Law School Blues

It's everywhere. Talks of impending doom and no more jobs for law school grads. It is kind of sad. Today's law students got into this rat-race thinking they'd make a lot of money after graduation (not as much as their Ibanker friends, but still a lot). In a good economy the corporate lawyers were to bring in the dough. In a bad economy the bankruptcy lawyers were to keep the firm alive. Theoretically this industry is well hedged - lawyers won't be spectacularly rich during a boom (remember when we used to joke about Ibankers kicking lawyers around?), but they won't go hungry during economic downturns either. Thus, the risk-adverse and wide-eyed 1L happily enrolls and shoulders the $200,000 loan.

Today, people (= lawyers and legal staff) are losing jobs at some our nation's top law firms. See here and here for two of the latest specific examples. See here to see a complete list. The law doesn't seem so risk adverse anymore.

Today's 1Ls are afraid because they don't know whether the firms that come on campus (will they come?) will have summer jobs to give out. The 2Ls are trying to keep their heads low this summer (gone are the days when you just party your way through the summer). 3Ls are nervously checking AbovetheLaw everyday, wondering if their jobs will still exist when they graduate.