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The Jobless Lawyer's Handbook: How to Get Hired as a Lawyer
Law school teaches you how to be a lawyer━not how to land a job as a lawyer. The Jobless Lawyer's How to Get Hired as a Lawyer teaches you step-by-step how to land a job as a lawyer. When the book's author, Brian Potts, was in law school, he applied to work at every top 100 law firm in the U.S.-and he received form rejection letters from all of them. None of them even interviewed him. Now a partner at one of those law firms, Brian scraped his way to the top using many of the methods in this book.
Be this book is blunt. Some might call it crass. That's intentional. You might not agree with some of the book's recommendations and approaches, and that's fine. But hopefully you'll come away from this book having landed your dream job. That's the goal. In fact, this book comes with a If you haven't gotten a job as a lawyer within a reasonable amount of time after reading his book (and you've passed a bar exam), Brian will give you your money back.
Be this book is blunt. Some might call it crass. That's intentional. You might not agree with some of the book's recommendations and approaches, and that's fine. But hopefully you'll come away from this book having landed your dream job. That's the goal. In fact, this book comes with a If you haven't gotten a job as a lawyer within a reasonable amount of time after reading his book (and you've passed a bar exam), Brian will give you your money back.
136 pages, Paperback
Published December 17, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 21, 2025
Extremely helpful tips to land a job by any person, specifically for lawyers. It’s structured and written in a way that you can start applying these principles from day 1 as soon as you finish reading it.
Highly recommend for anyone looking to land their dream job!
Highly recommend for anyone looking to land their dream job!
February 5, 2022
First, a disclaimer: I know the author and consider him a good friend. When I started in BigLaw, he was a junior associate a few years ahead of me and served as a mentor. As we went through the 2008 recession, and I worked my way down an internal contact list I had developed to hit people up for work, Potts was the one person who took the time to find billable projects for me to do. Not only did that keep me afloat (and out of the lay-off pool that hit so many of my peers), but also it introduced me to a particular client--where I later jumped ship to join. He has stayed in the law firm world, and we've hired him repeatedly to help us on stuff because he's a good lawyer and a good person (notwithstanding his affinity for Louisville basketball).
Brian provided me a free review copy of his book. I tried hard to talk him out of it, as (1) my experience with lawyers trying to write books is that most suck, and (2) I feel compelled to be honest when I review things. I didn't want to say bad things about the book, but he insisted that I take a look.
So I read it. And liked it.
I'll start with the good: there's a stark difference in perception between how much money people think lawyers make, and how much money lawyers actually make. It's a heavily bifurcated, bimodal market (particularly for junior lawyers), where the median salary tends to be the salary you're least likely to make. Basically, you have a few thousand people who go to top 14 law schools and will get a job with a starting salary of $205k plus bonus, and then you have 33,000 graduates a year who are likely going to struggle to pay back massive student loans on a $50-60k salary. You don't have much in-between. I strongly suspected Brian would write a feel-good book encouraging people to chase their dreams without much critical analysis, but I was wrong. He calculates a (confusingly named for the stats-minded) "Z-score" to help you understand where you shake out in the market, and then uses that as a guide to figure out your approach and how high to aim. It's harsh; it's brilliant; it's correct. People don't benefit by getting the sugar-coated truth, and he speaks directly to those concerns in a real, relatable way. That dose of reality is what you need to have an informed job search.
Brian doesn't shy away from some of the challenges of being a lawyer: imposter syndrome, overwhelming fear of failure, the career challenges that can come from a single typo. His advice is a bitter pill to swallow, but it's something people should be aware of before investing $200k and three years of their life in law school.
Though not applicable to all, if you're considering an LLM, his chapter on that decision is spot-on. You should do it if (1) you're a foreigner wanting to practice in the US; (2) you specialize in tax; or (3) you can massively trade up and sanitize a lower-ranked JD. Otherwise, it's a complete waste of time and money. Again, he doesn't shy away from telling you the truth the way most legal guides I've seen do.
Finally, his advice on networking is eminently practical. It's something anyone can do (and reminds me a lot of Never Eat Alone). Pay particular attention to the fact that no one minds if you e-mail them out of the blue and ask for 20 minutes of their day. Your worst-case scenario is that they ignore you, and that's not much of a downside. You should put his strategies into practice, and I guarantee you will see results.
Now for what I didn't like:
Early in the book he talks about cleaning up your language to start acting and talking like an adult (along with dressing like a professional, among other things). I have mixed feelings about this advice. On the one hand, professional, white shoe America demands a certain level of decorum, and if you can't make it through a sentence without swearing or saying "like", you'll need to clean that up. On the other hand, I disagree with the idea that speaking a non-standard American dialect is a career-killer (or that it should be). Like Brian, I grew up speaking a non-standard dialect (for me, a version of North Midland) and felt a lot of pressure to change that. In retrospect, after reading people like Steven Pinker and John McWhorter, I wish I would have resisted that urge and kept the twang, realizing now that the selection of a 1960s New England dialect as "correct" American English for professionals is bizarre and elitist.
Put differently, to the extent he says you should dial back your swearing until you get a feel for the room, I agree. But to the extent he says you should sand the edges off your accent to palate people--eh, I disagree.
Finally, his book is addressed to people already in law school or who have already graduated, not to people who are considering law school. If you've already spent $200k and the opportunity cost of three years, this is a fantastic book on how to make the most of that investment. That said, it's not a guide to the wisdom of taking that plunge in the first place. Though I don't disagree with what he says on this point, I do think the book could be stronger by pointing out that there are some significant risks to making that decision. If you're considering law school, I'd recommend looking elsewhere for guidance.
* * *
In sum, Brian writes a solid book. It does exactly what it says it will, and it does so in a relatable way. I recommend.
Brian provided me a free review copy of his book. I tried hard to talk him out of it, as (1) my experience with lawyers trying to write books is that most suck, and (2) I feel compelled to be honest when I review things. I didn't want to say bad things about the book, but he insisted that I take a look.
So I read it. And liked it.
I'll start with the good: there's a stark difference in perception between how much money people think lawyers make, and how much money lawyers actually make. It's a heavily bifurcated, bimodal market (particularly for junior lawyers), where the median salary tends to be the salary you're least likely to make. Basically, you have a few thousand people who go to top 14 law schools and will get a job with a starting salary of $205k plus bonus, and then you have 33,000 graduates a year who are likely going to struggle to pay back massive student loans on a $50-60k salary. You don't have much in-between. I strongly suspected Brian would write a feel-good book encouraging people to chase their dreams without much critical analysis, but I was wrong. He calculates a (confusingly named for the stats-minded) "Z-score" to help you understand where you shake out in the market, and then uses that as a guide to figure out your approach and how high to aim. It's harsh; it's brilliant; it's correct. People don't benefit by getting the sugar-coated truth, and he speaks directly to those concerns in a real, relatable way. That dose of reality is what you need to have an informed job search.
Brian doesn't shy away from some of the challenges of being a lawyer: imposter syndrome, overwhelming fear of failure, the career challenges that can come from a single typo. His advice is a bitter pill to swallow, but it's something people should be aware of before investing $200k and three years of their life in law school.
Though not applicable to all, if you're considering an LLM, his chapter on that decision is spot-on. You should do it if (1) you're a foreigner wanting to practice in the US; (2) you specialize in tax; or (3) you can massively trade up and sanitize a lower-ranked JD. Otherwise, it's a complete waste of time and money. Again, he doesn't shy away from telling you the truth the way most legal guides I've seen do.
Finally, his advice on networking is eminently practical. It's something anyone can do (and reminds me a lot of Never Eat Alone). Pay particular attention to the fact that no one minds if you e-mail them out of the blue and ask for 20 minutes of their day. Your worst-case scenario is that they ignore you, and that's not much of a downside. You should put his strategies into practice, and I guarantee you will see results.
Now for what I didn't like:
Early in the book he talks about cleaning up your language to start acting and talking like an adult (along with dressing like a professional, among other things). I have mixed feelings about this advice. On the one hand, professional, white shoe America demands a certain level of decorum, and if you can't make it through a sentence without swearing or saying "like", you'll need to clean that up. On the other hand, I disagree with the idea that speaking a non-standard American dialect is a career-killer (or that it should be). Like Brian, I grew up speaking a non-standard dialect (for me, a version of North Midland) and felt a lot of pressure to change that. In retrospect, after reading people like Steven Pinker and John McWhorter, I wish I would have resisted that urge and kept the twang, realizing now that the selection of a 1960s New England dialect as "correct" American English for professionals is bizarre and elitist.
Put differently, to the extent he says you should dial back your swearing until you get a feel for the room, I agree. But to the extent he says you should sand the edges off your accent to palate people--eh, I disagree.
Finally, his book is addressed to people already in law school or who have already graduated, not to people who are considering law school. If you've already spent $200k and the opportunity cost of three years, this is a fantastic book on how to make the most of that investment. That said, it's not a guide to the wisdom of taking that plunge in the first place. Though I don't disagree with what he says on this point, I do think the book could be stronger by pointing out that there are some significant risks to making that decision. If you're considering law school, I'd recommend looking elsewhere for guidance.
* * *
In sum, Brian writes a solid book. It does exactly what it says it will, and it does so in a relatable way. I recommend.
October 5, 2022
This book has valuable lessons that anyone regardless of industry should know.
Most of the lessons provided in the book we figure out while making our way in life. However, having this knowledge before hand, can give you a competitive advantage and a boost in your ambitions.
I highly recommend this book to anyone regardless employed or unemployed or whether still studying or just graduated.
Thank you, Brian, for sharing your knowledge and experience!
Most of the lessons provided in the book we figure out while making our way in life. However, having this knowledge before hand, can give you a competitive advantage and a boost in your ambitions.
I highly recommend this book to anyone regardless employed or unemployed or whether still studying or just graduated.
Thank you, Brian, for sharing your knowledge and experience!
December 20, 2021
Direct and honest perspective
Potts shares his valuable insight in a direct and honest way that gets right to the point. Whether you agree with the tactics, there is great value in the underlying strategies and principles. Would recommend to all law students and to attorneys who didn’t land their dream job just yet.
Potts shares his valuable insight in a direct and honest way that gets right to the point. Whether you agree with the tactics, there is great value in the underlying strategies and principles. Would recommend to all law students and to attorneys who didn’t land their dream job just yet.
November 4, 2024
I've been following Brian for several years now, and I've had the chance to speak to him both in person and 1 on 1 on zoom. The advice he presents here is not only valuable but a lot more to the point than I think we receive as law students and young attorneys.
I started implementing his networking strategy in the summer when I was doing document review, but since starting my full-time attorney job, I let it fall off, and now i'm ready to pick it back up.
Looking forward to his organization's next event in town!
I started implementing his networking strategy in the summer when I was doing document review, but since starting my full-time attorney job, I let it fall off, and now i'm ready to pick it back up.
Looking forward to his organization's next event in town!
February 21, 2022
Fast, informative read
Brian Potts succinctly and efficiently tells new lawyers what I learned the long, hard way. Packed with practical advice that is easy to implement, I predict that I will return to this book again throughout my legal career.
Brian Potts succinctly and efficiently tells new lawyers what I learned the long, hard way. Packed with practical advice that is easy to implement, I predict that I will return to this book again throughout my legal career.
July 17, 2022
Rather basic information. Most of it should be common sense but I guess it isn’t.
August 30, 2025
Wonderful advice, tips and tricks!
Great book for anyone in the legal profession. I look forward to implementing the strategies it provides and sharing this with my colleagues.
Great book for anyone in the legal profession. I look forward to implementing the strategies it provides and sharing this with my colleagues.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews