Job Prospects when not concerned with 'Big Law'?

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>I am a 25 year old college graduate (BS Communication, Minor in Business from Portland State University) who has been out of school for a year now. I’ve never in my life thought of being a lawyer until recently.</p>

<p>I know myself, and I know my strengths, and I and others agree I would make a great lawyer in many ways. I am discontented working with computers. I love analytical problem solving and persuasive communication. I have very strong analytical and reasoning skills, as well as very strong written and verbal communication skills.</p>

<p>During my time in undergrad, I just wanted to be out of school. I “knew” what I wanted to do: computers, media, etc. I never pushed towards anything law related while in undergrad, nor did I try to hit a 4.0 cumulative GPA.</p>

<p>I’ve changed a bit since then and have become very interested in going back to school, studying hard, and becoming a lawyer. My ambition is not to work at some huge law firm and practice “big law” - in fact, I am not even willing to leave the state of Oregon. Not in the long term, and not in the short term. This is home.</p>

<p>Lewis & Clark is ranked #73 on US News Ranking. More info here: [Lewis</a> and Clark School of Law](<a href=“http://www.top-law-schools.com/lewis-clark-law.html]Lewis”>Lewis & Clark Law School - TLS wiki)</p>

<p>A 3 year program would cost me around $90,000 tuition. I am not so certain I would qualify for much in regards to scholarships, but I think I could get into the school.</p>

<p>My question is this:</p>

<p>If I wanted to stay in Portland, OR to practice Law (most likely business law) would it be “worth it” (ROI, job prospects, salary, etc.) in the current economy and the outlook in 3-5 years and beyond? I read other threads about the necessity of T14 law schools and the current economic climate and it has put a damper on any enthusiasm.</p>

<p>There’s not much else I am interested in (MBA, Computer Science, etc. - nah). I could stick where I am at in the more creative and computer end of things, but for some reason I feel very drawn to being a lawyer. Not for the money, though that would be important if I decided to invest $100k in education + 3 years, etc. I would want it to be worth it, and an upgrade to what I’d have otherwise. But the main draw is my interest in the job and the fit I believe I would be.</p>

<p>Does the advice thrown around here change for someone like myself, interested in practicing law locally in a smaller city like Portland, OR? Could I expect to make $100k/yr 5 years out of Law school (so in 8 years) working in the city? What sort of hours should I expect in a smaller city, working not as a “big time” lawyer? 40-50/hours a week? 60? 90?</p>

<p>Are the figures found here to be at all trusted? This is specific to Portland, OR level I Attorneys:</p>

<p>[Salary.com’s</a> Salary Wizard™- Do you know what you’re worth?](<a href=“Personal Salary Reports and Small Business Compensation Solutions | Salary.com”>Personal Salary Reports and Small Business Compensation Solutions | Salary.com)</p>

<p>(That link originates from this page: [Oregon</a> Level I Attorney Job Salary. Salaries for Portland, Beaverton, Eugene, Medford, Salem, Bend,](<a href=“http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layouthtmls/OR/swzl_compresult_state_OR_LE11000001.html]Oregon”>http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layouthtmls/OR/swzl_compresult_state_OR_LE11000001.html))</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice and time reading this - it is much appreciated!</p>

<p>Daniel</p>

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<p>anyone? any help/advice is appreciated!</p>

3

<p>I’m not a lawyer. I am a CPA in Northern CA. I’ve seen the financials for many lawyters over the years. In this neck of the woods I see most sole practitioners netting anywhere from $60k/yr up to $300k/yr. These are attorneys who belong to small partnerships or work on their own. They are technically proficient and have strong communication skills with clients. </p>

<p>I think you can make a very good living outside of big law. My suggestion is that you talk to practicing attorneys. Can Portland State put you in contact? Is there some sort of prelaw club at Portland State that you can get info/ contacts from?</p>

<p>This board has many folks who believe that there is nothing beyod brand name schools / firms / etc. In reality there are many options for people with talent to find financial success and personal fufilment in small markets and outside the top 20 world.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

4

<p>Your initial job prospects depend a lot on how high you rank in your class. If you are in the top ten percent, for example, you can usually write your own ticket with respect to your first job. Whether you can make six figures in five years depends on so many factors, it is difficult to tell. If you are in the bottom ten percent of your class, you may have difficult passing the bar and getting any law job. Whether you can make six figures in five years is certainly possible but it is much less likely than if you had graduated at the top of your law class. </p>

<p>Realize that lawyers are often self employed in the sense that they are responsible for getting and keeping good clients. That can require a lot of business smarts as well as legal skills.</p>

<p>At age 25, you should be able to determine whether or not being a lawyer is your passion or merely something interesting to do while you resolve other issues in your life. If it is your passion, I say go for it.</p>

5

<p>The issue with looking at law jobs is that there is such a wide disparity in terms of salary and substance. It’s actually not very much different than asking how much money you’ll make with a bachelor’s degree - there’s such a wide range of types of jobs and specialties that there’s no such thing as “average” pay or hours. It’s more about what you’re willing to do. Would you be willing to take a government job? Would you want to be in a small law firm? How do you feel about having to find clients for yourself? What areas of law are you interested in?</p>

<p>The one thing that is consistent regarding lawyer salaries coming out of law school is that it’s not evenly distributed. At least during normal economic times, you’ll see a large number of people making six figures at large law firms at the top end and a larger number of people making $40-50,000/year at the lower end, but very few people are in-between. Those six figure people consist almost solely of people that went to top law schools and/or graduated from the 10% of their respective classes - I have worked in BIGLAW and can confirm that they are very rigid in hiring practices (even more so in bad economic times like these). If money is a factor (and for most people, it definitely is), then this is something to consider. There’s a similar distribution when it comes to hours worked. Pretty much everyone would love a six figure salary and work 40 hours a week. The issue is that there aren’t too many jobs like that out there even as you advance in your career. It’s very often one way or the other - either you’ve got a set schedule and get paid less or work crazy hours but get paid a ton. The worst case scenario is you work crazy hours but still don’t get paid that much, which can certainly happen in small firms.</p>

<p>I’ve been a lawyer in the working world for several years, so this is just what I’ve seen personally. I’m sure people will always find exceptions (i.e. “My cousin works only 40 hours a week for a small firm and makes $200,000 per year!”), but you probably ought to follow the general rule in terms of realistically assessing what you would want to do.</p>