Reader Opinions on: Today’s Ailing Economy
The turbulent events of the last six months have been almost unprecedented in recent memory. Seemingly no sector of our economy has been left untouched by the cumulative impact of the mortgage, consumer credit, unemployment, and confidence crises (to name but a few) with which we have been faced. Some of your responses are featured in this edition of Reader Opinions; others will be posted online at www.mcca.com. Requests for anonymity were granted in publishing these responses.
My partners and I see this as a time when our clients need us most. To that end, we have created a team of lawyers dedicated to counseling clients on the implications of the Federal TARP (“bailout”) program so clients can understand how this fast-moving and often confusing legislation affects, and possibly assists their bottom lines. The firm has also convened a committee of lawyers to focus on the legal implications of economic challenges our clients are facing. This committee has developed solutions for clients to issues as varied as buying back shares of underperforming stock from public shareholders, dealing with environmental concerns that arise when manufacturing plants are closed, preparing HR departments for the inevitable problems associated with layoffs, and matching cash-strapped businesses with private sector funding. This initiative is helping to keep our own personnel active and engaged while also providing valuable counsel to our clients.
I am eating out less. My Volvo SUV lease runs out in April. Instead of leasing or buying another car, I will be using my sister’s KIA (or is it a Hyundai??) for about a year, which she keeps in NY unused. My son turns 2 in February and we have cancelled his birthday party, which we had planned to have at an outside kiddie vendor location. Instead, we are having two mini-parties with less than 10 people each at my house. We have cancelled summer vacation plans, and instead are driving to the in-laws for a long weekend. The in-laws live in a popular tourist destination, so we will vacation there and not pay hotel.
I am very busy at work, thankfully.
I’ve been practicing law for 16 years. During the first two-thirds of my career, I was bogged down with a ton of student debt and lived on a shoestring budget. The good news is that the experience taught me fiscal responsibility. I made it a habit of living well below my means and denying myself a lot of the luxuries that others indulged in. As a result, I have virtually no overhead from a personal standpoint – very, very few fixed expenses. Despite the fact that I will not receive a raise this year, and bonuses are up in the air, I am finding that this is actually an excellent time to take the trips I always wanted to take, remodel my house and buy a barely used, but really, really nice sports car. And I am able to do so without incurring any debt. To those graduating from law school into this economic nightmare, I would encourage you to use it as an opportunity to develop fiscal self discipline, and then retain that discipline when times are good (that’s the truly hard part). Pay off your debts as fast as you can, even if it means your house isn’t as big or your cars aren’t as nice as those of your colleagues. It will pay off in the long run (unless, of course, I get hit by a bus on the way home from work today, which would totally stink).
We are a 12-lawyer minority owned law firm that is soon to be a 15-lawyer minority owned law firm in light of an upcoming merger. In general, the difficult economic climate has not effected us, because we are primarily a litigation firm. While we have two partners who are transactional lawyers, one of those lawyers is a bankruptcy lawyer who has not seen any drop at all in his book of business.
My company is on the rampage on cost-cutting, even though we are always cost conscious. Personally, I am avoiding all large ticket items, and evaluating each small expense, committing only to what must be done. Right now, no trips; minimal eating out; “shopping in my closet”. Skipped Christmas gifts with the spouse. None of this is because I have to on a personal basis, but with the downward economy, you never know.
My company is really being hit hard in these difficult times due to ongoing litigation we have with two groups of former employees who are out there purposefully trying to destroy their former employer. Aside from that cost, first we have had employees leave for "greener" pastures and the choice has been made to not replace them. Second we have a hiring freeze for any new positions as well as a raise freeze in place and third there will be no contributions from the company made to the employee's 401K accounts and that may be a permanent change as we are forced to tighten even more of the "belt". Departmentally, my staff and I are stretched to the limit – we've pulled back in-house the majority of the litigation work as well as most of all the other outside counsel work we were doing and then we also have had our budget drastically cut – no purchasing any books etc. – so life is really difficult for us right now.
Other than that – LIFE IS GREAT!!!
Personally, I chose to eat-in more and use it as a way to reconnect. Call it the return of the Minnesota Pot-Luck at my house, which brings family, friends, and clients together. We appreciate a laid-back meal, with easy conversation, and the only expectation being that you bring something to the meal to share. It is like our own Babette's Feast!
My firm chose to be more fiscally conservative in 2008, which meant making every dollar count. Whether that meant low-key in-house events focused on fun and connecting, and less on big raffle prizes and fancy venues, or buying office supplies using vendors that appreciate budget-conscious buying, it was getting more value for each dollar. We also chose to promote more from within, giving young talent a shot to perform on trial teams, rather than seeking higher-priced talent from outside the firm. Again, making every dollar count is the focus. DB
MCCA thanks everyone who responded to this offering of Reader Opinions.
From the March/April 2009 issue of Diversity & The Bar®