Just when I was had finally accepted my life as a contract attorney and personal responsibility for my career woes, the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled "Hard Case: Job Market Wanes for U.S. Lawyers". Immediately this article became the main topic of discussion on all the legal bulletin boards, and I found myself once again doubting my position. When I compare myself to the population as a whole, I can't help but be grateful for my position, and I have to believe that law school provided it to me. When I graduated from undergrad, I wasn't exactly getting a ton of big money offers. I don't know what I would have done at that time other than continue my education. When I read the thoughts of my fellow attorneys, I feel like I am a victim of some vast conspiracy that tricked me into getting a law degree some I could be the butt of some cosmic joke. Perhaps it is because I did not come from money, and I never had extremely high earning expectations entering law school that I am having a hard time deciding whether I am a failure. So many of the people I grew up with would give their right arm to make half of what I make in a year and to have the kind of flexibility that I have in life as a contract attorney. Sure I would love to have more substantive work, to be valued by my peers, and to have fully paid benefits, who wouldn't?
I wonder why it's only now that the Wall Street Journal decides to publish this article when this has been a problem for so many years. Articles are fine, but what is the solution? Will law schools suddenly lower tuition because they have been exposed? Will the government provide more jobs and loan forgiveness to us? Will big firms divide those huge salaries up and take on more attorneys? Will the ABA stop accrediting under qualified schools? Will the bar associations that pay their non-attorney employees more than most entry level attorneys dream of making offer a hand to those in need? Will the state bars quit requiring attorneys to pay exorbitant fees for registration and CLEs each year? Will anything happen, or will we just keep complaining for another 20 years without change? What kind of legal community are we if we won't do anything to fix the problem. Isn't that our job? If we can't do it for ourselves, why should we be allowed to help others?
I wonder why it's only now that the Wall Street Journal decides to publish this article when this has been a problem for so many years. Articles are fine, but what is the solution? Will law schools suddenly lower tuition because they have been exposed? Will the government provide more jobs and loan forgiveness to us? Will big firms divide those huge salaries up and take on more attorneys? Will the ABA stop accrediting under qualified schools? Will the bar associations that pay their non-attorney employees more than most entry level attorneys dream of making offer a hand to those in need? Will the state bars quit requiring attorneys to pay exorbitant fees for registration and CLEs each year? Will anything happen, or will we just keep complaining for another 20 years without change? What kind of legal community are we if we won't do anything to fix the problem. Isn't that our job? If we can't do it for ourselves, why should we be allowed to help others?
I certainly don't have the answers. For now, I just have to focus on the future and quit worrying about what I think I deserve and what I don't have. If I spend my days dwelling and blaming my law school and fellow attorneys for my life, I know I will never get anywhere. I tried that and got nowhere. I definitely feel for the more recent graduates, but if they are anything like me knowing the truth probably wouldn't have stopped them from making the same decision.
