They have there own case load. Back to my point, pick one area of law, learn it well don't try to do the rest. Still don't know a damn thing about criminal law. Guess what, doesn't matter, because I don't take criminal cases. New attorneys work like slaves almost everywhere, and they are lucky to get the chance.
Jobs are scarce everywhere.
Of Counsel means different things to different people. Most likely, the way you describe it is that the client will remain under his firm. You do the work, he does the administrative. He'll bill the client and give you a cut. You'll have the same level of malpractice liablity as if the client came to you directly, but he'll have some incentive to pay attention to what you are doing.