Is it difficult to find work as a lawyer fresh out of law school?

Question

only real word experience answers only. Please don't guess at the answer becasue it could affect an important decesion.

Answer 1

If you're willing to take below market salary and work longer hours, then you can find a job in any field. A degree from a good school will help as well.

Answer 2

It depends on the following: (1) your parent is a lawyer and can bring you into the firm or place you with someone s/he knows; (2) you made law review or otherwise had good grades; (3) you have an LLM in tax or another field in high demand; (4) you live in a legally underserved area of the country; (5) you speak a foreign language of a community that is underserved: Chinese, etc. being especially in demand (6) you are willing and able to live frugally for a year or so in starting out as a new solo.

Working for the government, federal or state, is a great idea. But the jobs are competitive and can't be counted on.

For the rest: the answer depends on your background, your ability; your sales and management talent. Law at the level you seem to aim at is a business as much as a profession. You will need to study how small firms and solos get business and not waste your money on Yellow Pages ads (if, as I am told, they don't cover their costs) or all those 1-800-Bankrupt and 1-800-Divorce type deals (ditto). It takes a certain acting talent to be a good tort lawyer; almost anyone could (under the old bankruptcy law) make a living at bankruptcy law, or at workers comp law and other insurance stuff. But the competition for such work is stiff, so the compensation is poor.

The high-end, high-class work of estate planning for wealthy clients depends on (a) skill and (b) family and other contacts, until you can build a reputation.

So: yes, it's hard to "find work". What I've written has assumed that you won't find it, you're going to have to make it. If you're lucky though, you may find a tired older lawyer nearing retirement who would like you to help out, with the prospect of buying the practice later. Or, if you are more skilled than your relatively naive question suggests, maybe you do have a shot as an associate with a country (i.e., not NY, Washington, Chicago or LA) law firm. But watch out: few associates make partner; if you get the job you earn good money and you learn; and then 5-7 years later you're out the door on your own.

Answer 3

It really depends on the market for lawyers in the year that you graduate. My wife started a first-tier law school in 2000; 98% of the class that graduated that Spring had jobs before graduation. When she graduated in Spring 2003, the bottom had dropped out of the market and less than half of her class had jobs at graduation. That said, she landed a job in her field (criminal defense) within 4 months, after she broadened her job search a little; ultimately around 95% of her class had legal jobs within a year of graduation. While the entire process was stressful and nerve-wracking, it didn't deter me from enrolling in law school myself. There's no good way to predict what the job market is going to be like 3+ years in advance; I think you just have to be prepared to move, and be realistic about maybe taking an unappealing job or two after graduation.

Answer 4

One great thing about law school is the versatility that it provides. If you can't get a job as a lawyer, you can still get a job in business. Someone with an MBA can't be a lawyer though.

There are a ton of options, and law school could open doors to many different fields.

I don't think you'll find it any more difficult than any other college grad. As a matter of fact, you might find that you have more options.

Answer 5

You might get better cases because the older, established lawyers expect HUGE retainer fees. Take on a case that may take some work, but has a BIG pay off in the end. Where I live, you can't get a lawyer to (have his secretary)type a letter for less than $300.00

Answer 6

well.. what my bf did was get many job offers before he graduated.. my guess is having a mentor and being involved w/ people in the legal world really helps cuz they remember u. he got a job and was working for 2 years while trying to pass the bar exam. they were waiting for him to pass so he could become an attorney at the firm. i believe a lot of firms called HIM, and he had his pick! so make sure u cultivate relationships and keep ur options open, research different firms, and internships. good luck

Answer 7

usually the university you're attending will have statistics about job placement for their graduates. I would look to them to see what your chances are going to be to get a job after graduation. With something as specific as law though thats usually not the case, granted you can pass the bar exam

Answer 8

I can only answer from what my husband has told me. He is an attorney. He indicated that knowing how few jobs there actually are for attorneys, he would never encourage anyone to go to law school.

Answer 9

Most larger cities have some openings at the prosecutor's office, although they are low pay, long hours type of work.

Answer 10

It's not, if you're Law Review from Harvard or Yale. Otherwise you're just one more maggot crawling in the offal.