WSJ’s Law Blog (highly recommended reading) has this post from a former BU Law student, Kirsten Wolf, who graduated $100K in the hole, assuming she would land an “average” job that would net her $85K/year upon graduation. Despite passing the Massachusetts bar, Kirsten wasn’t able to find the mythical “average” job and decided to simply do something she loved. The only trouble is, she’s still $85K in debt and not making Big Firm Associate bank.
Archive for the 'Career Prospects' Category
Via Facebook, a classmate posted a link to this story from the New York Times over the weekend. The essence of the piece can be summed up in this quote: “The pay is still good (sometimes very good), and the in-laws aren’t exactly complaining. Still, something is missing, say many doctors, lawyers and career experts: the old sense of purpose, of respect, of living at the center of American society and embodying its definition of ’success.’”
Our culture’s definition of success has changed, the argument goes. Creativity and innovation are receiving the financial and social prestige once enjoyed by the classic prestige careers of doctor and lawyer.
I suppose one could join in the great lawyer’s lamentation about paradise lost. Sure, I’m also a bit nervous about what this trend means for my future career success. Just like any market, the legal job market has ebbs and flows. It just so happens the flows tend to be more common than the ebbs - which is fantastic. Though, perhaps we are entering an ebbing period…
But seriously… This story boils down, essentially, to a group of well-paid, well-trained, highly-educated, bright people no longer being the de facto coolest kids in the room. That strikes me as absurd both because of the sheer ego and insecurity involved not to mention the fact that it doesn’t change the nature of what lawyers do. (Does it?)
Creativity and passion and innovation are also required in the law to face the challenges facing society. And they are legion. It can only help that the economy has recognized that and is rewarding that initiative. Additionally, new ways of doing business, new ways of valuing talent, and new ways of defining success and ethical ways of obtaining it don’t rob the lawyer’s prestige. Rather they place new demands on the attorney’s expertise and create new markets in which to sell the counsel’s services.
Say what you want, but you have a long way to go before convincing me that the lawyer’s death is anything but greatly exaggerated.
So, about a year ago (ish) I overheard a conversation about advertising in the pharmaceutical industry.
During focus groups with their target audience (doctors), the company would send in drug reps to pitch the drug and ask doctors what they think - would they prescribe that drug based on the pitch they just got? To my shock (probably shouldn’t have been) male doctors were more likely to prescribe medications that were pitched to them by attractive, young women.
Disturbing to say the least. But that story came to mind as I read this on the ABA website:
A researcher studying the impact of beauty has found that good-looking lawyers—like other professionals—make more money than their colleagues with lesser looks.
Economist Daniel Hamermesh of the University of Texas based his conclusion on the photographs of graduates of an unnamed law school. Those rated attractive in the photos went on to make more money than less-comely students, the Economist reports.
Links: original Economist story and Legal Blog Watch write-up.
