Weeks before the presidential election, all of us bloggers continuously wrote about the crappy economy, Wall Street corruption, bankruptcy, unemployment, lay-offs and foreclosures. However, I must say that after Barack Obama was elected president, our tunes have changed.

What seemed disastrous now has a newfound hope-vibe attached to it and we are able to see that light at the end of this long, dark tunnel. Therefore, even during hard times, the bright sides are revealing themselves. For lawyers, the hiring scale has risen as they are desperately needed to execute layoffs in “every corner of Corporate America.” Now, layoffs are a real bummer for everyone but someone has to make sure the job is done and done right — fair, reasonable, and legal.

According to The National Law Journal, “layoffs gone wrong can trigger discrimination lawsuits, wrongful discharge claims and disparate-impact class actions.” However, with a great lawyer on board, things will run smoothly. Like I said, during difficult times, there’s always opportunities out there for all!

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OK…so, the economy is crashing but hope is suddenly among us. A handful of law firms, for example, are enthusiastic about using this financial slump to their advantage. With California’s alternative energy generation growing and the new state toxic chemical regulation, Cali’s “green rush” means new jobs for lawyers.

“California is a great market,” said Richard Gittleman, who moved from Washington six weeks ago and orchestrated the plan to bring five lawyers with him by the end of the year to help Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld’s large utility clients get into some of the renewable energy developments.

“The need is there, and we recognized in our own large client base a reluctance to jump into the renewables swimming pool because they didn’t understand it,” he said. Akin Gump also brought on Vic Fazio, a 20-year Democratic representative who represented the Sacramento, Calif., area, to lobby in Washington on energy issues, as well as Bill Paxton, a former Republican representative who represented the Buffalo, N.Y., area.

Many more firms are going to follow in Akin Gump’s footsteps. Change is in the air as doors are opening.

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Law firms are pinching pennies by boycotting an annual holiday party and giving that money to charities instead. According to The National Law Journal, “Foley & Lardner’s Orlando, Fla., office decided a couple of months ago not to hold its annual holiday party, which typically draws as many as 700 employees and clients, said Karen Keene, the regional marketing manager for the firm.

“The office will instead donate money to several charities serving seniors, handicapped people and families in need,” she said. “We are primarily doing it because we want to be sensitive to what’s happening in the community with the economy and we felt it was the right thing to do.”

In Orlando, GrayRobinson plans to donate $150,000 instead of throwing a big bash!

“It has always been a priority of GrayRobinson to give back,” said the firm’s founder, J. Charles Gray. “This year, we think that needs to be done on a larger scale to ensure those in need have the resources to weather these tough times.”

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Our economic crisis happened slowly and then abruptly. As building projects were being mapped out, no one saw into the future. With the financial tornado hitting, money disappeared into the violent wind and we all felt the aftermath, including building companies.

With multi-million dollar hotels, condominium’s and manufacturing building developments half completed, the question remains: Now what??

Deals fell through due to a lack of funds and no one knows where to go from here. U.S. financing has tightened and financiers, developers and contractors are left trying to pick up the pieces. Or rather, trying to decide who will do just that. These failed deals are resulting in litigation and as of right now, no one knows who should be held responsible.

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Our economy is melting away jobs for lawyers. Slow practice areas include real estate, mergers and acquisitions and capital markets. If you are a lawyer working in that area, beware. For example, at Chicago based Bell Boyd & Lloyd, 10 associates were let go.

“Like many firms, Bell Boyd is facing unprecedented market conditions and we are taking measures to ensure the firm’s efficient operation and growth,” said Managing Partner Nancy Bertogio in a prepared statement. “This is a belt-tightening measure that will put us in a better position to ride out the economic storm and remain competitive in what we expect will be a challenging business environment for law firms and our clients.”

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With the economy still sliding down a water slide, causing quite a BIG splash in the pool, which is effecting everyone in the water, you’d think that programs would grow, offering help to folks trying to grab a hold of the ledge and climb out of the pool. However, the opposite is happening. Throughout the country, legal aid programs are facing fund cuts of up to 50%.

“With the economy likely headed into a recession and coastal areas in Texas and Louisiana still struggling with the aftermath of hurricanes, the need for legal aid programs is stronger than ever,” reported the National Law Journal.

Legal aid is desperately needed by homeowners, as well, and not only is it becoming unavailable, law firm contributions could decrease as well. Firms are struggling just like everyone else and are being forced to cut their budget.

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The financial crisis that is upon us didn’t happen overnight (even though it feels that way) and it wasn’t a fluke accident. There are forces behind the downfall and those forces are under investigation. More specifically, the FBI are searching for who is responsible and while I’m guessing large groups of folks are partially to blame, it will pan out as it usually does…a few unfortunates will take the fall for an entire company.

According to The National Law Journal’s Abbe D. Lowell, “To begin with, public officials have a tendency to overstate the criminal wrongdoing as a cause of the crisis, in part to deflect blame for their own lack of proper oversight.

“Assigning blame correctly would have Congress (and the various regulatory agencies) accepting a large share for legislating for looser credit, deregulation of financial institutions, euphoric belief that financial institutions could police themselves and a wishful attitude that housing prices would constantly rise.

“It is a lot easier to explain to angry Americans how it was only the greedy and corrupt wrongdoers on Wall Street who were to blame, but this easier excuse leads to less than a proper assessment of the problem and its solution.”

Basically, while the blame-game will go on, it may be better to also pay close attention to how this kind of downfall can be prevented in the future. Thus, turning an economic crisis into something positive for the United States by working towards a better economy.

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So much for the hip-hip-hurrays on Wall Street. After it looked as if the economy was saved, things took a dramatic turn for the worse. Stocks fell fast and hard as brokers’ hopes and dreams were snatched away from them. A big drop in retail sales and a Federal Reserve report that said tight credit conditions are hurting businesses across the country definitely didn’t help the situation.

The word “recession” keeps popping up and as time passes, it really looks as if we are headed towards one. The Dow is down about 733 at the 8,577 level. Reported by the Federal Reserve in Wall Street’s little black book technically called their “beige book,” it had been discovered that the economy continued to slow in the early fall as financial and credit problems grew worse. Also, difficulties in obtaining loans have “choked growth in wide swaths of the economy.”

“Even though the banking sector may be returning to normal, the economy still isn’t. The economy continues to face a host of other problems,” said Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at ChannelCapitalResearch.com. “We’re in for a tough ride.”

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We don’t have to tell you about the stock market plunge. It’s all over the news with photos of brokers holding their heads in despair. What more is there to say? When it rains, it pours. Calling this Friday afternoon “Black Friday,” especially on Wall Street, relief isn’t yet in sight but it will come…It always comes, eventually.

According to President Bush, “We’re in this together and we’ll come through this together. Anxiety can feed anxiety, and that can make it hard to see all that’s being done to solve the problem.”

And what is being done, exactly?

The United States is exploring ways the government might inject billions into banks in exchange for ownership stakes. Britain offered to pour cash into its troubled banks in exchange for stakes in them - a partial nationalization. Also, a group of nations called the G20 will meet on Saturday evening. Dominating the discussion will be how the world’s finance officials and central bank presidents can better contain the spreading financial crisis

“Addressing these challenges requires the dramatic steps we are taking here in the United States and it requires strong international partnerships,” Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson said this week. “We must also take care to ensure that our actions are closely coordinated and communicated so that the action of one country does not come at the expense of others or the stability of the system as a whole.”

According to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the IMF (world’s financial firefighter), “these actions should help to restore trust and confidence in financial markets.”

Is she right?

We will see…But I think Americans are weary. We’ve lost faith in our leaders. Still, after a storm, the sun always comes back out. During both good and bad times, the one thing that you can always count on is change.

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Americans are shaking in their shoes as the shaky economy lacks stability and a promising near future. Therefore, folks are closely holding onto the cash in their wallets, fearful of what may come. Jobs are being lost by the hundreds of thousands and that could equal disaster for many of us. As a result, law firms are feeling the snowball effects of this economic crisis.

Since lawyers bill by the hour, collecting their paychecks is solely based on the clients ability to pay. With things becoming so tight, however, who knows if that will happen. It’s definitely a gamble and firms are feeling the heat. While the pressure is on to get paid, lawyers face a difficult dilemma. Attempting to receive a payment that was rightfully earned by them, they must also figure out how to be patient with their clients and remain flexible during this stressful time.

“It’s a balance that always exists, but in this market it becomes heightened,” said Paul Irving, co-chairman of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.

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