{"id":318,"date":"2012-10-18T19:20:10","date_gmt":"2012-10-18T23:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/?p=318"},"modified":"2013-09-20T19:22:29","modified_gmt":"2013-09-20T23:22:29","slug":"please-remain-calm-legal-jobs-in-a-stagnant-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/2012\/10\/18\/please-remain-calm-legal-jobs-in-a-stagnant-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Please Remain Calm: Legal Jobs in a Stagnant Market"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a9 piek.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

by: Terry Falk, Assoc. Web Editor<\/p>\n

Mark Twain famously said that there were three kinds of lies: \u201clies, damned lies, and statistics.\u201d The Wall Street Journal released a study this summer<\/a> showing that last year\u2019s law school graduates, nationwide, \u201chad little better than a 50-50 shot of landing a job as a lawyer within nine months of receiving a degree.\u201d\u00a0 Forbes magazine stoked the fire the next day<\/a>, citing the WSJ study to deliver \u201cthe message that law school is no longer a sure bet<\/b> when it comes to employment security and financial prosperity.\u201d<\/div>\n
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When, in the history of the world, has a job search of any kind ever<\/i> been a \u201csure bet\u201d? \u00a0In the post-apocalyptic-recession economy, we as law grads are going to have to bust our humps and use our intuition to find work.\u00a0 That work might pay, as Forbes points out, in the low-to-mid five figures.\u00a0 It only turns into opportunity, if you allow it to.\u00a0 Duquesne Law\u2019s own Dean Gormley put it best<\/a> in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette op-ed, responding to Post-Gazette\u2019s coverage of the dour statistics for law grads:\u00a0 \u201cCollege degrees and professional education require savings and sacrifice.\u00a0 [T]his has always been the case[.]\u201d<\/div>\n
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The worry about post-law school employment is far from new.\u00a0 If you have the time, or a masochistic streak, Google things like \u201claw school employment statistics\u201d and find rambling blogs from three years ago penned by angry law school grads who just can\u2019t <\/i>seem to translate their six-figure degree into paying work.\u00a0 I won\u2019t provide links.\u00a0 But, if this is how you choose to spend your time after graduating from law school, it\u2019s no wonder you\u2019re unemployed.<\/div>\n
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Granted, the numbers do not lie.\u00a0 The idea that little more than half the nation\u2019s legal grads are employed as full-time lawyers is daunting.\u00a0 But, the one thing that stats do not measure is hard work.\u00a0 For everyone who is currently in law school and takes heed of WSJ\u2019s report, it means that in this brutal legal market you have to work hard to place in the top 50 percent of your class, advocate for yourself, and interview well.\u00a0 If you aren\u2019t on law review (I\u2019m not), then do something else that sets you apart. [Insert shameless plug here: Why not write for Juris<\/a>?].\u00a0 Taking these reports with anything more than a grain of a salt and assuming that the poor market renders your job prospects to a 50-50 chance, gives you no hope.\u00a0 In fact, it probably lessens your chances of getting a job to zero.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A lawyer that I worked for before coming to law school told me that a J.D. is like having an expensive hunting license. You don\u2019t eat unless you know how to hunt.\u00a0 The WSJ and Forbes figures show that.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Law school is stressful enough, kids.\u00a0 Please, remain calm.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by: Terry Falk, Assoc. Web Editor Mark Twain famously said that there were three kinds of lies: \u201clies, damned lies, and statistics.\u201d The Wall Street Journal released a study this summer showing that last year\u2019s law school graduates, nationwide, \u201chad little better than a 50-50 shot of landing a job [\u2026] <\/p>\n

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