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Broaden Job Search, Maybe Go Solo, Officials Tell Worried Law Students

Posted Mar 11, 2009 2:49 PM CST
By Martha Neil

As a growing number of major law firms delay start dates for incoming associates and make record-breaking layoffs (some 2,700 have been announced since Feb. 27), it's obvious that worried law students have good reason to be concerned about finding work.

For the first time, there wasn't enough employer interest this year to permit Texas Tech University School of Law in Lubbock to host the usual spring off-campus recruiting sessions in Dallas, Houston and Austin, reports Texas Lawyer. "It was a shock," says Julie Coffman Doss, the 420-student law school's assistant dean for career services.

She and other law school career-placement officials are urging students to stay positive and broaden their search, concerning both summer jobs and career positions. At Texas Tech, for instance, the career services office has arranged a new series of seminars about setting up a solo practice after graduation, the legal publication writes in a lengthy article about the situation in Texas.

Looking for work at smaller firms, outside major cities and in positions related to prior work experience may also be productive, Doss and others advise.

"The key for us is to simply leave no stone unturned," says Reginald Green, assistant dean for career services at South Texas College of Law in Houston. "Law students now are looking at the law degree . . . much broader than simply the practice of law."

Students scrambling to find work right now, though, shouldn't lose sight of the future, says Karen Sargent. She is assistant dean and director of career services at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas.

While reassessing and repositioning themselves for a job search in the midst of an economic crisis, she advises, students should also think about how to keep progressing toward long-term goals.

Earlier coverage:

ABAJournal.com.com: "Brave New World for Graduating 3Ls: Fewer Jobs, Less Pay"

ABAJournal.com: "Law Firm Layoffs Make Job Search Harder for Law Students"

ABAJournal.com: "As Laid-Off Lawyers Look for Work, How to Find It Isn’t Clear"

ABAJournal.com: "As Layoffs Surge, Long-Ago Grads Turn to Law Schools for Help"

Comments

1.

jose
Mar 12, 2009 6:50 AM CST

I bet they are not telling the people coming to law school for orientation or the law school informational seminars this.

They still probablly tell the suckers they will make $165,000 a year when they graduate.

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2.

B. McLeod
Mar 12, 2009 8:27 AM CST

Students who decide to roll the dice on law school at this time should approach it as essentially vocational schooling.  It would be wise to sign up for as many legal practice classes and clinical programs as possible, and to put in maximum effort to become competent as a solo practitioner.  Realistically, solo status should now be the assumption of a large portion of the class.

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3.

attorney
Mar 12, 2009 10:07 AM CST

I can’t imagine how terrified law students are now, especially those graduating in May/June. Law schools need to revamp the curriculum and course work with more of an emphasis on being able to practice law right out of the door.

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4.

Stay Motivated
Mar 12, 2009 10:27 AM CST

B. McLeod hit the nail on the head re practical/clinical classes.  I hope law schools will revamp to reduce the scholarly aspect and increase the practical aspect.

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5.

Steve
Mar 12, 2009 10:32 AM CST

One way to get more ‘practical’ flavor into the law school is to allow them to have primarily adjuncts instead of full-time-haven’t-practiced-in-20-years professors.

A return the old days of apprenticeship is long overdue to produce a J.D. who can practice immediately.

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6.

joe
Mar 12, 2009 11:04 AM CST

a graduating law student is not equiped to open up his own shop.  i wonder how much our legal malpractice rates will go up to cover all their rookie mistakes.

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7.

michael
Mar 12, 2009 11:19 AM CST

#6 That’s why older lawyers have a duty to mentor younger ones.  Younger lawyers have a duty to seek out these relationships and cultivate them.  Regarding insurance, I’d say this to you… if you don’t like the rates SELF INSURE.  That way you’re only risking your own mistakes and given that you’ve never made a mistake, I’m sure, there should be no risk.

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8.

david
Mar 12, 2009 5:53 PM CST

About.com choose 3 websites where job seekers got the best results -

http://www.linkedin.com (networking for professionals)
http://www.indeed.com (aggregated listings)
http://www.realmatch.com (matches you to the perfect job)


For those looking, good luck!

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9.

michael
Mar 12, 2009 11:25 PM CST

my last comment was needlessly mean, but I really get pissed when an experienced lawyer attacks the ability of younger lawyers.  Poster 6 didn’t graduate from law school any more intelligent or capable than anyone else, rather he either had experienced lawyers to help him along the way, or he made it on his own thus proving that it can be done.

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10.

Fed worker
Mar 13, 2009 5:42 AM CST

For a law-related job, consider being a Federal government contracting officer.  Pay starts low (GS-5 or GS-7), but there is a rapid promotion career ladder in the first few years.  The government is way short on the number of contracting officers it should have.  Here’s a website:  http://www.fai.gov/FAIC/Default.asp

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11.

mentorless in PA
Mar 13, 2009 6:00 AM CST

I agree with all of the comments about the necessity of actually learning the nuts and bolts while in school, through apprenticeships and mentoring.  What other degree renders one so unprepared to practice what is allegedly taught?  I was able to develop only one mentoring relationship during my legal career.  At one office the partner I was supposed to be assisting was paranoid that I was trying to take his job and he relegated me to typing praecipes.  At my next job, there was NO leadership and very little communication from the executive legal director, if you don’t count the grunts.  I’m certain he didn’t check my work and I had many a worry about the hounds of malpractice nipping at my heels.

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12.

oldnewlawyer
Mar 13, 2009 6:33 AM CST

I’ve been out of law school almost two years. Right now I am temping in doc review to pay the bills, and doing pro bono work thru a volunteer lawyers organization, which provides insurance & mentoring for my unpaid work.  If you can find a program like this and fit it into your schedule, doing as much pro bono as you can is one way to get experience, keep & improve skills, build your resume and make contacts.

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13.

George Lenard
Mar 13, 2009 7:52 AM CST

Unfortunately, though the diagnosis of lack of practical training in law school is correct, the cure of wholesale substitution of “practical” courses for core academic ones is incorrect.  Beyond a certain point, which point IMHO has already been reached through changes over last several decades, practical coursework must be supplementation, not substitution.  I fear the consequences of abandonment of adequate training in core legal content and in “thinking like a lawyer.”  Perhaps the solution is blending practical content into all coursework, much as some primary and secondary curricula blend writing into all subjects.

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14.

@practicehacker
Mar 13, 2009 7:55 AM CST

As John McClean said in Die Hard: welcome to the party, pal.

I cannot believe what whiners these students are. I understand why the ABA Journal covers this stuff, but come on.  The job market was no better when I graduated; but nobody patted my head and told me it would be OK. How about a reality check? The law business has always been a pyramid, so those at the bottom will get squashed at the first sign of trouble. To make a change they’ll have to trade robotic mimicry of rules and ass-kissing for innovation and hard work. Or else fall into the same false sense of security at some firm and get axed (again) in 10 years.

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15.

J.D. Expected - May 2009
Mar 13, 2009 8:55 AM CST

As a 3L graduating in May, I’m definitely concerned with the state of the economy and whether or not I’ll have a solid job within the next year.  I didn’t come to law school expecting to just be handed a job and making $120,000+ right off the bat, but I didn’t quite expect THIS, either.

While I’m not at a First Tier school, I AM at a school that offers a number of clinics.  The best thing I did was to get the core courses/prerequisites done as soon as possible so as to leave as much room for as many clinics as one can take (I tell this to 1Ls and 2Ls anytime they ask for scheduling advice).  Not only have the clinics been FAR more interesting and fun, but I feel as if I won’t be blindsided by how the practice actually works when I do land that first job.  Now, it’s just a matter of networking, asking about positions, and getting my name/resume out there.

I’m expecting the job search to be difficult, but far from impossible.

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16.

Andy the Lawyer
Mar 13, 2009 9:05 AM CST

One likely consequence if lots of new law grads go solo = lots of future work for lawyers specializing in representing other lawyers in state bar disciplinary cases—- because shiny new law grads rarely know enough about the actual practice of law to do it unmonitored and unmentored without stepping in something nasty.  There’s a reason why England requires new law grads to work in the chambers of other lawyers for a while before getting fully licensed to practice on their own.

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17.

Hired by a Murderer
Mar 13, 2009 9:28 AM CST

I graduated July 08 and have aggressively been seeking work since October. It is tough out there but I have found many lawyers and retired judges who volunteer to help me with my job search. I have really been impressed by my legal community. (thanks for the websites #8 and #10)

HOWEVER, I became very desperate for a job and took an offer without doing my research. Turned out the managing attorney was indicted for MANSLAUGHTER (a stabbing)  the week before I accepted the position! And that was just the beginning of the poor moral character. I stayed there 3 weeks and 1 day before I realized the malpractice liability wasn’t worth the money.

I think the bad economy makes the slimy blood suckers rise to the top- so beware my fellow job-hunters and do your research on the firm AND the individual lawyers.

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18.

JME
Mar 13, 2009 9:58 AM CST

#6 - it is assumed that a rookie knows the basics of the law, enough to get around in it, and hopefully smart enough to contact other attorneys when they hit a roadblock.  The Dean of my school saw my presentation on the practice of law as a solo, said if anyone could, I could, and I am.  As a 2008 grad, I am in my own office, and when I hit a bump, I know I can reach out for assistance.  I am having fun, and my malpractice insurance is not out of reach.  I am careful, and believe it or not, I am winning some.  Maybe law school taught me something, or maybe it is a combination, since this is a third career for me.

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19.

Bill
Mar 13, 2009 11:42 AM CST

#14, if the job market was truly no better when you graduated than it is today, I’ll assume you must have graduated in the early ‘90s (and even then what you claim is not accurate, unless you actually graduated law school in the 1930s). The tuition you would have paid back in ‘92 was approximately 1/4 of today’s average tuition, and there were fewer ABA accredited schools with fewer students enrolled at them. 

So how about a reality check for you, practicehacker?

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20.

Colette
Mar 13, 2009 12:41 PM CST

If you go to law school because you want to be a lawyer, you’ll get the legal education, probably a law job somewhere, but not necessarily at what others like to call “Big Law.”

If you go to law school to make money, you’ll be disillusioned and probably won’t get the work you want.

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21.

mdw
Mar 14, 2009 1:48 AM CST

The problem about doing the clinics, is while public service jobs look positively upon that work for the most part, law firms still expect to see law review, moot court and all the traditional “accomplishments”.  While you will leave law school more prepared to practice in the real world, you will still likely be passed over by those firms looking for the traditional resume.  Last I checked, law review didn’t teach you how to draft a real motion, but most new associates all have law review up front and center.  Unfortunately, public service does not pay enough for those not blessed with little or no loans to pay back and there are not enough of those jobs to go around.  So until law firms start looking beyond traditional accomplishments and look at actual clinic and real world experience, any change in law school focus for students won’t help them to find that first firm job.  Also, stop picking on the newbie solos some of you commentators- I would never have the guts to take a chance on building my own practice so I can only show respect to those who take that leap.

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22.

quillan
Mar 14, 2009 4:46 AM CST

i’ll pile on #14.  even assuming he graduated at the height of the reagan recession, nothing since the 30s even remotely compares to what is happening today.  in addition to extraordinary rates of unemployment (already approaching the worst since the 40s), one can add ridiculous increases in law school tuition, absurd billing rates, and the mindless expansion of credit in general, and you have a recipe for the worst legal market since john law gave law a bad name (sorry, i like bad puns).  students should be terrified.  they should look into alternatives to law.  my experience (10 years in big law, 3 years in government) is that no one is retiring, as the money they expected to use to cruise the alaskan channel or tour asia has been cut in half.  as such, there just aren’t going to be many jobs, except for the top 20 percent.  those who are thinking about law school should seriously rethink it and those who are in law school should think about alternative careers.  and the ABA should IMMEDIATELY STOP accrediting crappy would-be law schools.  i never thought i would join the crowd that says this, and although my rational may be different, it is clear that there are already enough lawyers for the foreseeable future.

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23.

Arnoild Davis
Mar 14, 2009 1:05 PM CST

I graduated a New York City law school in 1951 and have been a solo practitioner for 57 years. However, I went to school at night and worked through a rigorous clerkship for 4 years.  I was prepared to go into practice right out of the box.  The problem today is that there are not many such opportunities around any more.  Summer interships are a waste.  All the theories of law are wasted uinless they can be applied by someone who knows the ropes.  Unfortunately ropes are not taught by law schools.  I have met professors who never practiced for even a day, even in appellate courts.  I have met white shoe lawyers who try to get by with firm affiliations rather than by their abilities.  Unforetunately, there are too many lawyers and too many incompetent practitioners.  The bulk of society cannot afford big name firms and are best served by competent solos.  There is a furure for solos, but it doesn’t come easily.  I do not practice personal injury or criminal law.  Those are the entry areas for solos today.  Good luck.

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24.

Kalifornia Arnold
Mar 15, 2009 2:34 AM CST

Would the motto of an attorney in referring to his (or her) own practice be: “O SOLO MIO”?

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25.

tom
Mar 16, 2009 6:19 AM CST

please use legal zoom for documents when i come to you on your first day of work.  at least i know those forms are half way correct.

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26.

Recent grad
Mar 24, 2009 2:13 PM CST

The situation is very freaky for new grads like myself.  But I have to say that I am very grateful that my tier 4 school REQUIRED us to do an externship for academic credit for one full semester. It’s free legal help to the firms we work at which guarantees us the legal experience we need to have.  Think about it:  pay a law student during a 10 week summer associateship or get a law student for FREE for 14 weeks?  Which do you think employers prefer to do (especially in this economic climate)? Not to mention this guarantees us the legal experience even if summer associateship programs are eliminated or offers are rescinded (happening alot this year).
I am mighty grateful that my school placed emphasis on practical skills and almost all students have to take pre-trial skills, where we worked on a mock case from interviewing a client, drafting retainer agreement, drafting pleadings, drafting discovery, writing briefs in support of Summary Judgment Motion AND actually arguing the Motion in front of a real judge in a real courtroom. How many schools have such practical skills courses in their curriculum?  I have a feeling more schools are going to look at my school and follow our lead.
Now I know people are going to read this and say “but do you have a job?”  No…but neither do MANY people from the Tier 1 schools in my state and my market is OVER-saturated with TONS of laid-off attorneys to compete with. The attorneys at the firm I interned at told me I was ahead of the game b/c when they were recent grads, they ddn’t even know what an interrogatory was.

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