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Feature TYLA Project

Baby Lawyers Need Jobs Too!
By: Tammy T. Fisher, TYLA Law Student Division Liaison

TYLA is taking on a new initiative this year to promote different ways to utilize newly licensed lawyers in existing firms and solo practices. The current economy is tough all around. Newly minted, freshly bar-passed lawyers are having a harder time than ever before finding jobs. The project dispels many myths that seasoned attorneys may believe about hiring staff in their firm or solo practice.

According the National Association of Legal Professional’s (NALP) recently released report, Selected Findings from its Employment Report and Salary Survey for the Class of 2010, the overall employment rate for new law school graduates between 84.1% and 87.6%, the lowest it has been since 1996¹.   Law Schools’ Classes of 2010 employment data NALP received reveals a job market with many “underlying structural weaknesses.”²    This marks the lowest employment rate since the aftermath of the last significant U.S. economic recession in 1990-1991.³  Of those graduates for whom employment was known, only 68.4% obtained a job for which bar passage is required.⁴  Only 50.9% of employed graduates obtained a job in private practice.⁵

"There is likely more bad news to come," according to NALP Executive Director James Leipold. The last time a recession hit, the worst employment market for new law school graduates did not hit its peaks or show results on surveys until 3-5 years later meaning that we have not seen the worst yet for law grad employment.⁶

Law School job fairs have seen decreases in employers wanting to come on campus for interviews and decreases overall in job postings for graduates. Law students looking for clerkships, externships or internships are finding it hard to find placement as well.

At the same time, many law schools in Texas are struggling with budget cuts and are choosing to add even more to their enrollment numbers to make up the difference with increases in tuition. Let’s face it, the market is flooded for attorneys in some areas of the state and it’s tough for new lawyers to find jobs.

Later this year, TYLA will be distributing via law schools and the State Bar of Texas, pamphlets designed to educate seasoned attorneys on the opportunities and benefits of hiring newly licensed attorneys. By early next year, we also hope to have further tips and tricks for newly licensed attorneys and seasoned attorneys and, as well as firms up on the website including a Ten-Minute Mentor on the same topic.

This is a win-win project for attorneys old and new. Cost savings and efficiency at a minimum will make it worth employers’ while. At the same time, recent graduates may be willing to work in unconventional salaries and employment arrangements than before in order to gain experience in their field. TYLA hopes that every attorney in the state will at least take a look at it to see if hiring a law student or recent law school graduate might fit their firms’ needs.

¹National Association of Legal Professionals, Class of 2010 Graduates Faced Worst Job Market Since Mid-1990s: Longstanding Employment Patterns Interrupted  (June 1, 2011), http://www.nalp.org/2010selectedfindingsrelease.
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