Job Searches, Law Schools

A 'Rocky Mountain High' Jobless Rate

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CORRECTION: It appears that the jobless rate reported below is INCORRECT. Please click here for the correct information.

I really hope that students at the University of Colorado Law School have enjoyed their time in Boulder. I hear it is beautiful country out there. But it’s no country for old law students who want a job. The ABA Journal reports on the terrible employment situation for Colorado law students:

The numbers are bleak for the class of 2009 at the University of Colorado School of Law.
About 35 percent of the students had jobs at graduation, down from 55 percent the year before, Law Week Colorado reports.

On a totally related note, Law Week Colorado has this interesting statistic from the July 2009 Colorado bar exam:

In 2009, more people passed the July Colorado bar exam than in any other year this decade. But the boom in the number of new lawyers is happening during a bust in the job market.

Future Colorado law students, please take note. There are no jobs for you. Do not apply. I repeat, “The way is shut. It was made by those who are dead. And the dead keep it. The way is shut.”

For those already in the pipeline, is there any hope?

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With 65% of its graduates looking at unemployment, Colorado Law is “rethinking” its career service approach:

“I think that we have out of necessity had to rethink our role in career development,” said SuSaNi Harris, assistant dean for CU law school’s Office of Career Development.

Most law schools no longer have traditional “placement offices” that line students up with jobs, she said.
“We got away from that because no office is staffed to place, one by one, each of their students. But what we’re exploring here is sort of a pseudo-placement effort.”

Harris said that while the details are still in development, her office will modify its existing system to identify students or alumni who match the criteria that specific employers are seeking. The office has also contacted national legal search firms to see if they have temporary jobs for recent graduates.

Isn’t it a little late in the game to be developing new career service modifications? This recession has been going on for a while now.

I’m not sure what to tell Colorado Law students. Maybe it’s just time to crack open a cold Coors Light, watch the next Broncos game, and try again in 2010?

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Law School Career Offices Seek Fix For More Lawyers, Fewer Jobs [Law Week Colorado]
Placement Office Scrambles At Law School Where 65% of Grads Had No Jobs [ABA Journal]

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