Law: The Afterlife

It's been a while . . . .

2007-10-06T12:40:00.001-04:00

Sadly, it's been a while since we've been able to post . . . or to organize a new event. We hope to have some events planned for early 2008 and we welcome your input. Let us know what types of events you'd be most inclined to attend. We're looking forward to hearing from you and seeing you in 2008.

Job Opportunities for Lawyers Interested in Transitioning

2007-07-05T18:19:00.000-04:00

On-Ramps (www.on-ramps.com), a recruiting and consulting firm specializing in flexible work arrangements (full-time, part-time, and project-based) is looking to fill two great positions. In both cases, On-Ramps' clients would love to find people with legal experience. If you are interested in either, please reach out to sarah@on-ramps.com.

Opportunity 1: Chief of Staff, Domestic Savings Think Tank. The client, a premier think tank working on domestic savings initiatives, is looking for a chief of staff to report directly to the executive director, helping her manage her team and meet the organization's policy goals. The client is seeking a candidate capable of managing the next stage of the savings policy work for the initiative as the group becomes part of the national debates on savings policy, tax policy, financial security and economic progress. This candidate should be motivated not only by the potential of the policy and product ideas that have been generated, but also by the challenge of managing multiple projects and people in service of the overall policy goals. This role will be an integral part of helping the client build on its impressive range of partners from the private, public and non-profit sector. Solid understanding of federal issues pertaining to savings policies required. Relevant Capitol Hill preferred. This is a full-time position with the possibility to work remotely a few days a week after an initial ramp-up period.

Opportunity 2: Senior Communications Designer, Publicly-Traded Technology-Based Retail Lending Business. The client, an innovative, technology-based retail lending business focused on the student loans industry, is looking for a senior communications strategist to help craft and deliver key messages to the press and the public. This person will be responsible for providing in-depth analyses of statistics to support the company's decision-making process regarding the market, creating a structured design for the company's press strategy, and developing key messaging (e.g. speeches, press releases) for internal and external audiences. Finance background, or strong financial course background required. Legal experience preferred. This is a full-time position with the possibility to work remotely a few days a week.

2007-05-21T09:36:00.000-04:00

Please join us on June 26, 2007 from 7:30-9:30 PM at Pasita (www.pasitanyc.com) for a pizza and wine tasting. We'll sample a variety of Pasita's thin-crust brick oven pizzas, as well as wines off its list featuring bottles from Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Chile. In addition, Pasita's owner and former attorney, Joel Zighelboim, will speak to us about his (roundabout) transition from lawyer to restaurateur.

All this delicious pizza, wine and insight on life after lawyering is being offered to a limited group of 18 people for $35 a person. As seating is limited, please RSVP to lawafterlife@yahoo.com by June 19. Reservations will be on a first come-first served basis.

May 16th Event with Marci Alboher

2007-05-07T11:08:00.000-04:00

Lawyering . . . In a Whole New Way

As part of her "One Person/Multiple Careers" tour, Marci will explore the legal field from an entirely different perspective: one where experienced attorneys can practice law AND pursue other interests outside of work. With real life examples, Marci will show how attorneys have achieved more fulfilling careers . . . and lives.

Link Restaurant, 120 E. 15th St., Union Square
Wednesday, May 16, 6:30-8:30PM
RSVP to Marci Alboher @: heymarci@gmail.com

Share Your Thoughts

2006-12-01T13:43:00.000-05:00

There was a comment to the Readers' Poll about the desire to remain in the public sector and the countervailing contraints of law school (and other) debt and the (appallingly) low salaries paid to public interest lawyers. For those of you who are considering taking leave of the law (or those of you who have already done so), do you think that you might consider continuing your legal career if it were economically feasible to stay in, or transfer to, the public sector? What are your thoughts about the options available to attorneys who want to practice in the NYC area?

2006-12-01T13:42:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone who came out to Stone Creek on Wednesday night. And a special thanks to our panelists and moderator -- Jeremy Blachman, Michael Melcher, Gretchen Rubin and Marci Alboher -- for so entertainingly sharing with the group their career paths and ideas for how to break into writing and publishing. And thanks also to Jon Pirozzi and the staff at Stone Creek.

We have a number of future events in the planning stages. No dates are set yet, but look for announcements in the coming weeks. We are always happy to hear your thoughts and suggestions for events you'd like for us to organize. You can contact us by commenting here or by emailing us at lawafterlife@yahoo.com.

2006-11-20T11:30:00.000-05:00

On November 29, 2006, starting at 7:30 PM, Law: The Afterlife will be hosting an event at Stone Creek Bar and Lounge (27th St. btwn 3rd/Lex Aves), in the back room. The event will begin with half an hour of cocktails and mingling, and at 8:00 we will be presenting a panel composed of lawyers-turned-writers.

This panel will be moderated by Marci Alboher, a lawyer-turned-freelance writer/speaker/coach, whose upcoming book, One Person/Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work/Life Success, will be published by Warner Books in February 2007. For more information about Marci, visit http://www.heymarci.com/.

The panel will feature Jeremy Blachman, AKA Anonymous Lawyer, whose work can be found on-line at http://anonymouslawyer.blogspot.com/, as well as in his new book, Anonymous Lawyer.

Other panelists include Michael Melcher, a lawyer turned executive coach who is also a writer. His published works include numerous articles; a collaboratively written novel, The Student Body (pub. in 1998 under the pen name "Jane Harvard"); and a forthcoming self-help book for lawyers, The Creative Lawyer. For more information about Michael, visit http://www.michaelmelcher.com/.

Gretchen Rubin, a former attorney who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and who has written three non-fiction books and is in the process of writing a fourth, will also be a panelist. For more on Gretchen, visit http://www.gretchenrubin.com/.

The panelists will address the challenges in moving from a form of writing plagued by legalese to less formalistic ways of writing, as well as different genres of writing, including fiction, non-fiction, blogging, articles and television writing. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask the panelists questions both during a formal Q&A session and post-panel while enjoying what Stone Creek's cash bar and food menu have to offer.

There is no charge or RSVP required. For more information, please contact us at lawafterlife@yahoo.com.

2006-10-17T15:03:00.000-04:00

Readers' Poll:* All things being equal (i.e., money/law school and other debt notwithstanding), what would you be doing with your life, professionally?

*Your responses to this and forthcoming readers' polls will help guide the planning of Law: The Afterlife events.

2006-10-10T14:29:00.000-04:00

We are in the process of putting together a couple of additional events. However . . . if you have any ideas for events you'd like to see happen, or if you know of someone (a former attorney who has transitioned into a different field) who you think would be a great speaker, please let us know. You can comment here, or email us directly at lawafterlife@yahoo.com

2006-09-14T18:14:00.000-04:00

For more information on the September 12, 2006 event, upcoming events, or just more on Law: The Afterlife, please email us at lawafterlife@yahoo.com.

2006-09-13T17:24:00.000-04:00

Our first event was held on September 12, 2006 at Stone Creek Bar & Lounge. This event was geared towards lawyers who are interested in transitioning into the food industry. The festivities included mingling and networking (and drinking), and featured Andrea Strong, a food writer and former attorney. Andrea shared with the crowd how she transitioned from law to food writing and took questions from the group. For more about Andrea, check out her website: http://thestrongbuzz.com/.

In addition, there were three other individuals at the event with diverse areas of expertise in the food industry who made themselves available to speak with the event participants:

David Friedman, a restaurant consultant, Suzanne Gannon, a freelance lifestyle writer, and Nicole Galluccio, a restaurant developer (and former tax attorney).

Michael Melcher, a former attorney who is now an executive coach and writer in New York City also attended the event and made himself available to speak with the attendees on a one-on-one basis (http://www.michaelmelcher.com/).