The
news
has
been
dominated
by
the
reckless
and
cruel
moves
of
the
fledgling
Trump
II
administration.
The
policy
devastation
left
in
their
wake
will
likely
last
decades,
but
there
is
also
a
more
personal
toll,
with
thousands
of
federal
employees
suddenly
out
of
work.
And
a
bunch
of
them
are
lawyers.
Already
former
federal
government
lawyers
have
taken
to
the
job
market,
saturating
the
lateral
market
—
particularly
in
Washington,
D.C.
Bloomberg
Law
reports
that
Biglaw
firms
are
inundated
with
applicants.
Resumes
are
flowing
from
lawyers
who
have
worked
at
the
Federal
Trade
Commission,
the
Consumer
Financial
Protection
Bureau,
and
Internal
Revenue
Service,
said
Kristin
Koehler,
managing
partner
of
Sidley
Austin’s
DC
office.
“There’s
high
numbers
of
them
and
really
extraordinary
talent
that’s
out
on
the
market
right
now,”
she
said.
And
it’s
not
like
it’s
just
Sidley
seeing
this
flood
of
resumes
—
Haley
Lelah,
global
director
of
talent
acquisition
and
integration
at
McDermott
Will
&
Emery,
said,
“We’re
seeing
probably
at
least
double
the
amount
of
usual
applicants.
This
is
definitely
a
unique
situation.”
Over
on
Fishbowl
newly
out
of
work
attorneys
are
looking
for
tips
to
make
their
resume
stand
above
the
rest.
They’ll
need
whatever
leg
up
they
can
find
too.
Because
as
Stephen
Springer,
managing
partner
of
recruiter
Major
Lindsey
Africa’s
DC
office,
notes,
candidates
are
not
in
the
best
position
to
negotiate
with
firms
when
they
don’t
have
a
book
of
business,
“There’s
only
so
many
dollars
that
they
can
put
forward
to
people
that
are
highly
skilled,
and
will
probably
be
very
successful
in
the
private
sector,
but
don’t
carry
an
immediate
book
of
business
with
them.”
Plus,
as
another
recruiter,
Justine
Donahue
of
Macrae,
observes,
when
it
comes
to
the
job
market,
“Supply
is
already
outweighing
demand.”
And
while
the
talent
glut
is
certainly
appealing
to
Biglaw
firms,
they
have
to
tread
carefully.
Because
many
of
the
federal
agencies
these
attorneys
hail
from
have
slowed
down
or
even
halted
enforcement.
Meaning
there
isn’t
going
to
be
a
ton
of
work
flowing
to
Biglaw
firms
in
these
practice
areas
either.
So
the
rank-and-file,
less-experienced
attorneys
are
having
the
hardest
time
riding
this
wave.
They’ll
have
to
be
out
there
grinding
and
networking,
figuring
out
just
how
disruptive
losing
their
federal
job
is
going
to
be
to
their
careers
(and
lives).
And
hoping
for
just
a
bit
of
luck.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].