NYT article: Downturn Dims Prospects even at Top Law Schools

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>NY Times 8/26/09- page B1
any non-luddite want to link it up for all to see ??</p>

<p>sounds like major changes may be occuring in Big Law recruiting and opportunities due to economic downturn. </p>

<p>once the article is linked up- they'll be plenty of time for discussion.</p>

2

<p>It’s an interesting read, although I can tell you that it’s a half-complete representation of what’s happening at my school. The sense of dismay is largely academic here – sure, there are a few firms that cancelled, but overall recruiting still seems strong. OCI spots were down “very slightly” this year according to our career services office, although there were noticeably fewer firms. Presumably some firms are interviewing more than normal or with more offices than normal to offset it.</p>

<p>Callbacks are continuing to fly; whether we’ll get offers or not is a separate question.</p>

3

<p>Hi Marny,</p>

<p>Here is the link to the article</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/business/26lawyers.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=b-1&st=cse[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/business/26lawyers.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=b-1&st=cse&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

</p>

4

<p>Thanks sybbie-</p>

<p>I hoped that you or sally would come through as you’ve come to my rescue before-
Actually- I’m seeing things in a more positive light. Maybe there will be more law grads reconnecting to government and non-profits. But our kids can find themselves so deeply in debt, it can take years to rid themselves of their economic burden.</p>

<p>my kid is still forging ahead in the application process- but she really may re-evaluate her options in the spring. She does not look forward to being so deep in debt nor does she want to give up her life to be an attorney.
A 2 tier promotion system at some of the firms doesn’t sound like a bad way to go either.<br>
Maybe some good will come out of this after all.</p>

5

<p>My D recently told me that one of her friends turned down a couple of T-14 to take a full tuition + stipend at a 15-20 school. She said that she had a lot of undergrad debt and did not want to add another 200k on top of it. So far it is working out for her, she did a DC internship at the end of her
1L and is on law review (YMMV).</p>

6

<p>full tuition from a 15-20 ranked school- sounds like a great “compromise” to me-</p>

<p>gotta ask- what is YMMV? besides being a luddite, I’m not that great with the abbreviations either.
lol.</p>

7

<p>YMMV = your mileage may vary</p>

8

<p>once again Thanks Sybbie.</p>

<p>My gut tells me there is going to be a major shake-up as to how things are done in top law firms regarding recruiting, partnership track, salary structure etc. Sometimes you need that monumental crisis to make things change.</p>

<p>I remind myself that med school students were expected to work inhuman hours during their residency’s as that was the way “things were always done”. That quickly ended when Sidney Zion’s daughter died at NY Hospital. All of a sudden there were major changes in the training of medical students.
Due to todays economic tsunami that is affecting even the most powerful law firms- they too will be forced to make major changes in the way they do business; changes that may have seemed unheard of before this economic crisis.</p>

<p>kids who will be applying to LS over the next year or two will have the benefit of understanding that there is going to be a “New Normal” at top law firms. It may be beneficial to have that new insight. </p>

<p>Those that may be the most negatively affected by these changes are the kids who are part of the LS class of 2009 and 2010 --as they entered law school under one set of expectations and graduated under a different set of rules.</p>