Your Unemployed Lawyer may finally be smart enough to understand that it really is better to be lucky than smart. Hard work, talent, skill, and ability may add up to nothing in the face of pure, blind luck. Luck will win out every time. The luck of the lazy, the luck of the low-key, the luck of the charming, the luck of the good-looking, the luck of being in the right place at the right time will all kick the pants off the honest and earnest. Think of Lana Turner at her legendary Schraft’s lunch counter..In the world of theatre, films, actors, coaches, and casting agents, there’s a much-used line: “It’s not you; it’s IT”. This is not at all the same thing as “It’s business, not personal.” [2] That, I have come to the conclusion, means “It’s completely personal; we don’t want you in our business; and if somebody’s going to take the fall, it’s you”. Or something to that effect. At any rate, “it’s personal enough that I have no compunctions about swatting you like a bug”. We don’t always say what we mean and we don’t always mean what we say. And we frequently hear only what we want to hear.

No. “It’s not you; it’s IT,” is a tip of the hat to the lucky and an acknowledgement that, at least for today, you are not one of them.  IT means that you may have given a brilliant audition, but the director wants a small blond surfer-type while you are tall and dark. IT means that you are unconnected, while your rival for the role is the daughter of the hottest cameraman in Hollywood. IT means that, as a young actor, you get lucky enough to perform On the Street Where You Live [3] in the movie of My Fair Lady [4], but that you fly under the radar for about twenty years until you burst back on the scene as the best Sherlock Holmes the world has ever seen. IT means that you “can’t sing—can dance a little”. IT means a lot of things.

Just to clarify—IT and talent are not mutually exclusive. Think of all the very successful actors you like. They have or have had both. Think of all the employed lawyers you like. It’s the same thing. At one point or another in their careers, IT allowed them to put their talents to work. IT is a very powerful force..I suspect that a lot of unemployed lawyers today have heard the “It’s not personal; it’s business” line recently, and that they’ve heard what the speaker meant to say and, in fact did say. I suspect equally strongly that many have heard it, and that they’ve heard what the speaker actually said, while what the speaker meant was “It’s not you; it’s IT”. Some people may have even thought they heard the business/personal line, when what the speaker really said and meant was, “It’s not you; it’s IT”.

When firms let entire real estate and M&A groups go right now, it’s IT. If you’re the last one left from a group that has already sailed away, it’s IT as far as the firm goes, but probably “B not P” [5] as far as your former group. If you’ve been searching for a job for months or years, it’s IT in this environment. If you’ve recently been offered a job, it’s IT in this environment. Make sure you hear what the speaker means to say, not what you fear or hope he is saying.

Having IT is a wonderful thing. I think that everybody gets to have IT at least once in a lifetime. Maybe you’ll never be a movie star or corner office partner; but maybe your wife chose you over any other man. Maybe you pulled a drowning girl out of a frozen lake. Maybe you have friends who always stand by you..You never know when IT is going to come calling. Think of Jeremy Brett (from Freddy to Sherlock). Think of Fred Astaire; need I say more? I can’t really advise whiling your time away waiting at Starbucks. I can’t really advise just waiting for anything, even if you can still find a lunch counter.  But, hey, it certainly worked for Lana.

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[1] Focus Features, 2003, directed by Sophia Coppolla, starring Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson..

[2] The Godfather, Alfran Productions, 1972, directed by Francis Ford Coppolla, starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton.

[3] My Fair Lady, Warner Bros. Pictures, 1964, directed by George Cukor, starring Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison.

[4] Id.

[5] Godfather.