Scramble to Get There, Then Speaking Out Against It - Why Are Ines Pinheiro and More Creating So Much Noise?

Did Ines Pineiro's unique background give her the perspective and courage to voice her concerns about beginning a career at the UK branch of law firm DLA Piper? She has completed training. 

At one time she had been a cleaning woman able only to speak a few words of English. Then she had been a Miss Portugal contestant. Along the way she learned not only English but how not to think in Spanish because she knows that in her new line of work she will have to understand how the British elite thinks.

Lately Pineiro has been busy sharing her concerns on LinkedIn. In an interview with Brit legal tabloid RollonFriday she noted her fear about:

" ... what corporate does to people. It’s a systemic problem. That is the reason I’ve decided to talk about this because we see a lot about impostor syndrome but not much about compulsive overachieving. Especially for junior professionals.”

She makes clear that she is not referring explicitly to DLA Piper. But, of course, the knock on what the DLA Pipers seem, in general, to be all about could resonate in the upper tiers of that law firm.

The question many of us have wondered since the resistance in US law firms by junior lawyers against the Trump administration is this: After investing much of their youth jumping through hoops to get where they are what motivates taking this kind of risk? Some have even gone further and resigned. Or pushed it to the point of actually being fired.  

Okay, there are those like Skadden's Brenna Trout Frey who are able to move on to other employment, although probably not as lucrative. That's even after appearing on the high-profile "60 Minutes" and articulating why she exited Skadden. Incidentally, she even took on Skadden head Jeremy London. 

In my communications with Trump administration resistor Ryan Powers he admits he still is unemployed after being fired at Davis Polk but finds it okay to be in limbo. He could be catapulting into a career as an author. His publishing machine, including on Substack, is well-oiled. 

But many others could find they wind up in nowhereville. For instance, one lawyer who sued a Fortune 50 about gender issues and received a settlement had to change careers. Essentially they were blackballed. The husband divorced them. So much for a profile in courage. 

I have a hunch there are new kinds of variables in all this. Those include the implications for employment and career mobility of Generative AI as it's being implemented at law firms. Could junior lawyers be fatalistic that they are on "short time" in these high-paying prestigious jobs. So, what the hell. 

See, I experienced this: As the demand for university humanities professors was collapsing some of us Ph.D. students in that niche shifted from being dedicated monk-like creatures pursuing academic excellence to aggressive activists. Decades later Yale instructor William Deresiewicz detailed the profile of those kinds of university frightened conforming success strivers in the book "Excellent Sheep."

Lawfuel documents what Paul, Weiss chair Brad Karp had projected many months ago. That is, that Gen AI could reduce the number of junior lawyers. 

Lawfuel puts it this way: Junior lawyers will become an "endangered species." It notes that AI already is taking on the entry-level work that helped train new lawyers.

Law firms, as with myriad other sectors, could restructure from the pyramid to the diamond. The bulge in the middle will be with seasoned players with enough experience to get the job done but not too much to burden the business with premium compensation. In law firms what's protected is the amount of Profit Per Equity Partner.

Therefore, young lawyers have not so much to lose by asserting their values. Professional anonymous networks Reddit and Fishbowl chronicle how tough it is currently for those to lateral to other law firm jobs or to in-house positions. A&O Shearman has already delayed start dates for the entry-level jobs. Will other law firms also announce a delay? And eventually rescind job offers?

In the old days we Boomers called that "noisy exits" when we found ourselves on the wrong side of the Law of Supply and Demand. What the hell, we had taken so much crap. We faced the ordeal of having to find another career path. We deserved to create such attention-getting good-bye rituals. In the career classic "Necessary Endings," executive coach Henry Cloud sees the need for a ritual when forced into radical change. No, though, he doesn't advocate the noise. 

There's verification from recent Stanford University research of the ongoing wipe-out of entry-level employment in fields such as accounting and customer service. 

Well, there it is. And here you are. You had to be smart to scramble to get where you are. That means you should also be smart enough to pick up if your investment of blood, sweat and tears, along with hefty educational expenses, is about to collapse. So, what will you do before you have no choice but to reset? 

LABOR DAY 2025 ON ALL THAT:

https://janegenovaintuitivecareercoaching.blogspot.com/2025/08/school-bells-ringing-for-now-but-what.html

Thrown off your game, maybe the first time since you started working? You made all the right moves and then the world moved in another direction.

Intuitive Coaching. Special expertise with transitions, reskilling and aging. Psychic/tarot readings, upon request. Complimentary consultation with Jane Genova (Text 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com). Yes, test out the chemistry. There’s no risk.