Intellectual Property Law

lawyers?!?

My friend says that going into law is slow right now. She said its hard to get a job, but i don't know where she gets this because she isn't in law or anything. I just want to know if this is true b/c one of my career choices.

Public Comments

1. It's hard for the 90% of people who didn't graduate in the top 10% of their law school class to get into the big corporate firms. But only about 2% of all lawyers in the US work in big firms, so it may just be a matter of not looking in the right places.
2. I agree with my fellow forum member that only a small percentage of law school graduates really find a high stakes position initially, especially with a Top 100 law firm in the United States. As an alternative, many recent law graduates will seek employment with government agencies or set up their own neighborhood practice. And lest we forget, there's the six years of student loans to pay off which means there are major limitations on the quality of life due to working diligently to pay off these student loans. Therefore, one is not likely to quit a well-paying legal position which is the source of the repayment. Good luck!
3. I'm a paralegal who has worked in the law field for 7 years. I have also worked closely with law students at a previous job, and many of them have the notion that being a lawyer is exactly as portrayed on t.v. Its true that the market is saturated right now with lawyers, but if you're committed to long hours of work, like to read and conduct research and have an open mind, then law school may be something that's appealing to you. Law school is expensive (well, any graduate level credits are almost triple the cost of undergrad credits) and the first few years out of law school will be grueling. And its true, you have to bust your butt in school, if you aren't ranked in the top 10% of your class you won't land a Summer Associate job and get in at a top firm.