can't find a job............. Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi guys,

Life sucks so bad.
I can't find a damn job.
I graduated in 2016 from a top 30 law school. I am a double-barred lawyer (CA and NY) currently living in Asia. My father lives in China and my mother lives in South Korea, so I was hoping to find a job in Asia. Possibly in South Korea because its beautiful here.

I've been jobless since August....

My grade point average is 3.1/4.0.
I ...
clerked at a state court for one year.
speak fluent Korean and English (but not Chinese)
My resume was corrected and reviewed by many partners and friends in different firms....
attended almost all networking events (that are free of charge)

Where is my LUCK!? what am I doing wrong?

[L_William_W]

Welcome to my world

Life is unfair. I passed the (pre-UBE) July 2015 NJ Bar exam and the July 2017 NY Bar exam and I'm working part time making $15 an hour as a tutor at a community college. There are people walking the streets who have less credentials and make much more money than me. I've been rejected by jobs that only require a college degree. It's fucking frustrating and you feel like everyone is against you.

I guess you should consider becoming a LSAT or bar exam tutor (if you passed California then you must be pretty damn smart). It's obviously not a long-term career, but at least you'll make some money in the interim.

[Anonymous User]

That sucks man. I'm sorry this is happening to you.

Summered at a large Korean firm in Seoul some time ago during 1L, so my knowledge may be outdated.

I think the Korean legal market is very insular, so any non-Korean law firm already in Seoul is going to stay small or if they haven't opened an office in Seoul, will continue to operate out of Hong Kong. This is despite the increased relaxation that was promised in the KORUS/KOR-EU FTA because a few powerful law firms lobbied hard to barricade foreign firms from coming in.

That said, I heard big Korean firms (of which there are a handful) are increasingly hiring recent US graduates but the number is very small. Have you tried applying to firms in Singapore, Hong Kong etc.? And if you are not just seeking firm jobs, there may be some openings from compliance teams at major conglomerates' subsidiaries.

[RedGiant]

Contact Kinney Recruiting. They specialize in Asia. They will tell you if your GPA is a dealbreaker. Recruiters are very helpful to realistically tell you your prospects.

[malibustacy]

Your grades are not that great, and you're competing against a good number of T14 grads who couldn't get a job in the US because of visa issues. I personally know of people who attended HYSCCN with amazing grades and qualifications, who attended prestigious domestic undergraduate institutions such as Seoul National or Yonsei University. Furthermore, many of those people have personal connections and alumni networks to major law firms.

The legal market for foreign attorneys is also not that large in Korea. Outside of a handful of major law firms, I don't know who would employ a foreign trained attorney.