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Second Cities, Standing Out and Other Advice for Law Students Seeking Jobs

By Carolyn Elefant

Though the pace of law firm layoffs may have abated since Black Thurday back in February (with 800 jobs lost in a single day), the aftershocks keep coming. Law firms have been deferring start dates for new associates to avoid outright downsizing, and now at least one firm -- Morgan Lewis & Bockius -- is canceling its summer program to avoid having two classes of first-year associates start in 2010. So what's a law student to do? Advice, if not jobs, abounds. Bloomberg reports that Harvard Law School is advising students to consider casting a wider net by exploring jobs in second cities such as Baltimore or Richmond, Va., if they're interested in Washington D.C., or Milwaukee or St. Louis if they want to work in Chicago. Harvard counselors are also encouraging students to build their skill sets. But it's not clear how students can compete for job opportunities with licensed lawyers who are willing to work for free. Back when I was in law school, state and federal attorney general offices were prime spots for law students who couldn't find work at a firm, provided that they'd work for free. But in a down economy, even those offices can...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on July 16, 2009 (boomark / email).