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The next step after law school and into the job market

  1. Legal Jobs
  2. Legal Articles
  3. Law Students
  4. Law Student Career Advice
  5. After Law School
  6. The next step after law school and into the job market

published August 25, 2008

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( 10 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.
<<Really? It’s time to start thinking about your first legal job? Yes, it is. But that doesn’t mean it’s time to start panicking over it. You’ve probably already sat through some career services presentations, and they’ve mentioned several things to think about.

Unlike the second and third year students, there are restrictions in place to let first years get their breath in law school. You don’t want to panic over ''will I get a job?'' that first week when you are studying Pennoyer v. Neff.


But it’s important to think ahead some, if only to start examining your options. Right now, the legal market is in a bit of a slump — hopefully it will recover by the time you graduate. So for first years, this is the best time to be in school. Second and third year law students have a much more immediate concern.

Your law school career will be basically centered on school and your summer work. What kind of work do you want to do? If you are like most law students, you don’t know yet what field of legal work you want. Keep in mind what you like as you go through your classes.

Big Law

There is the traditional so-called ''BigLaw'' route. But the majority of law students and lawyers in the United States don’t work for one of the ''Big law firms.'' Biglaw has a lot of perks, but it has a lot of drawbacks. The biggest perk: money. You can get paid a lot by joining a large firm. But the drawback is critical: kiss anything resembling a ''life'' gone. Working in Biglaw is very hard on relationships. The other advantage of BigLaw is prestige, and you get to live in the big cities such as New York and Washington. You get to work on bigger cases.

But newer associates in a big law firm have a hard life. It used to be that you put in your time and then made partner. But that is not true anymore — the vast majority of new associates will never make partner at a big law firm. The reason is simple: big law firms are not promoting many people anymore to partner. Unfortunately, many new graduates are forced to go the law firm route just to afford paying back their school loans. Fortunately, most of the truly staggering tuition bills are at the law schools that might give you a chance to get into big law.

Another problem with biglaw is that new associates frequently don’t get to do much. They aren’t going to be lead on a high power litigation case, or make crucial negotiations for the clients.

Government

There’s also the option of going to work in a governmental area. Of course, that means criminal law for a lot of people. Or various governmental attorneys, such as the SEC or FCC, etc. Don’t forget state governments as well.

Government work doesn’t pay like big law, no question. But you have a life. You can be married and actually see your spouse. Plus, governmental work can be prestigious as well, and lead to jumping into a lucrative biglaw job later on after a few years seasoning. In fact, many do just that. And some people just thrill at the chance to investigate corporations for wrongdoing or bringing down hypocritical politicians and putting them in jail.

Government attorneys can help shape the law as well — actually writing regulations that everyone else has to obey, too.

<<Small Firms

The bulk of law students will end up in smaller firms. Not as much money, but not as stressful, this is the bread and butter of law. Here, you can help out actual people, not fight over why one huge corporation doesn’t owe a hundred gazillion dollars to another. Plus, you can be home by 6 most days.

In a small firm, you can do many areas of law that you will study, such as estates and wills, startups, incorporations, and taxes. Big law firms do all of that too, but most feel a better connection with their clients in a smaller firm.

You get more experience in a small firm. Plenty of second and third year lawyers have far more litigation experience from a small firm while their classmates at a big law firm haven’t even set foot into a courtroom.

And since the majority of law students go to schools the big firms won’t even look at unless you are valedictorian, this is likely many people’s best bet.

Corporate Counsel

Other careers involve working for a company. In essence, you have one client — your company. This can be lucrative in the larger companies, but also has a bit more of a life. It’s a safe, steady job for the most part.

Conclusion

Keep in mind what you want to do. There’s lots more jobs available in small firms. Big law firms are where the money and prestige are, but over 30 percent of all new associates at those firms leave within three years — it isn’t worth it to them.

If you figure out what you like in law, then that can impact what you want to do. A complex corporate work lover will definitely want to shoot for big law. Someone into torts will probably go small firm (if they can deal with the ambulance chaser stigma).

Figure out what you like, and ask your career counsel for advice. Good luck this year in law school!
  1. Legal Jobs
  2. Legal Articles
  3. Law Students
  4. Law Student Career Advice
  5. After Law School
  6. The next step after law school and into the job market

published August 25, 2008

( 10 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.

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