Coming on the heels of last week's dramatic Heller Ehrmann layoffs, a well-respected firm in operation since 1890, The Post’s article only heightens the worrisome attitudes of those within the legal field. Even areas of the country fraught with legal niches that have until now managed to escape recent turmoil and disarray, such as Washington D.C., are beginning to rethink their internal structures, workload disbursement, and hiring practices. According to The Washington Post:
"Robert Ruyak, chairman and managing partner of Howrey LLP, said he began feeling the heat from corporate clients last year. With tighter budgets, legal departments at Procter & Gamble, Qualcomm, GE Healthcare and others prodded the Washington-based law firm to provide significant savings in the fees it charges. Howrey responded: It is assigning more work to lower-paid staff attorneys and negotiating fixed fees for certain clients rather than billing by the hour. To keep up profit, the firm is hiring fewer associates and has acquired a Madrid firm to expand its antitrust practice into the booming Spanish market."
Law firms throughout the country are scaling back their summer associate programs, leaving those in law school apprehensive about where to apply and if there's a shot at snagging an opening…even a long shot.
While the average law school student is expected to graduate with approximately 73,000 dollars in debt, according to The National Law Journal, potential job opportunities are both unsound and unsubstantial: "[M]ost would-be lawyers already have accepted that only a small fraction will start their careers with a big-firm salary of $160,000, the past few weeks of economic chaos have caused many to wonder if any kind of attorney work is in their near future." Budding legal professionals around the country are surely examining their choice of profession and doubting whether their enormous debt will payoff after all.
To deal with the outrageously high influx of stressed-to-the-max students, college campuses around the country have resolved to heavily encourage students with various workshops, seminars, and speaking engagements—all geared specifically toward the legal job search in rough and tumble economic times, such as now. The National Law Journal names the University of Iowa as one of those campuses with workshops like, "'The Job Search in Tough Times' and 'Attributes of Successful Candidates: What You Need to Know in Tough Markets.'"
While it is important for students to remain level-headed amongst swirling rumors and intense speculation, according to the US Department of Labor, legal jobs are once again down for the month of September, making it the fifth straight month of job losses for the legal sector. Although the statistics do indicate a valid cause for concern, it’s important for current law school students, and practicing attorneys alike, to try and remain calm and positive.
With negative indications, poor forecasts, and layoffs abounding within the legal community, it's only natural for emotions to run very high. Try and keep the irrational thoughts at bay, and in the meantime, let's hope some light shines through soon.
