Super Lawyers, Ted Baxter and the News about Millennials
This week Law360, a publication we recommend highly, published its “Top Attorneys Under 40 in 2026” edition. These are the “rising stars” among law firm lawyers. A different legal publication puts out its Super Lawyers edition every year for lawyers regardless of their age.
To be a Rising Star or Super Lawyer, you have to be pretty darn good at your job. You have to have earned the respect of your peers and superiors and gone through a rigorous screening process. Yes, to make these lists, you have to be a really good lawyer.
Then why have so many Super Lawyers and Top Lawyers Under 40 become clients of Career Strategies Group, career coaches for lawyers, to help them find alternative legal careers?
It’s because they don’t like their jobs, that’s why!
It is tough for some people to understand, and tougher to actually do anything about it, but you can be very good at something that you do not enjoy doing! Many of the lawyers for whom I have been a career coach — especially the litigators — were excellent at their jobs. Even gifted. But they didn’t like going to work most days, and felt unfulfilled going home most evenings.
It is OK even for Rising Star and Super Lawyers to want to enjoy their jobs. And the truth is that if they, like you, have what it takes to be good at law, they have what it takes to be good at something else! Not all of you believe that, but it’s true. Think about it …
Are You Copying Ted Baxter?
I wrote about cover letters in my last newsletter, but have some additional thoughts to share about this under-appreciated but very important job search tool.
If you remember The Mary Tyler Moore Show, then you should recall blowhard newscaster Ted Baxter. When asked about his background, Ted would begin by saying, “It all started on a 5,000 watt radio station in Fresno.”
Many of you mistakenly start your cover letters and recruiter letters that way. To wit: “As you can see from my attached resume, I attended Fordham University School of Law then joined the firm of …blah blah & blah.” Intros like that are not going to help you. No one has time to read all of that stuff. It is boring, and no one cares! What they want to know is what can you do for them?
You want to start your cover letter with a grabber lead that tells the reader — in an instant — why they should hire you. Give them your best sales points right up front. And don’t tell them what your resume will tell them!
Then the question becomes “how do you send the cover letter?” There are two ways.
Version 1 is to attach the cover letter to the email, but have a two sentence introduction as the body of the email. The second sentence being that your cover letter is attached. The first sentence should be what I call the 10-second introduction — I don’t teach this one often, but it has its purpose. Draft up one sentence that describes your qualifications. You can use a modification of the lead sentence in your cover letter. It has to be intriguing enough to make the reader want to open the attachment.
Version 2 is to use the actual cover letter as the body of the email, but note at the end that, for the convenience of the reader, you have attached a copy of the letter. This is the option that I, being highly experienced in career coaching for lawyers, most often recommend.
Recruiters and hiring managers — especially recruiters! — don’t like to spend time reading then thinking about what they have read. They want correspondence that is short, with the potential benefits to their clients clearly spelled out.
Make it easy for them to understand your value!
Good News for Middle-Aged Professionals – Bad News for Younger Ones
According to The Washington Post, the average new hire in 2025 was 42 years old. This information is based on an analysis by a workforce data company, Revelio. The 2025 age is up from the average age of 40.5 years in 2022 and 40 years in 2016. The bad news is the share of newly hired workers age 25 and younger went from 14.9% in 2022 to a paltry 8.8% in 2025. There are going to be a lot of Class of 2026 law school grads waiting tables this summer.
#careersforlawyers #jobsearch #careercoachforlawyers #careerchange #inhousecounseljobs
Bruce Blackwell has been named at the top of the 2026 list of “The 10 Best Career Coaches in New York City” by Digital Reference, an online reference publication, and has been shortlisted for nomination for ‘Top Alternative Careers Solutions 2026’ by Management HR magazine, a leading publication whose mission is to advance human resource practices and workforce leadership. Blackwell has also been called a “Dean of Career Counselors for Lawyers” by the New York State Bar Association.
If you are an attorney or executive and have been thinking about “what else is out there?” get in touch with him for a virtual cup of coffee. In a confidential, no-cost call, you can discuss your situation and get expert career advice. To schedule a call, click here: https://live.vcita.com/site/bruce.blackwell
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