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Unemployed Lawyers, Solo Practice University, the Last Time the Baby Boom Was Poor, and the Gig Economy

By Victoria Pynchon

We need an open source solution to lawyer unemployment.  If I had time for a post this morning, I'd write a great creative plea for an open source solution to lawyer unemployment.  It's all right here in my head this morning.  But I don't have time so here are my random thoughts with a plea to send me ideas and links, either by way of the comments section or via email.

Here goes:

the gig economy.

Solo Practice University.

the last time the baby boom was poor, it was also:

entrepreneurial:  candles, belts, "head" shops, collectives, free schools, credit unions based on affiliation (i.e., the Women's Federal Credit Union at a time when we still couldn't get credit cards in our own names); crash pads; food co-ops; the Diggers; "alternative" social service agencies funded by grants and existing federal program assistance (i.e., Vista volunteers; federal revenue sharing funds); "free" press . . . . more from my baby boomer readers please inventive - this category probably entirely overlaps with the first one largely unemployed or under-employed while pursuing greater interests expert at navigating federal benefits for medical services and dietary needs (food stamps) unashamed to: ask friends for help use local, state and federal benefits for the poor, knowing that we would eventually pay these back in taxes over a lifetime shop at Army-Navy stores generous with our resources; "yes you can" "crash at my pad" borrow a little "bread" have dinner at my place join my collective ("network") work at the co-op send your kids to our free school get a loan from our credit union industrious all this generosity meant that people who could do did those who were good at getting grants got them those with medical skills shared them those with organizational skills organized those with contacts shared them socially conscious we didn't envy those with more than us or look down on those with less than us we tapped the rich (please can you contribute) and provided services to the poor if we didn't like the way the government was doing something, we didn't just protest (a thousand documentaries on the sixties to the contrary) we got up in the morning and formed an alternative to the governmental or existing societal organizations that we believed were not serving the needs of ourselves and our communities  we believed we were part of a tribe and we were loyal to it and to one another very very young we made a lot of mistakes (think:  Jane Fonda:  Hanoi) we were ridiculously overly optimistic about our own ability to change the world we were overly pessimistic about the good of the society we were born into we were arrogant we were brave we were not risk averse were were opininated we were fractious

OK.  So now we're here.  What are WE going to DO about it???????

Thoughts

no lawyer should be "unemployed" PERIOD the "gig" economy:  several streams of income F--k the "experts" the law isn't keeping up with the problems lawyers are experts at solving the adversarial system - 18th century dispute resolution technology - is not fast or flexible enough to efficiently and effectively solve 21st century conflicts ("conflict": a struggle over scarce resources and/or a struggle to impose control over the standards, values, rules, etc. of the society) when the times get weird, the weird turn pro find a way to help markets in need creative solutions to "legal" problems so they don't have to SUE THEIR MARKET (NEWSPAPERS) /1 think like an entrepreneur not like an employee did I mention Solo Practice University?  it's not just for solo practitioners; it's for the new wave of lawyers whose task is to re-structure the system so that it works for all of us you did it when you were, oh, 16, 20, 25, 30 . . . do it now Network!!!

More later.  I have a gig.

_______________

1/  "Who reads newspapers, mom?"

     "Bloggers, honey."

Full post as published by Settle It Now Negotiation Blog on March 02, 2009 (boomark / email).