"I am a one-year PQE real estate lawyer who, as a result of the state of the current market, now has no job and virtually no vacancies to apply for. What do I (and all of the other junior real estate lawyers recently rendered jobless) do now?"
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Change to a different area of practice - practically it isn't that hard if you completed a seat in the area during your TC or can show a link to the type of matters you've been working on.
Just find another career where you sit around filling in basic forms all day.
Transfer your skills to property litigation?
You'll have to hope that there's a lot of mortgage fraud that comes to light during this slump if property litigation is going to sustain all the real estate jobs being cut at the moment. It is time to at least think very seriously about if you can shift to another practice area.
Do you want to stay in law or not? That's what it comes down to. If yes, shift practice area - if not, there are loads of other things you can do.
Would you consider a move overseas? A number of firms are looking to recruit in Dubai. It might not be ideal, but if you go there for a couple of years you'll likely learn more than you would have done staying in the UK.
Think about the poor swine who are five or ten years your senior. At least at only one year PQE you can do something else with relative ease.
At one year PQE you won't take a huge hit by switching practice areas. I did the same at two years PQE and never regretted it. In fact, I find it makes me more employable. Speak to any recruitment consultant and they'll tell you the same.
And for the two 'hilariously witty' ones commenting on this query, being made redundant is a terrible experience and it is incredibly insensitive, cruel and plainly infuriating that you even dare to make fun of this. I am equally stunned that these comments have slipped through the editorial review. Shame on you all!
Sorry to hear it. You need a good agent who can give you the options. You may need to take the 'any port in a storm' perspective and take anything (e.g. local government work, being a locum to cover maternity leaves, assisting with law firm interventions, working as a conveyancer at a bulk-mortgage call centre) just to keep your practising certificate. Some pioneering people even offer themselves as independent consultants to law firms in return for one third of all fees billed and paid. It won't be forever and at least it'll keep the wolf from the door.
You have a grounding in property and will have done a litigation seat during your TC. There will be a lot of property litigation out there over the next 18 months, a lot of property insolvency and a lot of negligence claims. Change your focus and take advantage of the opportunities.
Believe it or not, I know for a fact that there are real estate jobs at your level out there. Keep looking!
Commiserations. Redundancy is a terrible experience. There seem to be plenty of property litigation roles available at the moment (you could use your real estate experience). Otherwise you could look further afield for construction and finance roles to the Middle East or Russia. Best advice would be to cast your net wide and remain open-minded. A couple of years focusing on a slightly different practice area does not preclude a move back into non-contentious real estate work when this crisis has passed. Good luck!
You will have a better chance if you apply for jobs in an unattractive location. This may sound daft, but it is a serious suggestion. I used to work for a firm in one of the top 10 'Crap Towns' (if you are familiar with the book) and had responsibility for recruitment. We really struggled to recruit decent fee earners, largely because the location was so hard to sell, so we had to be more flexible in considering candidates. It may be worth doing this in the short term, to get experience in another area of law.
Go travelling until the good times return and firms start recruiting just about anyone who can spell p-r-o-p-e-r-t-y again...
I'm making a short film for the BBC on the current employment situation and would like to talk to you. Please can you get in touch and I'll tell you more. Thanks
How about going freelance with BLP 'Lawyers on Demand'? If you make the grade, you can work flexibly and continue to get good quality work:
http://www.blplaw.com/lawyersondemand/index.cfm
I am in exactly the same position as you (and have been for four months now) so I can completely relate to your situation. I have had many final stage interviews only for the firms to freeze recruitment at the last minute. I even had an offer in Dubai and they too decided to freeze all recruitment. I am basically applying for anything now just so I can pay the bills. I feel that if I can stay in the area that I enjoy I will be better for it in the long run. Good luck!
.....and I really cannot believe some of the comments on here. If people have time (whilst sitting at their desks) to write such rubbish then it really should have been them who suffer redundancy and not the more decent people that have actually been made redundant.
This is the original poster. I would just like to say thanks to those who have provided thoughtful and constructive comments! Hunting but will continue to persevere.
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