Resume Gaps and Some other resume/CL questions

I have a big problem.

I have a close to two year gap on my resume. I think it is the reason I haven't received a SINGLE interview.

I am an attorney and I lost my job May of 09. Moved to Florida, couldn't find anything and came back here in September 2010 when I started sending resumes. In that time, I did get pregnant and have a baby.

My MIL thinks I should say that I was practicing for myself and taking research/writing assignments and in my CL, say I left work to care for my mother who had health issues (she did, but this is not true)

What should I do? I can't keep waiting here and not getting any interviews, but I also don't want to get caught in a lie.

How do I fill the gap or at least address it? Everything I am doing has been completely useless. Also doesn't help that my experience is mainly in family law and it is very narrow.

I feel like I am never going to be employed as an attorney again

Re: Resume Gaps and Some other resume/CL questions

Could you say that you took time to 'focus on family'?

My sister was laid off in Nov '09 and had a similar gap....she decided to call it her 'Maternity leave' -- even though her twins were already 3 years old.

Once she re-labeled it as a maternity leave and she updated her cover letter to say she was looking to get back into the workforce after focusing on her family, she strted getting interviews. It might just be a coincidence/timing, but it worked for her.

Re: Resume Gaps and Some other resume/CL questions

I know lawyers who have 1-3 year gaps on their resume and had trouble getting interviews because of it, what they did was actually hold themselves out as solos, ie John Doe can't find a job so he puts on his resume "Law Offices of John Doe" - general practitioner.

This way, it comes across as if you actually went out on your own and either you didnt like it, it didn't work out, but at least you weren't spending that time just sitting on your behind doing nothing...

Lots of - the job market for attorneys is competitive and gets even more so every year..