Axiom lawyer William explores what initially called him to the alternative legal service provider, his journey from discovery to semiconductor trade and technology law, and his passion for wooden cabinetmaking.
In August of 2023, William received the unwelcome news that has unfortunately been given to many in the legal profession over the past year or so. “When I found out my position at my former company was ending, it was kind of a shock,” he explains.
He wasn’t alone. According to Bloomberg Law, the U.S. legal workforce contracted for a second consecutive quarter in Q1 of 2024, with legal employment falling to the lowest level since Q1 of 2017. Legal Analyst Francis Boustany predicts that “increases in unemployment rates and decreases in employment levels for most of the legal field mean that many who are losing their legal jobs are looking for new ones rather than leaving the legal industry altogether.”
The layoff didn’t discourage William from the legal industry either. After William learned he had been laid off, one of his colleagues suggested he reach out to a friend who was working through Axiom and only had positive things to share.
From layoff to success despite budget reductions and hiring freezes
William explains his experience in the legal industry over the past several months is consistent with Axiom’s 2024 survey of 300 U.S. General Counsels (GCs), which found they are facing a “succession of roadblocks, including an average 11% reduction in their legal department budgets.” Over 60% have a high level of concern their legal teams won’t be able to invest in the talent and resources they need this year, and an even greater number of GCs (80%) foresee a hiring freeze.
For these reasons, many GCs and corporate counsels have felt compelled to turn to traditional law firms for help, which often ends up being incredibly costly. An overwhelming 100% of the corporate counsels surveyed reported challenges that caused them to regret engaging a traditional law firm, and all of them also agreed some of the work they sent to traditional law firms could have been done in-house if time and staffing bandwidth allowed.
Other GCs and corporate counsels have chosen the cost-effectiveness of alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) like Axiom to help address these challenges and have engaged high-quality legal talent like William, whose unique and specific skillset has been in high demand with clients since he joined the talent bench. He ended up being able to choose between two engagements and, despite his career taking an unexpected and at first unwelcome turn, he couldn’t be happier now.
“I was super, super unlucky to lose my job. But I have been equally lucky to get this role at Axiom,” William shares. And he’s staying busy, specializing in international trade in the semiconductor and technology industries, which have taken off significantly over the past several years.
William worked with the talent success team so they could better understand what kind of roles he was looking for and would want to take: “It just took a little bit for the right engagement to come along.” After taking a legal secondment engagement, he has now moved into a permanent role with the same company. “I would not have gotten these opportunities,” he continues, “had I not been at Axiom. The talent pool that applied for this role was super deep, undoubtedly. I am so fortunate.”
Axiom introduced its new permanent recruitment solutions earlier in 2024. By expanding its comprehensive suite of service offerings for in-house legal teams with the introduction of recruitment solutions, it can dramatically reduce time-to-hire and improve quality for top-caliber legal talent. Axiom’s bench has high-quality lawyers across 14 practice areas.
Driving business success in semiconductor trade and technology law
William didn’t discover what he describes as the “Big Law Pipeline” until he got into law school. Growing up overseas and coming to the U.S. in high school, he felt determined to create a comfortable life for himself, but “Big Law” didn’t necessarily feel like home. After law school, William started his career in discovery, which later became e-discovery.
Since moving into the practice areas of semiconductor trade and technology law, William has had the opportunity to help his client and current employer address complex legal challenges while helping to drive significant cost savings, ultimately positively affecting the business’s bottom line. He has been able to help streamline the licensing process for his company, allowing the in-house legal department to obtain necessary licenses efficiently and at a fraction of the cost compared to using a traditional law firm.
From drafting to approval, William has helped his employer navigate intricate licensing requirements, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards while optimizing resource allocation. He shares he is committed to efficiency despite handling a high volume of licenses requiring meticulous attention to detail.
The work William has been able to do for his client at the intersection of legal tasks and business strategy has helped position his company for continued future success and sustained growth. He’s appreciative to be able to continue to make a positive impact on the company in a permanent position.
Making an impact: Cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and building relationships
During his time with Axiom, William experienced first-hand some of the frustrations GCs and corporate counsels identified in Axiom’s 2024 GC report, including lack of cost-effectiveness, administrative management being time-consuming, and lack of business acumen. The legal department William is in had to stop working with the traditional law firm it once partnered with: “It was too expensive for them to do it. One of the reasons that it was expensive for them to do it was because they had to keep going back and forth with the business unit I support.”
“I imagine these lawyers are having to open the file, get reacquainted with the facts, get reacquainted with the people, spin for a little bit on how it's different from the other fifty matters they're working on,” William continues. “And I can just have meetings with people. I have the luxury of being able to focus on the business and the luxury of being able to develop a relationship with the client that is not black and white. That's an advantage over working with a traditional law firm.”
William appreciates that he can help the legal department he supports by handling a large volume of work and meeting a critical need for the company: “One of the great things about my practice area is it’s super clear cut what the objective is and how you go about getting it.”
Achieving work-life balance amid legal industry challenges
When William first started at Axiom, he made the decision to enter only one engagement despite it not being 40 hours a week. His decision was twofold: not only would it allow him to attain a better work-life balance, but it would also allow him to focus solely on that engagement, ultimately leading him to be able to accept a permanent position not long after experiencing a layoff. The legal hiring process is often slow, taking anywhere from months to a year or longer: “I wanted to perform well, and I felt I would be most effective if I was able to only focus on them.”
William likes to unwind by playing golf and engaging in his hobby of wooden cabinetmaking, which he was able to spend some time working on in between jobs. During his time at Axiom, William enjoyed the work-life balance that being able to do remote legal work afforded him, and he knows acclimating to a hybrid schedule will take some time: “I'm kind of a homebody, so I love working from home.”
Building bridges: Reflecting on career growth and future opportunities
William views Axiom as a bridge between a job that didn’t quite work out to a step up in his career. For others, he acknowledges, it’s a way to escape the interoffice politics that tend to plague traditional law firms or a way to ease into retirement. “The person I learned about Axiom from is nearing retirement,” he shares. “He said to me, ‘Axiom is perfect for me because I just want to work for a while until I feel comfortable enough retiring without needing to bring in a book of business or be part of a law firm management structure.’”
He describes the range of opportunities within Axiom as “very attractive” and wishes he had heard about the ALSP sooner: “Thanks to Axiom, my current employer was looking at my work.” It’s something he doesn’t think would have happened for him otherwise.
If anything changes in the future, William says he has no reservations about returning to Axiom: "Once an Axiomite, always an Axiomite.”
For those who are on the fence about joining Axiom, William asks, “What do you have to lose? Absolutely nothing but have tons to gain. Do your due diligence and do your research, but I am so thankful I took the chance.”
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