SkyBlueSky

I have realized that I drank on the weekends (rarely too excess) when I was employed. I have been searching for work going on 5 months. My drinking has not been an excuse to keep searching, but every time I strike out --- all I want to do is drink. Has anyone been able to find gainful employment in a professional field (particularly the legal field)? I have spoken with attorney friends; old class mates; etc. All of the advice is to check job boards, which have not panned out at all. I will admit that I have been a selfish person for many years, but now I am ready to help and embrace others. I just wish the universe would give me an opportunity to engage in an honest day's work.

Leana

If you really want to help others have you thought about maybe looking for work in the public defenders office? The salary and prestige is would certainly not be that of a huge firm but it may be where you need to be right now!

huntingtontx

I wish you well in finding a job. Drinking won't help. I promise.

SkyBlueSky

I was rejected by the public defenders office and from volunteering at the legal aid society due to a DUI in 2009. I live in a state saturated with attorneys. Every one of my friends received a job from their fathers' friends.

lilac0721

Hi, I am also a lawyer, though not currently practicing. I was working as a contractor with the BIA when budget issues caused me to not get paid for 3 months and they couldn't provide assurance of performance, so I am now working for a lot less as a case manager at a mental health center.

Anyway, my experience since graduating from law school in 2006 is that the legal market is very tight! The way I have managed to find jobs is to be willing to relocate to rural areas where most lawyers don't want to be. I landed here in SW CO to take a job as a deputy da, which was awesome until the guy who hired me lost the election and the new guy was unethical and incompetent (and had me scheduled regularly in 2 courtrooms at once). I was able to quickly pick up solo work after I quit, and then got the BIA contract which nearly left me broke after the not getting paid.

I can say that my drinking has led me to make bad decisions regarding work, and also didn't help my extreme lack of confidence as a young attorney. I can also tell you that unemployment (or near-unemployment, the time I worked for a solo in a ski town and made as little as $800/month) created tremendous anxiety and caused me to drink, which created a snowball effect.

Ask your law school classmates. If you are able to move, look elsewhere in your state or even other states. And look into law-related work that isn't necessarily practicing. Or consider going solo - though to do so, I would recommend a commitment to sobriety (it's really hard to motivate, in my experience, when you spend the day drinking). Feel free to message me.
I am actually thinking of returning to practice. I keep dreaming about being in court and doing legal research!

Croissant

Skybluesky...sorry, it's not clear from your post whether you are actively drinking or not?

As lilac said, I found drinking in the past led to bad choices work wise. Honestly not sure how I got through interviews hungover, to be honest.

I am so sorry to hear you have been out of work for 5 months. Again, as lilac said, sometimes relocation is the only viable option.

Crossfitdad

I'm a fellow lawyer and I have just one question: Why the hell are you depending on others for a job? You have a profession...open your own shop. I did 5 years ago. It doesn't cost very much. Get a computer and a desk. Assuming you are in the US, go rent one of those office suites that come with a receptionist and a conference room, copier, Internet, fax, phone all included.

Sure it's tough for the first few months, but you can work in retail at night to pay the bills.

Too many people dependent on the whims of others.

Best of luck

SkyBlueSky

I want to re-locate, but I am only licensed in Missouri. I think taking another bar would figuratively kill me. I am still drinking, but to a lesser extent. I am taking klonopin to keep the withdrawals at bay and it has actually killed some cravings.

SkyBlueSky

Crossfitdad, how did you learn to even litigate a fender bender? Law school doesn't give you any practical skill set.

Leana

I find it ironic many of the professions that revolve around helping others are often the least likely to give their own a second chance. (Law, Medicine, and social work come to mind.)

Crossfitdad

I don't do personal injury. But there's only one way to learn...that's to do it. Go down to the clerks office and meet everyone. Get on the ad litem list for ct appointments. Get on the indigent defendants list. Sit in on court. It takes time. Everything you need to know, you've learned or have access to in the books. Most jurisdictions have a law library.

Notmyrealname

Usually contract jobs are an option to fill in the gaps, temp work without benefits sure but the hourly rate is pretty good. Might be days full of doc review and bates stamping but it beats watching reruns of Maury.

If you're unattached I would give a look to South Dakota, with all those roughneck oil guys there has to be a bunch of criminal defense/DUI/family law (divorce from afar) work, probably not bad estate planning/wills&trusts too (somewhat risky work, big paychecks).

Let us know how it turns out

Good luck.

Croissant

skybluesky ...you ask the universe to give you an opportunity to do an honest days work...I think drinking will continue to be your main obstacle.

Is it possible for you to just stop? At least give your body time to get it out of your system so you can think straight?

Alcohol is a depressant, I can't see that it has any place for any alcoholic actively looking for work.

Or any place for any alcoholic. Period.

I think you already got it right, mate. Only you can follow through on keeping alcohol out of your system. The right job, the universe, can't help you if you won't help yourself. I don't mean to be harsh - believe me, I give myself this medicine too.

We don't just magically get sober skybluesky - it's not a miracle reserved for some. We all can do it, are all worth it.

360shoes

Hi SkyBlue,
This may not work for you but I've been unemployed more than I care to admit. Layoffs, etc. etc. I've found that if I just do something..anything as long as it's a honest days work it makes me feel better. I've even cleaned houses and waited tables...which I actually liked because I like how it kept me in the now and out of my head a lot. Something to be said about a good physical job to keep me occupied. There is a nice feeling of freedom to open up to opportunity no matter where it comes from. And it can come from many many avenues.

I'm just saying that for me I was better off just working doing something and keeping my eye out for something in my profession at the same time helped me. Plus, it gave me a nice sense of there is a lot to do out there in the world even if it's not in my field. But I like being an optimist. I'd rather look at the job postings and see 400 opportunities to work than look at the same list and see maybe only 1 in my field.

But this is from someone who sometimes just had to pay the bills so I didn't always have the luxury of waiting. Most times I had to do what I had to do or I would have been living in my car with 2 dogs and a cat. Either way, I still liked doing different things in between jobs in my field.

My dad was a plumber and worked very hard his whole life so that I could go to school but he also taught me that you can still find great satisfaction in just an honest days work no matter what it was. Thanks Dad.

Opportunity is out there for all of us! And we certainly have the best chance of seeing it when we ain't all drunk and hung over!

Hang in there! You can do it!

grubby

Hey there,

I started drinking during a period of unemployment myself. Unemployment sucks. The sad reality is........ there just isnt anything out there........... and no, $8/hr temp or throwaway jobs don't really count. Your best bet is going to be "knowing someone on the inside" at this point........ or as others have pointed out - moving somewhere far far away and trying your luck there. It is BAD out there. We have Obama and his dried-up gutted carcass zombie economy to thank for that

I'm sure its pretty normal for people to turn to drinking to numb the pain when they are out of work, I was the same way. Once I finally landed a job my drinking dosage went down quite a bit. After I landed a job my drinking went down to maybe 2-3 drinks after work...... every other day or so.

Best of luck!

DefconOne

I feel your pain. Sober 49 days, 50 on Easter Sunday. Don't give up hope. Keep trying and don't drink. I was unemployed for 9 months and just landed a local job yesterday. During most of that time I was drinking and probably looking bad. Right after I got treatment and stayed sober...whammo...a job. No kidding. Here is the deal. Its a buyers market for workers. Employers are very picky and its nothing personal. The winter cold is over and things will pick up. If you are able be willing to do anything. Get in the door and then climb the ladder. There is always a reason to drink unemployed or not. I felt like drinking when I landed the job..just to celebrate. Good Luck!

Amazingglazier

Sky, I don't know what your skillset is but I do know we just paid out $11500 for my dui and another $10000 to a partner in the same firm to settle a simple estate and believe me the estate thing was gravy for them as we did all the legwork to get the proper paperwork, all he did was send his secretary across the street to the surrogate court and the clerks office! So I know if you stay straight you could do something! My helpers make a hundred in their pockets and most days they only work 3-4 hours of actual work, sometimes less, so I know there is something to do to make money. This thing we have has to break us down to humility and accept things not on our terms to survive and to thrive! Hope you find something to make your situation better, but if you were in my shoes now you would wish you weren't ! Good Luck ! And
Stay Strong and Well ! Bobby

lilac0721

As crossfitdad said, opening up your own shop is not tough at all. I would consider giving it a second go (and not giving up taking private clients in order to do a full-time contract). The way we learn as lawyers? Trial by fire. My very first time in court - well, the first few months, really - as a deputy DA were comical. I didn't even know what a motions hearing was when I went to my first one! First jury trial? I hadn't a clue about jury instructions. It is scary, which is why it's so tempting to drink, but drinking only shrinks your confidence.
Many older/more experienced lawyers are happy to give advice to newer folks. Attend some bar association functions. You'll also find the types of lawyers you like - for me, I remember dreading real estate law gatherings (except with my own boss and fellow litigator) but DA's conferences were a blast. 2 totally different types of people.
As for being licensed only in Missouri, depending on how long you have been licensed and practiced, you could potentially waive in to another jurisdiction if MO has reciprocity. I'm considering doing that in Utah, though I am also considering taking the bar there just to prove that I can do it without having to try 3 times. Federal government jobs, no matter the location, only require that you be licensed in one state and not necessarily the state where the job is. Check USAJobs.

crochetforall

I am looking for work to. I have not worked in almost a year. God will give you the things that you need.

lawyer101

Fellow AA ("attorney & alcoholic") here. The only advice I can give to you is to keep sending out your resume and stay busy by doing freelance work on the Internet. Seriously, you have a law license and you should not be sitting around waiting for a job to drop in your lap. Sell your skills on websites such as Fiverr.com. Open a writer account on websites such as elance.com and writeraccess.com. I practice law during the day and work on a law portal website at night and I'm always hiring attorney freelance writers from these websites to produce content for my website.

Stop drinking, get busy and you will see the positive changes in your life; I promise!!