The mood at a regional job fair for law students Friday was understandably more anxious than usual. "It's looking awful out there," said one 3L, William D. Corriher, who is seeking a job in public interest law.

The Spring Southeast Legal Hiring Conference, held at Georgia State University's College of Law, drew students from 13 Southeastern schools. Twelve employers attended, mainly to interview previously vetted candidates. The mix of government agencies, small firms, nonprofits and judicial circuits included NASA, the Floyd County Juvenile Court System, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the American Cancer Society and four small local firms such as Johnson & Freeman and Brogdon, Davis & Adams. Last year, 18 employers participated, including 13 small firms.

All five accredited Georgia law schools participated. Corriher, who worked at the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina last summer, said there were only four or five public interest jobs listed for 3Ls in the job database for GSU's law school, where he is a student. He sent out about 40 resumes for advertised positions, including those on Internet job sites, and also is considering unpaid fellowships. So far, he's received a few nibbles, but no bites.

"The competition is fierce," Corriher said, adding that several public interest groups and employers at job fairs have told him they're receiving numerous resumes for entry-level legal jobs from people who are overqualified.

"I'd like to be in Atlanta, but at this point I can't restrict my search to one geographic area," he said.

Like many law students, Corriher has heavy student loans to repay. "It's pretty obscene," he said. Corriher must start repaying the bulk of his loans in the fall, but he said a couple are due in May.

It's been a stressful semester, Corriher said. "The last couple of weeks, I've decided not to get too worked up about it," he added philosophically.

2LS ALSO ARE WORRIED

This is late in the season for law students seeking jobs, so 2Ls far outnumbered 3Ls at the job fair. They were less anxious than the 3Ls, but almost all of those interviewed were worried about finding paid summer jobs and their job prospects for next year.

Four local 2Ls said summer jobs are hard to come by and predicted that the competition next year will be stiff for permanent positions, because they think plenty of 2009 graduates still will be looking for jobs.

Matthew C. Brown, a GSU law student, said 3Ls who thought they had jobs lined up are back on the market. "I know people who've gotten offers and had them rescinded," he said.

Anne Marie Castigliola, also a GSU student, said some 2Ls who've applied for paying summer clerkships at firms have received letters saying the firms can't hire anyone at present.

"I wasn't expecting [the economic downturn] to affect this industry as much as it has, when everything first started. You think law is safe," said another GSU 2L, Emily E. Nally. She added that there is still demand for new law graduates in criminal law.

Julie Puhlman, a 2L at John Marshall, remained hopeful about her prospects, even though she also thinks that next year she will be competing with the current crop of law graduates.

"In a bad economy, more people need lawyers," said Puhlman, who worked as a paralegal at midsize and large firms in San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., for several years before coming to Atlanta to attend John Marshall.

Puhlman cited construction and real estate litigation as areas she believes need lawyers. "People are being taken advantage of by lenders. Their rights need to be protected," she explained. Puhlman wants to work for a smaller firm, a nonprofit or as a public defender.

She also sees elder law as a growth area because older people caught up in the foreclosure crisis are having their homes repossessed.

Kevin M. Monsour, an evening student at the University of Louisville's Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, said he gave up his day job this semester for unpaid externships that he hopes will help him compete in the tight job market.

Monsour reported that two midsize firms in Louisville, Ky., offering paid summer clerkships ended up not hiring anyone and said that Brandeis' career services department has added an extra career counselor to help students find jobs.

He was at GSU to interview for a paid summer position with NASA at Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- one of the more popular clerkships at the job fair. "It's a business law environment at an exciting government agency," Monsour said.

The two other federal agencies at the job fair -- the U.S. Department of Labor and the Environmental Protection Agency -- have no current openings for entry-level lawyers, but the federal stimulus package will likely create positions in their legal departments, said representatives.

Unlike many in-house law departments, the EPA does hire lawyers right out of law school, said Karen B. Singer, the associate regional counsel for EPA Region 4, which oversees the Southeast. Her region's 50-attorney legal department, which is organized by statute, trains lawyers in subject areas and also provides mentoring to new lawyers, Singer said.

Singer could not say when positions might come open from the stimulus package but said her office is optimistic about the future of environmental regulation and enforcement under the Obama administration.

"We're all very excited," she said, adding that the Region 4 office is increasing its focus on climate change and redeveloping cleaned-up Superfund sites.

The U.S. Department of Labor also hires entry-level lawyers, although there are more openings for those with labor and employment experience, said a spokesperson.

The Department of Labor's Southeastern branch employs 35 lawyers in its regional headquarters in Atlanta and a Nashville, Tenn., satellite office. At the moment, the office is hiring a deputy regional solicitor and two legal assistants. All federal job postings -- including those for lawyers -- can be found at www.USAJobs.gov.