Hit by the economy? What will a prospective employer say?

If your job was impacted by the economy, how will prospective employers react? They are generally pretty understanding. Here are the top reasons I’ve seen employers accept for lawyers to change jobs/have a gap:

• economic downturn, e.g., last in/first out, the product/team supported was hit, or your startup became unstable.
• headquarters/office move, and you didn’t want to leave the Bay Area.
• acquisition of your company. Lots of teams are shed at acquisition/integration.
• management change, e.g., the company had X CEOs in Y years, the manager who recruited you to the company left.
• change in company direction/vision.
• recruitment by client/manager to the next company. This actually speaks well of you because no one brings over a dud.
• change in practice area. This can happen in a bad economic environment if a lawyer is retooling or switching to an adjacent field due to supply and demand, e.g., an IP litigator switching to tech transactions/product/privacy or an employment lawyer switching to compliance.
• family emergency now resolved.

You will likely be asked what happened, so prepare a short, direct explanation that shows it wasn’t your fault and that doesn’t throw shade on anyone. Also, try to pick up some relevant work (e.g., for old clients or for startups), coursework (e.g., CIPP certification), or skills (e.g., programming classes), to fill any gaps and account for time.