Don't know what to do with your law degree? This lawyer wants to help
Calling all lawyers of the disgruntled, weary or wayward type. Marc Luber wants to help you.
In January, the Los Angeles lawyer launched JD Careers Out There, a career advice website for juris doctors needing a jolt of inspiration.
Luber is hoping his online portal will become standard fare in college and law school career centers. He says he’s already licensed the site to “multiple schools,” although he declined to name them. “So many people go to law school and are shepherded into a firm job, and all of a sudden they’re unemployed and they’ve never stopped to take an inventory of themselves,” Luber says.
JDCOT, as it is known, is an offshoot of CareersOutThere.com, a general career-advice site Luber started in 2010. Like its sister site, JDCOT is video-based and stars Luber as a talk show host of sorts.
He interviews lawyers in various professions, from a personal injury lawyer to a sports agent to a CEO of a wireless site-acquisition company, showcasing the flexibility of a law degree. “There’s a fit out there for everybody,” he says. The site also offers tutorials on topics like networking, handling a new assignment or making partner. “The stuff that business schools teach but law schools don’t,” he says.
The site is mainly subscription-based. Membership prices range from $19.97 a month for video and streaming audio access to $199 a year for full site access plus discounts on other services such as private coaching sessions with Luber.
Luber says he used to talk to 50 lawyers a day, asking them whether they were happy with their career paths. “So many weren’t. It really would come down to the fact that they were just on a path that didn’t fit them. Life is too short for that,” he says.
