95% Chance I Get Laid Off on Friday

[morphball]

I work for boutique law firm run by a guy and his wife, had 13 attorneys when I started, now down to 7. We specialize in high-end commercial litigation.

Our two biggest clients are the area's Municipal Transportation Authority and the Insurance Department of my state. These two clients produce 80% of my firm's revenues. For the Muni, we handled a construction case that has just settled. For the Insurance Department, we handle the litigation for an insolvent insurance company, and that liquidation is wrapping up with a global settlement being negotiated as we speak/write/read.

Bottom line, by the end of April, my firm will have too many lawyers, and this puts me in a bad spot because I am the highest paid other than partners, and they will not have the work for my experience level, or my bosses would pick up my higher level work for their increased hourly rate and doll the lower level work to two lower level associates who cost the firm about $30,000 to 50,000 less a year than me.

More signs, at a firm meeting last week, people were instructed to be judicious with their time, and it was announced we are moving into a smaller office at the end of this year when the firm's lease expires. I was asked to prepare a case status memorandum for a case that is going to be called for trial in May. Just today, the wife of my boss asked me to bring her up to speed on another case that I primarily handled. Methinks the writing is on the wall.

I think it will be this Friday for a few reasons. One, every attorney that has been fired from my firm during my tenure here was fired on pay day Fridays. This Friday is such a day. Two, my boss has been acting noticably different around me.

As far as cost cutting goes, I am the prime choice. I do not have a significant book of business, and I am paid way more than others who can do a lot of my work for a lower salary, and the work they can't do, like taking depositions and arguing in court, my bosses can do themselves for a higher hourly bill rate.

So I really have no play at work. I will just see what happens. I have a few head hunters out there looking, and I can probably lateral into an even higher paying position, but I had a nice gig at this firm. Very decent salary and about as close to 9 to 5 as you get being a litigator. The truth of it is though, that I am kind of sick of being a lawyer. It's a dirty business, because even when you're on the "good" side, the other lawyers are generally scumbags, and you're not really on the "good" side all that often.

I don't mind losing the job so much. I went to law school to be a plaintiffs' attorney, and got side tracked by the high salaries you get as a commercial litigator.

I have enough money set aside to live a maintain my standard of living for six months, and more if I cut back, plus I can make maney playing poker (not durr, raptor kind of money), it's feasible that I could just chuck the slavery of employment and throw a shingle up or something. Or I could take a pay cut, and finally get around to pursuing my goal of being a plaintiffs' attorney, you know chasing ambulances. Or I could take a slightly larger pay cut and clerk for a federal judge, which was also something I always wanted to do but never did because of higher salaries elsewhere. (Constitutional law was always my favorite subject in law school...)

If I get laid off, I guess I will see if the headhunters find anything good, but otherwise, I am taking at least a month off.

P.S. - It's only 95% for this Friday because I have depositions next week that I am not sure my bosses can get ready for in time with the Holiday, but I think they may be trying to figure out a way.

Beat: I was a commercial litigator for three years, and pretty much hated every minute of it.

Brag: It's probably over.

Variance: I might sign up for another round of slavery if the salary is there...

Variance2: tl;dr