A while back, I decided I wanted to be a lawyer, so I started diligently investigating my decision.  I somehow managed to complete my undergraduate degree, and then in total freak-out mode just after that, I started to talk to people about legal jobs. I got a job as a paralegal and a part time political gig on the side.  As a result, I had a lot of interaction with lawyers and lawmakers. It has been uncanny that while my interest in law has developed into an outright dedication to law as my future path, I have had to watch as chances for legal employment have declined.  For those of you who haven’t been paying attention, over 14,000 attorneys have recently been laid off.

There are two ways to consider how this will affect your employability after law school.  You can take the short-term approach and wonder how the recession will affect your employability directly after graduating.  You may also wonder how this recession will affect your entire career as an attorney.

If you are asking the first question, then factors pertaining more generally to all job markets will matter more, as you will be experiencing problems that all relatively inexperienced workers are experiencing.  The news is full of stories about how the late retirement that most baby boomers are taking will be preventing hot young things, like you and me, from advancing in our own careers for a long time.  There is an analogous trend going on within the structure of big law firms as partners are holding their jobs and axing the weak.  If you believe the layoff trends that Above The Law writes about in this short article, the fact that plenty of counsel positions are being axed also probably raises the bar for those seeking staff attorney positions in competition with much older and more experienced candidates.

That said, if you’re jumping into law school to defer the inevitable difficulties holding a job down, you’re getting exactly what you are paying for.  You have three years off of the job market, after which you’ve got a terminal degree and a second chance to get a job or move in with mom.  It seems to me that worrying too much about what will happen right after you graduate law school is a moot point.  In this scenario, you’re not really attending law school for the purpose of being more employable, or at least you shouldn’t be.  We know that from the cold hard facts piling up every time another large firm fires a ton of employees.  The legal field is experiencing a recession in roughly the same way the rest of the economy is.  Your limited experience will limit you anywhere it seems, JD or not.  It’s probably going to be real hard after three years and you won’t necessarily be happy with your decision.

The second question is a little more complicated to answer.  If you sought a legal education because of the thrilling opportunity to live a career and life as an attorney, things are yet to be determined.  While right now you can be sure that your near term opportunities are limited, (at least if you intend to pursue an extremely coveted, well-paying biglaw job) you may be looking forward to a future of incredible opportunity.

If you’re the kind of person who is thinking about your entire career, you’re already ahead of the pack.  You study to get awesome grades.  You’re not a gunner because you are trying to make solid social relationships that will help your prospects for jobs years from now.  You care about trends in the legal field enough to read posts on blogs and other news sources, and to listen to podcasts like the Legal Geekery Podcast.*  You are thinking about what kind of law you’re going to enjoy and you know exactly what you’re going to have to study (and care about in the face of early mornings and late nights) for the next several decades.  These facts might change, but you’re at least paying attention, and so you will be able to react appropriately.

For some time into the near future, we will probably still be in the horrible job market that exists today.  However, within the next 15 years, the glut of 40-65 year old baby boomers will start to fade into retirement, sickness, and general lack of fitness for work.  Who will take the jobs that are left behind?  Our generation will probably have jobs at that point.  Let us hope for at least that.  The real scary fact that relates to this eventual changing of the guard is that the baby boom generation really does not plan on retiring any time soon.  They all lost their worth in the economic crash.  They were planning on retiring on that!  Uh, Oh!

Things could also change drastically, just like they have in the last year, possibly resulting in far more rewarding careers for this generation’s law students than anyone expects.  For those of you asking whether or not the current job market for attorneys makes a JD worth acquiring, I say that you are asking the wrong question.  Ask yourself whether or not you love the law.  Ask whether or not you want to be a lawyer in 30 years.  Ask if you’ll be happy if you don’t become an attorney.  Moreover, ask if you intend to work your ass off so you can compete with the large additional number of people who took, or plan to take, the LSAT this year.  You’re going to be competing with them for a lifetime.

*In fact, Josh and Laura talked about this topic for a fair bit in this past week’s podcast.  I really liked the idea for a podcast, and they pulled it off perfectly.  It’s exactly the kind of thing readers of this blog will enjoy, as they spend a lot of time geeking out about things that tech fan kids and future/present lawyers enjoy.

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4. Should I Blog Anonymously?