Quote:
Originally Posted by IQofTwoPlusTwo
Demand for McDonalds workers is high. Supply of people willing to work at McDonalds is low.
Demand for grads to read stuff is shrinking. Supply of people with useless law degrees is high.
The number ONE factor for getting a good paying law job is the law school that you graduate from. If you go to a middle ranked, or lower ranked school, you are going to have a VERY difficult time getting one. That is about 85% of the people who graduate from a law school.
The next most important factor is if you are "juiced in". Maybe you have a relative who is a judge? Maybe you have a relative who has their name on the letterhead of a law firm?
Another important factor is if you have some "special skill". Maybe you are also a medical doctor? A nuclear engineer? An airline pilot? Maybe you speak 5-6 languages fluently?
Another factor is if you graduate in the top 5% or so of your class.
If you don't have one or more of the above things....there is a very good chance you are going to have a VERY downwardly mobile life as an attorney.
A few years ago, when did document review, a LOT of the attorneys were very happy to be "making the big money" and working 9-5 every day, in an office, with lights and air conditioning. At that point in time, the wage was $21/hour. You had to be actively licensed though...no graduates who had not passed a bar exam and admitted to practice law.
For those that don't know, "document review" is having a human read through and analyze documents in preparation for a lawsuit/legal activity. Most of the time it is boring and easy work. Computers do the majority of the grunt work now...but sometimes humans are needed to properly analyze things. It is pretty "low level" work.
The stories I heard from many of my co-workers made my hair stand on end. They had very bad outcomes and VERY difficult lives. I don't know how they held things together, and I give them "props" for making it.
Now, I hear that wages are $24 to $27 an hour, so that is good. The bad thing is that most firms are getting a bit more selective as to who they hire to do document review. If you don't have prior experience, don't know the software program "Relativity", you will have a harder time getting work than say 5 years ago. HOWEVER, if you are in the right place at the right time, you can get your foot in the door.