Recent Law Graduates
New lawyers fresh from law school are having a harder and harder time finding jobs when they graduate according to a report from the ABA Journal. The National Association for Law Placement claims that roughly 15 percent of recent law graduates take a job in the business sector instead of at a law firm as a number of larger law firms cut back on their numbers in this downturned economy.
One who pursued this nontraditional career path out of necessity is Jason Luros, a 2007 graduate of Golden Gate University School of Law. Although he was in the top 20 percent of his class and had several legal internships on his resumé, he discovered what the legal publication describes as a "feeble job market" awaiting him. Small law firms of five to 30 attorneys interviewed him, but had no openings, he recounts. "All the opportunities that I heard about required active bar membership and a lot of experience."
The report also suggests that larger, more established law firms are looking for more seasoned attorneys to add to their roster instead of those green out of law school. WIll the trend continue even once the economy recovers? Or will law graduates gain traction out of school and be able to find a position they covet?
