Top, candidates line up this morning at the Jacob K. Javits Center. Above, Chana Minkowitz.
Below, a candidate gets in some last-minute cramming, and law school graduates file in to take the exam.
Photos: NYLJ/Rick Kopstein
Hundreds of aspiring lawyers waited Tuesday morning to begin New York's bar exam at the Jacob K. Javits Center, clutching coffee, pencils and outlines as they expressed both hope and apprehension about an uncertain job market.
Chana Minkowitz said that only one of her friends ended up with the job she wanted. Others are "extremely frustrated" that they "cannot find anything" even though they had done well in law school, said Minkowitz, a 2010 graduate of Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
A mother of two young boys, Minkowitz, 27, said she is looking for part-time work and may consider an unpaid internship. Because her husband is a doctor, Minkowitz said she does not feel the same pressure as many recent graduates to find immediate employment.
Employment for law school graduates is at record-low numbers. The American Bar Association has reported that only 55 percent of recent law school graduates had landed a full-time law job.
Still, almost 12,300 tickets were issued to this year's two-day bar examination, with more than 4,000 issued for the Javits Center.
A Brooklyn Law School graduate named Stephanie, who declined to give her last name, said she had landed a clerkship with a criminal judge in Sussex County, N.J.
Although she likes tax and trust and estate law, she said she was "excited" by the clerkship opportunity, calling it a "good stepping stone."
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To gain insights about the legal market students may consider attending as much as possible career fairs/networking events. For example on askapeer.com law students or recent graduates can speak face-to-face with established lawyers and potential employers, learn insights about the industry, and talk about their background/expertise. This face-to-face contact can make a huge difference compared to spending hours on sending resumes that may never be considered.
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