Legal Job Outlook for 2014

The best year in law since 2006!

"What is the lawyer job outlook like for 2014?"

This is a question that hundreds of people have asked me, and it needs to be addressed.  I don't know when I became the expert on the future legal job market, but the reality is that many people come to this blog with such questions in mind, so I figured I would take this chance and talk about the 2014 legal job market in great detail.

First, there is actually little information out there on the 2014 job market.  Many students are holding their breath, so to speak, when it comes to getting jobs in 2014.  Many people who are taking the bar this July and next year are going to be largely entering the job market at the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014.  That means that people want to know what the job market is going to look like, but few people really know.

I do not know what the legal job market looks like in 2014, but I can give you some of my guesses.  Time will tell whether or not these guesses prove to be correct.  However, let me tell you right now that I have often found that I am right about gleaning information.  Whether you trust what I have to say is up to you.  However, I would like to state that I have it on a pretty dang good hunch that 2014 is going to be better than 2013 is turning out to be!

Why?

First, there are less law school applicants now than ever.  Law schools are cutting enrollment because the profession cares about not saturating the market.  Even if law schools were not cutting enrollment, I believe the legal market would be fine.  As an economics major I pay a great amount of attention to how the market works. 

Less law students are enrolling in 2013, and that means in 2016 there will be more jobs.  Up until 2016, including during 2014, the legal job market will steadily improve.  More and more baby boomers will be retiring from the legal field.  More jobs will begin to open and employers will know that there is a smaller pool to grab from.  While this year may be hard for some students, those students who volunteer, take lower paid jobs, and who continue to actively improve their legal skills will most likely find the kind of jobs that they are looking for. 

However, let me say right now that those who let their law skills slide will have a much tougher time getting a legal job.

"Should I go to law school if I am an older student?"

"Will I be able to find a legal job as an older student?"

Define older.  Do you mean 30s, 40s, older?  50s?  Yes and yes, you should go to law school if you think that you want to practice law. 

One lawyer had this to say about finding a legal job at an older age:

"[A]s far as firms looking for young whipper-snappers to work those 80-hour weeks, perhaps some firms do, but I think most firms realize that a person a few years older is more likely to have developed a professional work ethic (as opposed to just an academic work ethic--and they're very different), and is also likely to know what he is getting into."

Law firms do want older employees.  While some state that law firms only want young employees, the reality is that their reasoning is off in left field.   Law firms care about the bottom line, money.  Older attorneys have relevant job experience and have a lot to give to a firm.  Law firms do not want children running around.  They do not want to be a babysitting outfit.  I have gone to law school with older students, and I must say I see a HUGE difference in maturity between law students who are young and playing with their phones in class and the geriatrics (just kidding) who sit in the front row, engaged in studying.  In fact, I would not be surprised if it was the old fogeys were who reeling in the top grades and high ranks. 

In short, go to law school if you want to and if you are old, do not let it hold you back.  And if you are worried about 2014 being a bad year, forget about it!

As for me, it's time to do some naked yoga and perhaps watch some Dr. Who.