By James Bowden
Many apologies to Langston Hughes, but today’s news that Alston-Bird LLP and Baker & McKenzie have told their currently deferred crop of newly-minted attorneys, “Don’t call us … We’ll Call You,” reminded me of the uncertainty that rippled through my whole law school class last year as the first round of deferrals were issued. The most terrifying thing I remember is that deferrals were completely indiscriminant; they often affected the classmates of mine whom I thought the most of – the brightest and the best. Today’s news suggests that cold acceptance of certainty may have come too soon.
Those months were filled with serious thought and discussions about what people could do, particularly considering the debt load that so many of us took on to simply be eligible for the employment that was suddenly evaporating. And then something strange happened: dark humor crept in. So in that vein, here’s a short list of possibilities (some serious, some less so) for what members of the newly-titled “lost generation” may consider as alternate routes to the top:
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Hang up a shingle in a small town. Seriously. I asked one of the most respected attorneys in town once whether he preferred practicing as a litigator in a corporate law firm or being a small-town generalist. His response: “Have I told you any stories about how much fun working in a law firm is?” He hadn’t.
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Become a white-water raft guide / scuba instructor in Costa Rica. Wait, that’s my plan – hands off!
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Look for work in smaller markets. BigLaw is BigLaw because of the talented people who work there, not solely as a result of geographic coincidence. When the talent [i.e. young attorneys] go elsewhere and work for lower rates, the work will follow them.
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Start a hip hop career, rocket to stardom, and then steal the mic from America's sweetheart and get the president to call you a jack---. Actually, skip the last part or Jay Leno will make you cry.
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Go do something that makes you happy, helps other people, and leaves you with stories to tell for the rest of your life. Note: you should be doing that anyways.
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Alpaca farmer. ‘Nuf said.
Before I’m accused of being in bad taste, I want to say that close personal friends of mine whom I think the world of and genuinely look up to are being hurt by these indefinite deferrals. I want them to remember that they are still and will never cease to be the best hope for a better future. I’ve always said that what irks me most is when my parents’ generation tells my generation that there is no way we will be able to succeed the way they have. They’re wrong – we’re just going to have to spend a few years cleaning up their mess, first.