Article on Getting that First Job

Eight Tips on Getting Your First Job Out of Law School

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Third Annual List of Legal Temp Agencies

Third Annual List of Legal Temp Agencies, August 2010

Although I am a bit late with my compilation this year, I hope that you find that the wait was worthwhile! I came up with a total of 39 agencies serving the Washington DC area, down 3 from last year. Lest we blame the economy, keep in mind that 5 agencies that were included last year have either ceased operations in Washington, DC or if they are operating in DC their website does not indicate so -- by my examination of it, anyway -- and/or I have inquired with them about their operations in DC and received no reply.

Those agencies are:

Cambridge Professional Group
Elaine P. Dine
Law Firm Staff
Oxford Legal
Solomon Page

I added 4 new agencies. Those are:

Robert Lynn Group
Project Counsel
Midtown Group
Hardinger & Tanenholz

While others closed their doors, some agencies flourished, elaborated their websites, and a noticeable handful changed street addresses or added a new office location. I've tried to keep up with the new temp agencies, as they pop up and advertise on craig’s list or the posse list. As many of you know, I started my private solo practice last year and so I may have missed one or two. If I left any agencies out (or if any of the information is incorrect is any way) then please let me know. You can reach me through the Email Me! link that is located in the left-hand margin of this page.

I put what I thought was the best contact information for each agency, usually an email or fax, but more and more agencies are asking candidates to apply online (another change from previous years).

Other stuff--

This list is the property of the Aspiring Solo blog. Please do not reproduce it without the permission of the owner and without properly crediting the source. Nothing contained in this document, or anywhere else on my blog, constitute legal advice or establish an attorney-client relationship.

1. Ajilon Legal, merged with Special Counsel (see below).
2. Aldan Troy Group, 1634 I Street, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC, 20006, Submit resume using online form.
3. Assigned Counsel, 6701 Democracy Blvd., Suite 300, Bethesda, MD, 20817, submit resume through online form or send to info@assignedcounsel.com
4. BCG Search, 1050 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20036, jobs@bcgsearch.com, permanent placements only.
5. Beacon Hills Group, 1120 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 461, Washington, DC, 20036., contact: washingtondc@beaconhillsg.com
6. Blackletter Discovery (BLD), 1025 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC, 20036, contact: dc@blackletterdiscovery.com
7. Clutch Legal, 910 17th Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC, 20006, contact: clutchinfo@clutchgroup.com
8. Compliance Inc., 1660 L Street, NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC, 20036, apply online or call 703-276-9357.
9. Continuum Legal, 1651 Old Meadow Road, Suite 600, McLean, VA, 22102, contact: info@continuumlegal.com or fax (703) 734-8839.
10. De Novo Legal, 1420 K Street, 11th Floor, Washington, D.C., 20005, contact: dcresumes@denovolegal.com.
11. Firm Advice, 1020 16th Street, NW, Suite 605, Washington DC 20036. Contact: mlegg@firmadvice.com or jfeinman@firmadvice.com.
12. Global Diversity Consulting Group, 701 13th Street, N.W., Suite 950, Washington, DC, 20005. Contact: resumes@gdiversity.com.
13. Hardinger & Tanenholz, 1325 G Street, NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC, 20005. Contact: employment@hardingerlaw.com.
14. Hire Counsel, 1720 I Street, NW, 9th floor, Washington, DC, 20006, DC@hirecounsel.com
15. Hudson Legal, 2001 K Street, NW, Suite 202, Washington, DC, 20006, contact: DClegalrecruiters@hudson.com
16. JuriStaff 1875 I Street, NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC, 20006, submit resume online or apply online.
17. Kelly Law 1825 K Street, NW, Suite 1010, Washington, DC, 20006, contact: 19W1@kellyservices.com
18. Law Resources, 1140 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 675 Washington, DC, 20036, apply@lawresources.com
19. Legal eStaffing, 1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 225, Washington, DC, 20036. Contact: Jeanette@legalstaffing.com.
20. Legal Placements, 1300 I Street, NW, Suite 750 West, Washington, DC, 20005, contact: apply online or dcoffice@legalplacements.com
21. Legal Source, 1625 Eye Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC, 20006, contact: info@legalsource.com
22. Leverage Legal , 8300 Greensboro Drive, Suite 800, Mclean, VA 22102, Contact: info@leveragelegal.com.
23. Lexolution, 1011 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 1001, Washington, DC, 20005, contact: infodc@lexolution.net
24. Lumen Legal, Contact: jobs@lumenlegal.com
25. Mergis Group (formerly Spherion), 1730 M Street, NW, Suite 401, Washington, DC, 20036. Contact: ChristineCessna@mergisgroup.com.
26. Midtown Group, 900 7th Street, NW, Suite 725, Washington, DC, 20001. Contact: Apply Online.
27. National Associates, Inc., 1130 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 530, Washington, D.C., 20036. Contact: Apply online or fax: (202) 296-7558.
28. Palmer Legal, 1211 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 302, Washington, DC, 20036. Fax: 202-464-1001 (download paperwork online).
29. Pat Taylor & Associates, 1101 17th Street, NW, Suite 707, Washington, DC, 20036, contact: susan@pattaylor.com.
30. Phase Legal, 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC, 20006, contact: info@phaselegal.com
31. Project Counsel, LLC, 1776 K Street, NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC, 20006. Contact: resumes@projectcounsel.com.
32. Providus Group, 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC, 20036. Contact: dcresumes@providusgroup.com.
33. Proxy Personnel, 1100 H Street, NW, Suite 260, Washington, DC, 20005, Contact: apply online or Fax: 202-639-9630.
34. Robert Lynn Group, 412 Evarts Street, N.E., Suite 4, Washington, DC, 20017. Contact: recruiting@robertlynngroup.com.
35. Rhodes & Weinstock, LLC, 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC, 20006. Contact: info@r-wgroup.com.
36. Solon Legal Group, 1919 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 760, Washington, DC, 20006. Contact: russ@solonlegal.com or Fax: 202-280-1485.
37. Special Counsel, 1920 L Street, NW, Suite 550, Washington, DC 20036, contact: dc@specialcounsel.com
38. Tower Legal Staffing, 1212 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 525, Washington, DC, 20005, contact ContactDC@Towerls.com
39. Update Legal, 1620 Eye Street, NW, Suite 703, Washington, DC, 20006, washdc@updatelegal.com

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Aspiring Law Student Makes Public Plea

Well now there you go. No complaining for those of you struggling through law school (or even the bar), considering some can't even get in! Or do I have that reversed, and this is a blessing in disquise for the would-be counselor?

Warn or fund her, as you wish:


http://www.abajournal.com/weekly/article/would-be_law_student_sets_up_paypal_account_asks_for_tuition_donations

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Career Aptitude

Click on the title of this Blog post for 50 Free Career Aptitude Tests

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Start-up Costs Should Include Credit Card Charges and Taxes

What are start-up costs?

When one thinks about start-up costs, the typical definition that comes to mind are those expenses before the business owner opens her doors and shortly thereafter. Start-up expenses are usually the cost of rent, office supplies, equipment, phone/ internet / fax, etc.

Well another start-up expense, so to speak, is the charges that we put on our credit cards, because some of us are operating mostly on credit at the beginning. You can pay just the minimum monthly payment, if you wish, but with monthly interest charges, you will find that this is the amount that you are basically paying off. So when I saw my latest credit card bill today, I made up my mind that when it's paid up, I am going to get rid of it.

An additional start-up cost is estimated quarterly income tax payments. If you are in business for yourself, the IRS would like for you to pay your taxes quarterly based on your estimated earnings for that year. Then divide by 4 (for the 4 quarters) and mail them in every few months. You do this for state and federal, I believe. If you fail to do this, then when you go to do your taxes the following year, you will be penalized several hundred dollars for this failure (estimated). If you are not earning enough money through your business to make these payments, then you might as well forgo them and just pay the penalty in the next tax season. However, this is more frustrating debt. By the following year, you will have to pay all of your taxes from your earnings from the previous year. If you think about all of the tax that is taken out of your paychecks (back when you were working for someone else) and add it all together, plus throw in a few extra hundred dollars penalty for not paying it throughout the previous year, you are going to owe a hefty amount and will likely have to work out a payment plan with the IRS. Then by the following year, when you are in your third year of practice but still paying taxes from the previous year, you are going to owe taxes again.

My point is that credit card debt and taxes should be included in your "planning" for your business when you sit down to determine your list of start-up expenses. It doesn't mean because you don't have all that money up front you shouldn't go in business for yourself. It is just something to keep in mind as you monitor and plan your budget, and it may be a factor, when you determine how many clients you need to earn X amount per month. You know what I mean because you have all done it ("if I get X number of clients, multiplied by my average legal fees Y, then that is $Z per month"). Just something to keep in mind.

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DC Bar Addresses Document Review Work Again, But This Time The Concern Is Conflicts

The DC Bar addressed potential restrictions on temp attorneys' mobility from firm to firm in Legal Ethics Opinion 352, which I think could have interesting implications for firms' rules on screening temp attorneys for conflicts.

The Rule concludes in a nutshell that temporary contract attorneys are "associated with" a law firm for purposes of ethics rule 1.10 depending on the facts of the situation (i.e. the nature of the temp's work, his/her exposure to confidences, etc). The Rule leaves leeway for firms to still make arguments to conflict out temp attorneys who once represented an adverse party but with another firm. The DC Bar thus had the opportunity to address the issue in an open-ended and non-committal way, perhaps as an attempt to make everyone happy. I don't think that document review really leaves much room to debate the "nature" of the work, but maybe there are some temp attorneys whose involvement goes above and beyond what most doc reviewers do on a day to day basis.

Temp agencies should like the rule because it gives them a greater pool of candidates to place. It would be interesting to see how this plays out -- especially among veteran temps who have a long list of potential conflicts to stand in the way between themselves and unemployment!

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So We're a Bunch of Entrepreneurs...Really, It's Ok....

Another Attorney Leaves the Law To Drive a Cupcake Truck

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