The New York Times took a Sunday Style look at the plight of law students and newly minted lawyers. (There’s also a mention of the new ABC drama about new lawyers, The Deep End. I’ll spare my 2 cents; watch the trailer for yourself).
A challenging hiring environment is not news to the legal industry; when it hits the Sunday papers it is noteworthy. The article comes with a video that profiles “deferrals,” new lawyers who have been pushed back a year by their firms, and sent to do a year-long externship in public interest law.
The classic line from the video via the lips of a candid new counsel:
“I just graduated from law school; I know me, I wouldn’t hire me as my lawyer at this point.”
That line is worth about 10,000 words as to the state of the law for new lawyers. And when clients see something like this, it informs why the situation will likely not change soon, or ever go back to the glory days of hiring large numbers of new lawyers at mid six-figure salaries.
