PreLaw Law School Magazine
The Voice of Legal Education

Editor Commentary

Why some grads are worse off, while others doing great

Tue, 07/05/2011 - 9:18am -- Jack

Are law grads really better off than 10 years ago? It depends on the law grad.

We just published a story that shows that, on average, recent law graduates have a better standard of living than they did in 1998 — by 74 percent for those who enter private practice and by 45 percent for those who enter public service.

But while the average has improved, one has to take a close look at the data to understand what really happened to the legal profession over the past ten years.

A 45% employment rate? How law school employment numbers are inflated

Wed, 06/15/2011 - 12:06pm -- Jack

By Jack Crittenden:

Paul Campos, a law professor at the University of Colorado, grabbed some attention in late April with a commentary piece in The New Republic that identified the true permanent employment rate for recent graduates at 45% — at best.

There has been a lot written in the past year about law school employment rates and the general consensus is that NALP’s 88.2 percent figure is misleading.

Best Law Schools updated, corrected: UChicago jumps into top 5

Wed, 02/20/2013 - 1:53pm -- admin

We have revised our Best Law School rankings that appeared in the February issue of The National Jurist to account for two errors and better data from RateMyProfessors.com.

The University of Chicago and Boston College initially brought to our attention that their RateMyProfessors grades were incorrect. They, along with other schools, also pointed out that non-law professors were included in the tabulation of the scores.

Firm ups starting salary to $185k; Feds sue LSAC over discrimination

Sun, 10/21/2012 - 11:00pm -- admin

It was a GOOD week for …

Litigation associates in Texas, after Bickel & Brewer, a 43-attorney law firm in Dallas increased starting salaries to $185,000. That is reportedly the highest starting salary in the nation for new attorneys. The firm has said it wants to be ahead of the curve and that it wants to be the salary leader. The firm has offered permanent positions to eight third-year law students.. The base salaries exclude bonuses, which are discretionary. It increased salaries from $145,000 to $175,000 for 2002 first-year associates.

More strategic ways to land employment in a tough economy

Sun, 09/23/2012 - 11:00pm -- admin

By Hillary Mantis

There is good news — the legal industry now employs 3,200 more people than it did a year ago. And there is bad news — the legal sector lost 1,400 jobs in August alone. If you buy into the negative chat, it's not going to help you get a job. It can only bring you down. Here are five ways you can strategically act to get a job in a challenging economy. 

Strategic ways to land employment in a tough economy

By Hillary Mantis

When I was a law student many years ago, it was not all that hard to find a job. You could basically go to on-campus interviews, and apply to job listings. But if I were a law student now, I would try to be a little more strategic. Here are a few ideas to get you started, based on my experience counseling law students in tough times:

What are the Practice Areas that Might be Hiring Now?

by Hillary Mantis

It makes a lot of sense in this turbulent job market to try and focus on practice areas that might actually be hiring. Certain practice areas, such as litigation, criminal law, and family law, always seem to be somewhat in demand. Other areas, such as real estate and bankruptcy law, are more cyclical.

Some areas are emerging right now as hot areas. How do you find out what they are?

Pages