What do average law school graduates do if they can't get a job? Forum

[justrandom123]

For example, let's take an average law school grad, who was in the 50th percentile in the class, didn't do any summer internships, and graduated from a random law school in his state (not anywhere in the top law schools), and can't find a job. What do such people do? There are many of them, right? Where do they end up? Has anyone been that person, and where are you now?

[anyriotgirl]

are there really people who don't do any summer internships??

[Dr. Nefario]

I know several who just need law degrees to supplement their MBA. Others do it for sports management to begin a start up. If they do no internships, it's probably purposeful cause even the worst law student can find an internship.

ETA: horrible use of Anon

[Barrred]

ETA: horrible use of Anon

Unless OP is a middling law student from a random state's law school, who only went to law school for the sweet summer vacations.

[haus]

Well, I have not done any internships, but I am an odd duck. I am a part time student working full time. I hope that this degree will open a few extra doors for me but I am not trying to become an associate at some firm.

I would assume someone who strikes out through the traditional employment paths in law school will have to try to get creative and try to find some way to put their (perceived) strength/skills together and look for a way forward.

[1styearlateral]

Compliance.

[se7en]

Hustle to meet a small firm partner that likes you and invites you to interview at his firm. The applicant then bites his tongue and hopes that his transcript will not be requested. Sometimes it is not. Sometimes the applicant gets the job.

[andythefir]

I graduated a few years after the true pit of the market, but I went to a pretty good school and knew several people who didn't get jobs as attorneys. A couple went to more graduate school (several went to get permanent campus life-type degrees, a few went for healthcare-ancillary degrees), a couple went back to being teachers/accountants, one became a VP of a bank. One year U Michigan tracked down every single member of the class that didn't get jobs as attorneys, and most of them had the above kinds of jobs, plus a dude that became a goat farmer (not kidding).

All that said, my office was hiring and everyone referenced above turned down an attorney job there. One of my old jobs is down 2 people because not a single person has applied. So everyone who leaves the law either turns down those kinds of jobs or doesn't truly scour the country to find work.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I graduated a few years after the true pit of the market, but I went to a pretty good school and knew several people who didn't get jobs as attorneys. A couple went to more graduate school (several went to get permanent campus life-type degrees, a few went for healthcare-ancillary degrees), a couple went back to being teachers/accountants, one became a VP of a bank. One year U Michigan tracked down every single member of the class that didn't get jobs as attorneys, and most of them had the above kinds of jobs, plus a dude that became a goat farmer (not kidding).

All that said, my office was hiring and everyone referenced above turned down an attorney job there. One of my old jobs is down 2 people because not a single person has applied. So everyone who leaves the law either turns down those kinds of jobs or doesn't truly scour the country to find work.

okay, so here's my question for you about that. Looking at the ads you posted in the Vale thread (and I'm not criticizing that - thank you for bringing them to people's attention), the 13th states:

These positions require misdemeanor and/or juvenile cases for the associate’s and felony cases for assistant’s. Upon request, be prepared to provide a summary of cases tried.

Would that office actually hire someone with no criminal experience? Would a candidate be wrong to read the ad and think the job required experience?

(Also just have to add that there are a lot of people who aren't in a position to pick up and move to rural NM.)

[A. Nony Mouse]

Also to the OP: DO SUMMER INTERNSHIPS. Something. Anything. It doesn't matter if you strike out of biglaw, you can find SOMETHING to do over the summer.

[andythefir]

I graduated a few years after the true pit of the market, but I went to a pretty good school and knew several people who didn't get jobs as attorneys. A couple went to more graduate school (several went to get permanent campus life-type degrees, a few went for healthcare-ancillary degrees), a couple went back to being teachers/accountants, one became a VP of a bank. One year U Michigan tracked down every single member of the class that didn't get jobs as attorneys, and most of them had the above kinds of jobs, plus a dude that became a goat farmer (not kidding).

All that said, my office was hiring and everyone referenced above turned down an attorney job there. One of my old jobs is down 2 people because not a single person has applied. So everyone who leaves the law either turns down those kinds of jobs or doesn't truly scour the country to find work.

okay, so here's my question for you about that. Looking at the ads you posted in the Vale thread (and I'm not criticizing that - thank you for bringing them to people's attention), the 13th states:

These positions require misdemeanor and/or juvenile cases for the associate’s and felony cases for assistant’s. Upon request, be prepared to provide a summary of cases tried.

Would that office actually hire someone with no criminal experience? Would a candidate be wrong to read the ad and think the job required experience?

(Also just have to add that there are a lot of people who aren't in a position to pick up and move to rural NM.)

Absolutely, I should have amended my original comment to: the people who can't find work either won't or can't move to the middle of nowhere. Totally fair to point out picking up and going to the middle of nowhere won't work for everyone.

As to the substantive question, I was part of several decision making processes that hired people without a minute of criminal experience or had gotten fired from their last criminal job. If there's 2 resumes and 1 has criminal experience, that will probably get the job. But when you're the only resume that's applied, it's a different story.

[lolwat]

Absolutely, I should have amended my original comment to: the people who can't find work either won't or can't move to the middle of nowhere. Totally fair to point out picking up and going to the middle of nowhere won't work for everyone.

Yeah, I think when their choices start coming down to working in the middle of nowhere as an attorney versus doing something else, people start balancing how much they actually want to be an attorney . People who go outside of law generally seem to end up okay anyway; they just have to get past the blow to their ego or whatever and might be set years behind financially because of the extra debt.

[acr]

For example, let's take an average law school grad, who was in the 50th percentile in the class, didn't do any summer internships, and graduated from a random law school in his state (not anywhere in the top law schools), and can't find a job. What do such people do? There are many of them, right? Where do they end up? Has anyone been that person, and where are you now?

They're grinded into nutritional paste and fed to the successful members of the law school herd.

[ur_hero]

Honestly, pretty sure the "average" law student interns/clerks both 1L and 2L summers....Combine this with median GPA and this would make one a below-average candidate unfortunately.

The general advice doesn't really change though - apply to anything and everything you can remotely see yourself as tolerating for a short-period of time; take your best offer and get the experience; then look to transition. Networking events too, obviously. If you hate networking and never get anything out of it, the practice of going to more networking events would probably be a worthwhile skill/comfort to develop.

[Facelessgod]

I currently work as a district court clerk (no J.D. needed, am applying to law school this fall), and some of my co-workers went to law school. Can't really see their J.D. helping them very much seeing as how I can do the job just fine.