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Hey, I've always wanted be a lawyer, I've done internships and it's only increased my desire. I've also never had ridiculous dreams about big law, all I've wanted to be is a public defender in Cook County (or anywhere really). Unfortunately, the news I've been hearing lately has really been killing me. I'm 1.5 years from graduating from college, and I'm 5 years away from graduating law school. I currently have a 3.95 GPA and I've been practicing in the mid to high 160s. I know I won't get top14, but I should have a good shot at top 30, at the very least. I've always been a hard worker, but that doesn't mean anything I guess. The recession hit, times got hard, but I always counted on things improving in the legal field in 5 years. Now, though, people keep telling me the opposite. I'm honestly unsure of what to do, and I was wondering if you guys had any views on how the legal field will be in 5 years?

I could see it continuing to get worse for lawyers for quite some time.. Demand for services is on the decline and the client base has shrank... In short....

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My friend 'Dom said it's going to get pretty freakin' hott, especially for TTT grads! APPLY NOW

Well, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistic's fancy National Employment Matrix, "Legal Occupations" will go from 579,864 in 2006 to 653,179 in 2016, with "Lawyers" going from 361,773 in 2006 to 397,362 in 2016. I doubt these statistics factored in the state of our current economy, but, oh well, here's some hard numbers to go with everyone's best guess.

ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/ ... 541100.pdf

SoulInNeed wrote:Hey, I've always wanted be a lawyer, I've done internships and it's only increased my desire. I've also never had ridiculous dreams about big law, all I've wanted to be is a public defender in Cook County (or anywhere really). Unfortunately, the news I've been hearing lately has really been killing me. I'm 1.5 years from graduating from college, and I'm 5 years away from graduating law school. I currently have a 3.95 GPA and I've been practicing in the mid to high 160s. I know I won't get top14, but I should have a good shot at top 30, at the very least. I've always been a hard worker, but that doesn't mean anything I guess. The recession hit, times got hard, but I always counted on things improving in the legal field in 5 years. Now, though, people keep telling me the opposite. I'm honestly unsure of what to do, and I was wondering if you guys had any views on how the legal field will be in 5 years?

A 3.95 GPA, and practing in the mid to upper 160's.... Don't give up on T-14 yet..... Other than that can't help ya.

Dwaterman86 wrote:

SoulInNeed wrote:Hey, I've always wanted be a lawyer, I've done internships and it's only increased my desire. I've also never had ridiculous dreams about big law, all I've wanted to be is a public defender in Cook County (or anywhere really). Unfortunately, the news I've been hearing lately has really been killing me. I'm 1.5 years from graduating from college, and I'm 5 years away from graduating law school. I currently have a 3.95 GPA and I've been practicing in the mid to high 160s. I know I won't get top14, but I should have a good shot at top 30, at the very least. I've always been a hard worker, but that doesn't mean anything I guess. The recession hit, times got hard, but I always counted on things improving in the legal field in 5 years. Now, though, people keep telling me the opposite. I'm honestly unsure of what to do, and I was wondering if you guys had any views on how the legal field will be in 5 years?

Dude, the law market will be like every other profession at that point - they may all suck or all be back (I would say by then, if we take some action on free trade, etc., we could be beginning our comeback after these next 3 years of hell.) Either way, choose the profession you want - you will have a lifetime of ups and downs - just be smart about debt going into it. But don't try to time the market - lawyer is not a fad, it's a requirement of society.

You guys are right, I just don't want to feel like a complete idiot in 5 years. Having spent so many years working hard, only to end up with a piece of paper that I can't do anything with. Like I said, my expectations aren't high, but according to everyone on here (from what I've seen), I'm silly to even expect a public defender's job in 5 years in Chicago (they currently have a waiting list for hiring).

SoulInNeed wrote:only to end up with a piece of paper that I can't do anything with.

Don't be silly...there are a ton of things one can do with a JD....ITE

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