A New (Somewhat Scary) World for Lawyers

There was a time when going to law school meant a virtual guarantee to a good job and a stable life.  That is no longer the case.   And it’s important for recruiters who deal with the legal profession to understand the changes in the industry, and make sure clients they are trying to place have realistic expectations.

Even as law schools are sending more lawyers into the work force, much of the work that used to be done by first year associates is being outsourced.  Many law school graduates find themselves having to take jobs doing legal temp work such as reviewing legal documents, and of course are paid at a much lower rate than just a few years ago when much of this work was done by associates.

“Expecting a job out of law school is, in reality, a fantasy for 90% of graduates,” says Nicholas Wolf, a lawyer from Hartford, CT, who has been working hard to get his own practice going.  He pays the bills doing document review work. “Even document review is hard to get now, and in reality is mind numbing darkness. Currently Harvard and Yale grads are taking document review gigs.”

Meanwhile, clients of legal firms, who had never been particularly happy being billed high rates for the grunt work done by inexperienced young lawyers, simply were unable to pay as much during the recession.  Law firms began negotiating that legal work be done either for a flat fee or on a contingency basis, instead of billing at an hourly rate, thus shrinking the firm’s traditional level of revenue.

But while other industries are beginning to feel the benefits of an economic recovery, it seems these changes in the legal profession are the new normal.  Clients are now used to these new pay structures.  Legal temp companies have a stable of lawyers and paralegals, and a back log of clients ready to use their services.  Meanwhile, the law firms, already cut to the bone and with reduced resources, are not looking to take in many new associates.

It seems that a law degree is no longer a ticket to a good job or even steady employment.