More bad news for law students and recent graduates

More bad news for law students and recent graduates, as experts predict that this year’s graduating class is likely to suffer even worse employment numbers than the class before it. Jim Leipold, executive director of the National Association for Law Placement, says that the employment for the class of 2011 will likely also be "very compromised," hand that there is unlikely to be any real improvement in the job market until 2010. According to Leipold, summer associateship opportunities are drastically reduced, with close to 25 percent of firms canceling their programs entirely and others, such as Baker Botts, taking on significantly fewer summer associates (the firms Houston office currently has 27 summer associates, down from 67 in 2008). John Jameson, founder of the Southern California-focused partner recruiting firm The Jameson Group, says that the job climate is looking slightly healthier than last year, but that it is still tough. "Last year, I would say that the associate market was dead and buried," Jameson says. "This year, they're digging out of the grave. We are seeing firms looking to bring in associates on a very limited basis."

More bad news for law students and recent graduates usnews.com Mon, Jun 28, 2010