Law graduates beat job market by launching their own firms

Here is an interesting article on law graduates that deal with the tough job market in the legal services industry by striking out on their own – launching new firms. The article looks at Damon Chetson, who graduated from University of North Carolina’s School of Law in May 2009 with $90,000 debt and no job prospects. Chetson established his own criminal law by the end of September. Chetson says that digital media is crucial to the success of the enterprise: “I don’t need a big copier, I don’t need a huge support staff to manage all my paperwork and I don’t need an expensive phone system. Basically I just need a laptop and cell phone and I’m off and running.” The National Association for Law Placement (NALP) reports that the number of recent law graduates going solo increased from 3.5 percent in 2008 to 5.5 percent in 2009, the biggest one year jump since 1982. The article goes on to consider whether current levels of student debt are justified by the meagre job prospects for graduates, and whether law schools could better equip graduates for solo practice, in light of the fact that nearly 50 per cent of all private lawyers in the US are solo practitioners.

Law graduates beat job market by launching their own firms msnbc.msn.com Tue, Jun 21, 2011