Question of the Week: Does the Economic Downturn Matter for Law Students?

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[Anonymous]

What's interesting about this is that it may force law students and recent graduates to think differently about what a career with a JD and a license to practice actually is. The tunnel vision approach of "finish school, work at a firm, become a partner" may become less viable. In my little world, it seems that the most successful lawyers don't even practice law, at least not for long.

[Tony]

Absolutely. This particular economic downturn is especially important because it will the change the way the economy will function, much like the changes made during the Great Depression.

Specifically, I foresee larger law firms cutting down on the number of new graduates they hire. This means those who would have been hired by them, must now compete with a larger pool at a lower level. Thus, lower ranked students who normally would not have had to compete with higher ranked students at smaller law firms will now have to. The result could force many new graduates to look for employment longer than they would have before the crisis.

It may result in one of two things: first, larger law firms may cap the starting salary of rookie lawyers so they can continue to afford hiring them; or second, if they don't impose some sort of cap, lower ranked graduates may be forced to move to other areas of the country where there is employment, or consider employment (albeit temporarily) in a different industry.

Anyway you cut it, this economic downturn could seriously affect the prospects of any new graduate.