and pay off the cards with the highest interest rate. For emotional impact, pay off the card with the smallest balance and use it as your “current” card.
• Use those miles and points you’ve accumulated. Some cards allow you to purchase plane flights yourself and then call the rewards people to receive point credits for the flight. Read your fine print for any dollar recovery. Use miles to travel for job interviews or conferences, or use them for a well-deserved vacation if you and your loved ones can afford it. Vacations haven’t been this affordable in years. Points.com will allow you to transfer miles between programs.
• Earn money or barter. Having your own business allows you to deduct expenses for use of your home, phone, car and computer. (See Lasser’s tax book recommended above). Turn a hobby into a business. Sell those model trains or write about them, and offer your services to set them up for those still working. Talk to your working friends and offer to do law-related project work. You can even pet sit, do laundry, cook, babysit, paint…you get the idea. Money is money, and the psychological boost you get from generating income will translate to good feelings about potential better jobs.
• Reduce other expenses. Trade in cable for HULU.com, and investigate better cell phone and Internet access rates (you’ll need a cell for job hunting). Learn to use Skype to reduce your long distance. Re-assess your insurance needs, and make decisions about lower or higher deductibles. Plant a garden. Use print and online coupons. Actually use your Entertainment book (or look at Restaurant.com for great coupons). Cook from the pantry. Look into low-cost, nutritious meals (but not the ramen of your student days). Re-gift or make your own gifts.
• Ask for what you need. People will want to help you. If you need an introduction or reference, ask. If you need a new suit, ask your family and friends to pitch in and help, especially at gift time.
  Be grateful for what you have, every day.

6. Extend your network.

The best way to land that next position, whether you’ve been laid-off or you are changing jobs by choice, is through networking. Here are some of my recommendations:

• LinkedIn is your friend (or has your friends’ email addresses). Set up a profile or update your old one to reflect your new interests and focus. Include your school and job affiliations to make your friends visible. Upload your contacts and write them a personal note (do not use the default) requesting connection. Recommend people, and then ask for recommendations in return. Make sure you put in keywords related to the position you are seeking to make it easier for potential employers to find you. There are many legal recruiters on LinkedIn. As a reference, my LinkedIn profile is at http://www.linkedin.com/in/marymack. Let me know you’ve read this, and I will accept your link request. I am not the most “linked” legal person (Dennis Kennedy and Bob Ambrogi have me beat hands-down), but I can link you to people who are.
• Facebook can be your friend. Or not. I have reconnected with more grammar and high school friends in the last three months than the last 30 years. Then again, be careful what you post, as potential employers may be looking.
• Be true to your school. Go back to your most recent school for career help, and join any networking groups associated with it.
  Start making lists of people you know and people you want to know, and then join groups and associations that these people are active in. And don’t just show up to meetings; actually volunteer for sub-committees, so you can actively interact with these people.
• Practice the fine art of “friend harvesting.” Someone in your circle is the connector who knows everyone. Look at that person’s connections and harvest those whom you’ve already met first; then go back for those you want to know after bulking up.
• Don’t forget real-time groups with real people. Church, volunteer groups, classes, seminars and conferences are all great places to meet people who are interested in you or your job search area.
• Be gentle in seeking informational interviews. Let people know you realize times are tough, assure them you are not expecting for them to hire you immediately or at all, but don’t be afraid to ask for 10-30 minutes of their time to talk with you about where the industry is going, where new opportunities might arise, what they look for in a potential employee and who else they would recommend you talk to.\
• Write handwritten thank you notes with a personal touch. Drop them off, if you can. Get comfortably acquainted with the receptionist(s). Keep your contacts informed over time. One or more of them may decide to mentor you.

7. Train.

The best way to land your new job is to be up to date on the current trends and practices for the job you are seeking. In the e-discovery space, the opportunities are endless:

• Of course, the best, free e-discovery training is on the Fios website. Register and listen to the Fios webcasts, which cover everything from the basics to the latest in case law and industry standards. Some of the best legal minds have honored us with their wisdom, such as Tom Allman, Richard Braman and Ken Withers from The Sedona Conference® to former magistrate judges Ron Hedges and John Carroll.
• Read all of The Sedona Conference® Working Group papers.
  Consult the Cornell University Law School website to study the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
• Ask for a demo account from e-discovery service providers, or look at their sites for information or webcasts on how to use their systems.
• Read the blogs. Electronic Discovery Law offers case law summaries.
• Ralph Losey offers current case analysis and strong opinions, with a literary flair. Craig Ball and others (like Ralph Losey and Tom Allman) are part of EDD Update, published by Monica Bay and Incisive Media, which covers law firm and provider news, case analysis and industry happenings.
• Learn all about the Electronic Discovery Reference Model at edrm.net.
• Get my book, A Process of Illumination: The Practical Guide to Electronic Discovery here. If you are unemployed or about to be, email Fios for a complimentary PDF copy at info@fiosinc.com.

8. Contribute while networking.

Showing your expertise and sharing it publicly not only helps you network but can also increase your exposure to potential employers. Some opportunities that you may not have considered:

• George Socha and Tom Gelbmann have eliminated the participation fee for EDRM for those who have or are about to lose their jobs (this offer does not include face-to-face working meetings, however). See http://edrm.net/blog/archives/155.
• The Sedona Conference® working groups can always use some commentary. Participation is free for individuals.
• Raise funds for your local legal assistance foundation. Many of the leading attorneys at law firms, corporations and government contribute time or money to organizations providing legal services to the poor. Better yet, volunteer your own services one day per week.
• Law schools need help with e-discovery. Check in with their clinics and continuing education centers. Volunteer to train students (or better, the professors) while on your way to the career services office.

9. Train more.

You can never know too much. To enhance your chance for hire, you can:

• Upgrade your credentials. Forensics and collection will be hot in the next year. Get certified in specific technology, such as EnCase, iCONECT or other technology platforms. Take this next year and get a certificate, a bachelor’s or master’s degree, or an LLM. Find a well-respected school that will give you credit for your work and life experience.
• Upgrade other technical skills. Upgrade your skills in Microsoft programs, from Office to SharePoint. Your community college will have inexpensive courses, or you can buy software training programs. Refine your searching ability, a key to job- and people-finding.
• Upgrade your rainmaking. Practice public speaking at a local Toastmasters meeting. Learn selling techniques. Help others sell their services by identifying likely buyers or clients. Practice the art of getting appointments and referrals. Track your progress. Join a local Leads Group.
• Learn for learning’s sake. The web is full of free or low-cost courses, like the MIT OpenCourseWare project. Community colleges have a wealth of courses. Learn a new language or CPR. You may find an opportunity to teach and, at the same time, get access to great academic discounts and instant credibility.

10. Market via networking.

The usual advice about legal rainmaking is to speak before groups with members who can hire you and to write articles for publications. When you are unemployed, you do not have the luxury to wait for those opportunities exclusively. Luckily, it has never been easier to demonstrate expertise:

• Start a blog in your particular area of interest. Gabe’s Guide to the e-Discovery Universe popped up in the last few months. Gabe, an unapologetic contract reviewer, is now one of the leading (and best headline-writing) bloggers in the space. There’s lots of room for blogs in specialized areas like forensics, review, trial preparation and the like. Do be careful about blogging about your job search or wailing and moaning. You must have a gift for writing to pull it off.
• Learn how to use Twitter and how to blog. Learn how to use online collaboration tools (see Tom Mighell’s and Dennis Kennedy’s book, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together).
• Comment on others blogs, linking back to your own if you have one. It is an easy way to engage experts publicly.
  Sponsor a gathering at a local watering hole to meet the type of people who can help you in your search.
• Offer your expertise to local reporters or reporters in your field.

For those of you lucky to be employed, consider what you can do to help those who are not. Be the mentor, referral source or resume helper. Donate to the food bank. Find them some project work if you can. And if it moves you, please forward this to a friend or colleague who can use some help, with your own offer of support.