Doom & Gloom Predictions

Back when the internet bubble was going nuts, I said that it was all an illusion and that the economy could not realistically sustain its tremendous growth. A year later, the internet bubble burst. When the stock market kept increasing dramatically over the last several years, I said that the entire stock market is "fake money" and that we put our money in and it artificially seems to go up but then could disappear into thin air anytime. And over the last several months, our money indeed disappared into thin air. So here are my predictions for 2009.

Starting in February/March, we will see massive layoffs at law firms. Despite all the town hall meetings where managing partners have been reassuring associates that they take a long-term view and that our jobs are not in danger, the fact is profits are way down, billable hours are impossible to come by and our jobs are in fact very much in danger. This is the reality I live with, despite friends and colleagues trying to persuade me it's not true.

And as I am faced with the prospect of large mortgage and student loan payments that won't go away even though my paycheck will, I am forced to worry about money. And I absolutely positively hate worrying about money. I thought that when I took a job as a corporate attorney, I was safe from having to worry about money. I knew I would never be rich, but I also thought that I would never be poor and that I had very good job security. Turns out that the legal industry is not immune, especially when our clients appear to dissolve overnight. BLECH.