New lawyers can return to their elementary roots with OCBABC's of Practice

By Mike Scott Legal News Cynthia Brazzil heard the challenge that was issued last summer by Oakland County Bar Association (OCBA) President Jennifer Grieco. That challenge was finding ways to introduce new lawyers who were having trouble finding a job to the benefits of OCBA membership. So Brazzil, a shareholder with Kemp Klein Law Firm in Troy, figuratively went back to elementary school for guidance. Learning your "ABCs" is metaphor with an emphasis on the basics of any given subject. And the fundamentals are exactly what can guide young lawyers who are searching for a job and trying to build a career in a challenging work environment. Brazzil came up with the concept of three seminars targeting these young lawyers who may need some guidance getting their careers off the ground and into the courtrooms. Known as the "OCBABC's of Practice," the series will be hosted by the Oakland County Bar Association on three consecutive Thursdays, starting February 10 from 6-8 p.m. at the OCBA Center in Bloomfield Hills. The topics will include "Resumes and Beyond," the first week to help lawyers get noticed as part of the job search process. "Hanging Out Your Own Shingle" will be featured the second week with a focus of how lawyers can start their own sole proprietorship practice and any tips and tricks along with advantages and disadvantages. The final session will highlight "Interviews and Beyond," and will help attendees better market themselves once they have a job opportunity. Each of the free sessions will feature established lawyers and other service professionals who are volunteering their time toward helping potential and existing OCBA members with some of the challenges in the legal employment market, according to Brazzil. Victor Norris with Hertz Schram PC will be joined by a panel of experts in the first session. Guest speakers to discuss sole proprietorships will include Ursula Scroggs from Derderian, Kann, Seyferth & Salucci; Patricia Nemeth from Nemeth Burrell; Dean Googasian from The Googasian Firm; and Brazzil. Kenneth Neuman from Neuman Anderson will be joined by other experts to discuss interviews and techniques. "Our goal is to attract more lawyers who don't have jobs yet and unfortunately that is something more common these days," said Brazzil, who has long served on the OCBA's Membership Committee. "There are reportedly more lawyers now, perhaps as many as 11,000 or more, than ever before in Oakland County. And I think it is safe to say that there are fewer clients for those lawyers, particularly on the business law side." The idea for the series was to get young lawyers engaged in the discussion and thinking of ways they can better market themselves in an effective way. This is an even bigger challenge for lawyers than most other professionals coming out of a graduate-level program because the amount of debt incurred is often substantial and there is a high level of stress associated with not finding a job knowing that loan payments are due. This can lead to more of an emphasis on job searching and less on networking, which is an important element of finding a job, Brazzil said. These three sessions also are a supplement to other OCBA programs, such as its "Introduction to Practice" series which focuses on such topics as getting court referrals and better understanding local court practices. "What we want to tell these attendees is that if they want to get a job in the legal field, here's what they need to know," Brazzil said. One of the pieces of advice that will consistently be shared with attendees at the three sessions is that it is important for young lawyers to create a niche that they can specialize in during their careers. These days, submitting a resume to a law firm will require candidates to stand out to a much greater degree given the high number of resumes received in this economic environment. "You need to distinguish yourself from the pack and keep in mind that you can change (specialties) but it's difficult," Brazzil said. "As lawyers (and) not just recent (law school) graduates, we all need to consider how to redefine ourselves. We need to be open to opportunities to practice law in ways that we never had to before, such as with (foreign-owned) companies who are doing business in Michigan." The OCBABC's of Practice essentially replaced a series of more traditional networking events that were targeted to young lawyers on the Bar Association's calendar, Brazzil said. She feels it will be a more effective use of time for attendees, but she hopes that other lawyers will consider the sessions as well. For example, some lawyers may get new ideas from the Feb. 17 session on steps to improve their revenue stream as a sole proprietor such as sharing resources with other individual lawyers, a step that could eventually lead to a beneficial partnership. Space is limited for each session of this series. It is possible that a similar series could be held in future years as well, Brazzil indicated. Contact the OCBA for more information at (248) 334-3400 or visit www.ocba.org. Published: Wed, Feb 2, 2011

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