<p>As a practicing lawyer approaching the final years of my career, I am often asked about legal careers by prospective law students. One of my kids is in law school too (I’ve come to realize that I should have done everything in my power to discourage this), and I’ve met many of his fellow students. I’ve also been a guest lecturer at a law school. I work with BigLaw firms almost daily, and am in-house at a Fortune 500.</p>
<p>One of the most common threads I see is that law students uniformly believe that the glut of lawyers won’t affect them. The myths abound. They will be in a T14 and have multiple job offers. They will be at the top of their class and at least have a few job offers. They have great connections or networking that will lead to a job. They don’t need financial aid so they can afford to take one of the many open, low-paying public interest jobs. They have more looks/personality/drive/enthusiasm than their classmates, so they will be selected if interviewed. They are in a clinic, work for a journal, are earning a certificate in a speciality of the law, or are on law review, so they’re much more marketable than their peers. They are pursuing jobs in tax, patent, or criminal law (or any other field of law that they think has more jobs), so they will find a job. They are going to a regional school outside of NYC, Chicago, Boston, L.A. etc., where lawyers are still finding jobs. Their law school advertises 90%+ employment, so surely there are jobs. They will take anything, so surely they will find a job. They don’t want to practice law anyway, but the law degree will help them in another career. They believe that lawyers are respected professionals (not realizing that the glut of lawyers has resulted in a downgrading of the perception of the job among clients and employers, and basic supply & demand principles are driving down the hourly rates whether working in corporations or in-house).</p>
<p>Law students are intelligent and used to succeeding. They are verbal and able to argue their positions reasonably well. They are happy to research and to find nuggets of information to support their positions…and obviously are motivated to argue that they didn’t make a stupid decision by going to law school. </p>
<p>I urge prospective lawyers to open their minds. Ask practicing lawyers about each of the myths. Listen to what they tell you. You still have an opportunity to make other choices. (Cartoon character screaming "save yourselves, save yourselves.)</p>