Laid off, not sure what to do

Hey peeps,

Just got the call today from the group head. Told me it’s not my fault but my hours are bad and they’ll give the partner I work for until Jan 31 to “bring more work in for me“ or I’m toast. I even brought a client to the firm, so dk what else I could’ve done.

US lawyer (also EU qualified), JD + LLM, fluent in 3 languages and learning a 4th. Also currently studying for a 3rd bar. Working in Germany doing US corp law, but not German or German qualified. Was told they’d have kept me if I was locally qualified. I took this job after I got laid off as part of a mass culling from a NY BL firm, where I did cap markets as a K-JD for around 2 years. Basically was hesitant to take this job but could get nothing else. I‘ve had this job for just under 6 months, after which it’s hard to lay someone off in Germany, which is why they said they’re doing this now.

Firm said they’d sign a letter of recommendation for me making it clear I wasn’t fired for cause, and partners at my previous firm have said they’d also vouch for me, so hopefully my CV isn’t an auto-reject yet? I’m an EU and Canadian citizen, open to working anywhere doing anything. Open to advice, pointers and even referrals if anyone’s generous. Guess my no. 1 question is, how screwed am I?

Author: Mr_Cleanest