The careers of many law school graduates have not worked out as they anticipated. According to a new study based on American Bar Association figures, roughly twenty percent of law graduates from twenty ten are working at jobs that do not require a license to practice law. Only forty percent are working in law firms compared with sixty percent from the class a decade earlier.
As reported in the New York Times, to pay their bills, many twenty ten law school graduates have taken on a variety of jobs, with many striking out on their own and setting up solo practices. Most of the graduates are still associated with substantial student debt. Much of this is traceable to the Great Recession. After the two thousand and eight financial collapse, corporations began to slash spending on legal matters.
Law firms responded by reducing hiring and sometimes laying off employees. The class of twenty ten was the first to feel the full force of these dynamics. With many law firms scaling back, most available positions fall within more modest paying categories like solo practice, small firms, the public sector and private occupations that do not require a law school education.
