Yes, I know this blog is all about solo practice.  But this particular post was triggered by a recent post by Carolyn Elefant at Legal Blog Watch called  ‘Second Cities Standing Out and Other Advice for Law Students Seeking Jobs”.

But it’s not clear how students can compete for job opportunities with licensed lawyers who are willing to work for free. Back when I was in law school, state and federal attorney general offices were prime spots for law students who couldn’t find work at a firm, provided that they’d work for free. But in a down economy, even those offices can have their pick of volunteer JDs. Consider the New Jersey Attorney General’s office, which is putting out the call for lawyers to work 20 hours a week, unpaid.

Well, let me tell you what I would be doing if I was a law student who didn’t have that job lined up.  And this is the mentality of someone who wants to go solo but recognizes she needs experience and connections for when she graduates.

I would be honing my rainmaking skills by selling myself creatively to the very market where I will hope to be one day – the solo and small firm community.  If I was being advised to find an unpaid internship I would be preparing to create my own but with an entrepreneurial twist.

Your success today is about creating a job, not waiting for someone to offer you one.

Within the old model of law firms selecting from the ‘very best’ from the ‘very best law schools’ you really don’t stand a chance.  Not because you aren’t qualified to do the work but because they are measuring your value to them based upon a stagnant model which, quite frankly, I’m not sure will continue to work for them in this New Economy.  They, too, whether they realize it or not, need a different measuring stick.  But that’s not what this post is about.  It’s about understanding this New Economy and how you, the solo-in-training can start honing your skills and getting experience as a rainmaking entrepreneur.

If you are being asked to compete to work for free you might as well be looking for a paying job.

I’d like to offer up the following suggestion.  Find solo and small firms where you would like to work to get experience while in law school or while waiting on the bar exam results. Don’t compete for internships where your experiences can be limited (although there are very good internships if you can get them) and you pay $600 + a credit to the school for arranging to work for free and be supervised by someone who is mandated to have you work only on certain cases and not be able to charge for your time.   You are actually going into debt to work for free! Find those firms where you would like to work and offer them a proposal.

Here is the proposal:

I’m very interested in learning about (practice area). I’m not looking to be paid  as an employee (if you know they are not hiring).  I’m looking for experience and willing to volunteer.  However, if I bring in paying clients to your firm, which I’m planning to do, then (if you are still a student) I would like to get a fair hourly rate for working on the matters I’ve originated or (if you are waiting on the bar exam results) a fair hourly rate for working on the matter, an opportunity to go to court with you (if appropriate) or (if you are eligible under the rules governing your state) a referral fee if it is not a matter I will be working on. I’m presenting you a win/win situation.

Don’t limit yourself to this dialogue or this type of exchange.  This is just a rough idea.  What’s most important to note is you are offering a smart solo or small firm partner the opportunity to bring in a hungry law student/new lawyer who will not represent overhead (or negligible overhead).This smart solo or small firm partner will still be in charge of his finished product (whether you are a paid associate or not this would be the case) and he also has the opportunity to get new clients he would not otherwise get in exchange for this ‘free labor’. He’s only paying a fair hourly rate for your time when you work on cases you’ve originated. This is parlaying volunteer work into a paying gig.

And it’s not a forever-arrangement.  If it’s not working for the lawyer, she asks you to leave.  If it’s not working for you, you leave.

There is a difference between an intern who is doing it for credit with an academic supervisor and someone who is presenting themselves as a volunteer without initial payment doing it because they are ‘hungry’  to create opportunity for themselves.  These are the kinds of ‘interns’ (let’s not run afoul of any legal interpretation of the word intern) solo and small law firm partners look for, ones who give generously and willing to trade their time to prove their value and deliver on their promise; hungry to learn making the solo or small firm partner’s life easier.

Those who can advocate well for themselves can advocate well for their clients.

These are also the kinds of ‘interns’ who get hired or offered profitable arrangements by those very same smart solos and small law firm partners once they’ve had a chance to prove themselves as profit-generating, not profit-draining.

Most importantly, you will be heavily invested in bringing in new business because this is the only way you can parlay this no-payment ‘internship’ into a paycheck. Your need to be a rainmaker during your ‘internship’ will you also help you learn how to be a rainmaker for yourself when you open your own practice. This is the type of creativity which will elude most lawyers and help you stand out in this New Economy.

When you introduce yourself as someone who is bringing new opportunities to another, you will get their ear.  Remember, new solos have gifts to give.

Not every lawyer will take you up on this offer.  Just the smart ones.

*‘intern’ and ‘internship’ are ‘highlighted’ because the use of this term can trigger legalities you, as someone who may want to bring someone on board in this manner, may want to ask your accountant about. Also learn what responsibilities (legal or otherwise) you have to someone who presents as a volunteer and/or an independent contractor.