Law School Job Prospects for 2012 and Beyond
If you are considering law school today, the jobs outlook for the next few years is most certainly on your mind. According to the San Francisco Business Times, job prospects for attorneys are improving, but not necessarily for recent law school graduates. If you look closely, though, there is definitely reason for hope if you are just starting to think about law school.
The latest trend in the San Francisco Bay Area is that firms are focusing their attention on lawyers with three to seven years of experience:
Salaries that were frozen at some [Silicon] Valley law firms are now going up…base pay for an associate with four years experience is $210,000, up from $185,000.
While great news for local mid-level attorneys, can we read more into this?
“It’s an indication that, at least locally, the economy is starting to rebound,” said Julie Brush, a partner at Solutus Legal Search.
As Brush suggests, the demand for legal services is increasing. Firms report “our clients are busy and we’re looking to keep up with client demand.”
The article doesn’t mention the job outlook for law school graduates this year and it doesn’t speculate on the job outlook for law students who are just starting (or starting to think about) law school.
But what it does suggest to me is a few things:
- Hiring is typically a lagging indicator of economic improvement. The fact that law firms are hiring is overall a good sign.
- While attorneys with some experience are in demand today, law school graduates over the coming years may be the beneficiaries of a hiring boom.
- How much of this is local to the Bay Area? The best way to find out is to consult your local business periodicals and talk to practicing attorneys in your area.
While a recent trend saw an increase in law school applications from individuals hoping to wait out the recession, we may see a new trend of students who are hoping to ride the wave of a legal hiring boom that is just starting now.
