Careers services departments at law school never were ignored in a good economy. There were always job fairs, on-campus interviews with law firms and students looking to polish their resumes.
But now, those departments are more popular than ever as they add programs and services to assist students and alumni who are encountering a tightening legal job market.
"Nobody's coming in with job offers in hand," said Rachel J. Littman, assistant dean for career development at Pace Law School in White Plains, N.Y. "The demand for our services has certainly increased from students and alumni. I think the mood on campus is worried but realistic. I'm not getting as many completely out of control panic calls as I thought I would."
But students are scrambling, especially those who are just a few months away from graduation and facing the prospects of unemployment coupled with burdensome student loan debt. In previous years, law schools received calls from firms seeking a certain number of qualified students for summer associate programs and, ultimately, job offers.
While job searches in the past weren't on auto pilot, there wasn't the urgency in a job search that exists now.
Some students who had aspirations of getting into corporate law or financial services are quickly adapting to the reality of the job market.
"I hear people saying they're willing to take anything," Littman said. "They just want to start practicing. For those who were hell-bent on joining a big firm in the city or corporate law in general, they have had to adjust."
Pace's career services department has brought back alumni who graduated into the job market during the recession of the early 1990s. It was a practice in morale building of sorts from lawyers who have survived bumpy economies.
"They were telling students that their career path may not end up how they thought," Littman said, "and that it may be unexpected."
MORE COMPETITION
Susan Kirkeby, a second-year student at the University of Connecticut School of Law, said the job market has made law school "even more competitive" as students seek any edge or personal improvement strategy that will separate them from the growing pack of job-seekers.
"Friends, students and alumni are scratching their heads wondering why they haven't gotten a job," said Kirkeby, who noted that she knows at least five UConn law students who have had job offers rescinded due to the economy. "In one word, I would characterize it as frustrating."
Kirkeby works in UConn's career services department and has fielded several calls from smaller firms around the state who sense possible opportunity in the marketplace.
"They'll tell me that they've never been able to pay the amount of money that a typical UConn graduate receives," Kirkeby said. "Right now, you're going to get a lot of bang for your buck. [Students] will take any offer."
Ellen Rutt, associate dean for career services at UConn, said the law school has launched a concerted effort to help its students and alumni in need find job opportunities.
Rutt's department added some personnel before the state budget crisis came to a head and began implementing "a more aggressive type of career services model with a higher level of student involvement."
That has meant more networking events, adding boutique training for students in particular practice areas such as bankruptcy and tax law, and committing the office to tracking market trends to better guide students toward potential job opportunities.
"Jobs are out there, but it takes a lot more organization" to find and land them, Rutt said. "You have to be tenacious."
It's not just current students who need help. "We're hearing from some alumni who are stunned to see that they've been made redundant," she said.
UConn law alumni have stepped forward to help organize networking events in different parts of the country, including California. They're also mentoring those in search of job opportunities through an online database that connects people interested in similar practice areas.
Additional networking functions are in the works, and when the budget gets even tighter, professors have said they will consider opening up their homes for events. "We'll do what it takes," Rutt said. "Everyone is recognizing that we play a part in helping students and alumni find jobs."
DREADING 2009
Deborah Daddio, career services director at Quinnipiac University School of Law, said her department is encouraging students to take additional courses in areas that currently are in demand, such as bankruptcy, tax and employment law, and to take advantage of any local continuing legal education course.
Last summer, the law school unveiled an online mentoring database that connects students with alumni, and Daddio noted that the resource has been used extensively.
Students also are looking to make themselves more appealing to employers and are considering joint degrees, such as the JD/MBA option.
Beyond all of that, "we've really ramped up the number of alumni events to get [students] to take advantage of networking opportunities," Daddio said.
Paula Zimmer, assistant dean and director of career services at Western New England College School of Law, said students who lined up summer associate positions late last summer "keep coming in and saying they think they have a job and they hope they have a job."
Zimmer noted: "People are hesitant. They're scared."
Last week, Zimmer was working on the 2008 job placement survey that tracks the most recent graduating class and where they've landed. "I dread 2009" and its resulting survey, she said. "A lot of students aren't going to be starting their careers as early as they thought."
