Most parents want their children to be lawyers when they grow up

Should your child become a lawyer?  A recent article states that many parents hope that their children become lawyers.  Is this a good thing now that many are arguing that the legal economy is weak?

It is no secret that most parents hope that their children become either doctors or lawyers.  Why should that change now?  While some people argue strongly that there are too many lawyers, the truth is that the population in the United States is rising and more lawyers will be needed in the future.  Law Professor Theodore Seto of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles states:

“Unless something truly extraordinary has happened to non-cyclical demand, a degrees-awarded-per-capita analysis suggests that beginning in fall 2015 and intensifying into 2016 employers are likely to experience an undersupply of law grads, provided that the economic recovery continues. To some extent, this will be buffered by recent oversupply. If matriculations remain at projected 2013 levels, however, once the market has absorbed the recent oversupply, a degrees-awarded-per-capita analysis suggests that long-term demand for law grads will outstrip long-term supply into the indefinite future.”

Anyway, getting to the meat of this post, most parents want their children to become lawyers.

"According to the survey, 64 percent of parents hope their children will grow up to pursue legal careers."

"“Being a lawyer means being a respected professional, and that’s something that parents want for their children,” said Larry Bodine, Esq., editor-in-chief of Lawyers.com."

"And even though the legal job market is still recovering, the demand for legal services remains strong. A 2012 survey from LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell found that 110 million U.S. consumers sought an attorney at least once in their lives, and 58 million sought one within the last year."

http://blogs.lawyers.com/2013/05/two-thirds-of-parents-want-kids-to-be-lawyers/

In short, law is and has for a long time been a respectable career.  That is not going to change in the foreseeable future.  Perhaps now is the time to go to law school as the legal market is starting to turn around and there are opportunities out there for grads who are willing to put in the work that is needed to succeed in law and serving the rising population that needs attorneys.