<p>I’ve long cautioned people on this site about taking on excessive debt. I’ve also shared details of my own past where it’s relevant; I went to law school the last time the umemployment rate was in double digits, and struck out on what is now known as “Big Law”. I took a job with a small firm, and left after a couple of years to start my own firm. It wasn’t the most lucrative path, but I learned things about practicing law that my friends at big firms could only dream of. (The converse no doubt true as well.) I ended up going in-house at a time when the economy was white hot, and have worked in-house ever since (minus about two weeks of unemployment).</p>
<p>It’s tough to graduate from law school when unemployment is high. That was true when I went to law school, and it’s true now. It’s a lot tougher to graduate from law school without a lot of debt than it was in the 80s. I’ve always tried to tread a fine line on this board of not leading anyone on about today’s economic realities, but hoping that my experiences may give some hope to people who really would be happy practicing law over the next few decades. There are lean years, but there are also fat years.</p>