Unemployed

Career Alternatives

What ‘Can’t’ You Do With a Law Degree?

There's a really funny post up on Constitutional Daily, in which the protagonist -- who holds a J.D. from NYU Law and was laid off from Biglaw during the recession -- recounts his inability to secure a job at Target. It got us thinking of that other great lie that law schools tell incoming law students: "Yada yada, you can do anything with a law degree... also, I'd like to interest you in partial ownership of the Brooklyn Bridge." But many J.D. holders have found out the hard way that holding a law degree only opens doors to "law" jobs. They aren't degrees of general utility. If anything, they close more doors than they open....

By Elie Mystal
American Bar Association / ABA

Is the Legal Recession Finally Ending?

At the start of this new year, what is the outlook like for legal employment? There's certainly a fair amount of bad news out there, particularly for recent law school graduates. But what about for denizens of Biglaw, the lawyers fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to work at the nation's largest law firms? What does 2012 hold for them? Earlier this month, Elie made some predictions for the legal profession. Lat will follow in his footsteps and venture some prophecies of his own for the year....

By David Lat
Biglaw

More Evidence That The Legal Job Market Is In Terrible Shape

Yesterday, the Atlantic was the messenger reminding you of the serious financial peril involved in starting a legal career. Yeah folks, even in 2011, the legal economy was still shedding jobs. But it's not like law schools were spitting out fewer graduates, so... you do the math. Here, the Atlantic has put things in a fancy chart. Pictures people, it'll be like an LSAT game: how many people made a terrible investment in higher education?

By Elie Mystal
American Bar Association / ABA

The ABA Thinks It’s Your Own Fault If You’re Poor and Unemployed

William Robinson, the newly appointed president of the American Bar Association, is taking a stand on the status quo of legal education in our country. But instead calling for reform, Robinson is defending the ABA's role, stating that young lawyers "should have known what they were getting into." Isn't it wonderful to know that the man in charge of the ABA is essentially playing the "blame the victim" card when it comes to debt-saddled and unemployed law school graduates?

By Staci Zaretsky
American Bar Association / ABA

Non-Sequiturs: 01.04.12

* The recess appointment of Richard Cordray to head the CFPB could get tricky — not because Republicans are outraged by recess appointments (much like Democrats are outraged by obstructionist filibusters), but because Congress isn’t technically in recess, due to the sham sessions Congress has been running. [WSJ Law Blog] * Milbank, if you’re going […]

By Elie Mystal
Guns / Firearms

Morning Docket: 12.16.11

* A man on trial for sex crimes at a Minnesota courthouse allegedly shot three people yesterday, including prosecutor Timothy Scannell. Guess it’s time to get a metal detector. [Duluth News Tribune] * Instead of trying to force Citigroup’s hand on a tougher settlement, the SEC is appealing Judge Rakoff’s rejection of the original. Don’t […]

By Staci Zaretsky
In-House Counsel

The Haves and the Have-nots

Will Meyerhofer explains what the job search is like in law school. In mid-September, he was talking with a client, a 3L at a top-tier school. “Here's how it works,” she explained. “There's the have's and the have-nots. Either you have a job offer, or you don't. If you don't, it sucks. You feel like an illegal alien.” Unfortunately, she's a have-not...

By The People's Therapist
Job Searches

Quote of the Day: Zombies Can Do Document Review Too

Lawyers, journalists, investment bankers — they are liabilities, not leaders, in the zombie-infested world…. In the zombie apocalypse, your J.D. is worthless — which is actually not so different from the real world of recent years. — Torie Bosch, in a thought-provoking Slate article entitled First, Eat All the Lawyers, arguing that the boom in […]

By David Lat
Barack Obama

Can Obama’s Jobs Bill Help Laid Off and Unemployed Attorneys?

According to the Department of Labor, 14 million people in our country are unemployed. And with a surplus of lawyers that reaches into the thousands in almost every state, unemployment is a serious problem for the legal profession. Unfortunately, we all know that Biglaw firms -- and surely other firms, as well -- are avoiding these attorneys like the plague. Facing these seemingly insurmountable odds, what's an unemployed attorney to do? As it turns out, President Obama wants to lend a hand, but only if he can get Congress to pass this jobs bill....

By Staci Zaretsky
American Bar Association / ABA

The ABA Focuses on Losing the ‘Lost Generation,’ One Statistic at a Time

Back in June, it became clear that the class of 2010 had some of the worst employment outcomes of the last 20 years. We knew this because of the way NALP categorized its data, differentiating between jobs that require and don't require bar passage, and between full-time and part-time jobs. But apparently the American Bar Association isn't interested in helping people understand these outcomes on a school-by-school basis. The ABA doesn't want you to know how schools fared in finding full-time legal employment for graduates of the class of 2010....

By Staci Zaretsky
9/11

Morning Docket: 09.21.11

* Hey, Preet Bharara, even Lady Gaga can read your poker face when you’re going all in on an allegation of Full Tilt Ponzi. Maybe Lederer and Ferguson will finally fold. [Wall Street Journal] * You know what this country really needs? More doctors who don’t believe in science. Another stem cell research case is […]

By Staci Zaretsky
English Grammar and Usage

Non-Sequiturs: 09.07.11

* I thought the rule for how to cite a blog in your brief was “don’t,” but I have less use for a Bluebook than a homeless orphan (I hear kindling is hard to come by on the streets). [Adjunct Law Prof Blog] * More analysis on the mean mommy lawsuit reminds me of how […]

By Elie Mystal