Most law school grads find jobs, not riches
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Lawyer glut in Oregon sends
students hunting elsewhere
By CAROL MORTON
Of the Emerald
This article is part of a series
on the job-market outlook for
University graduates
Although a law career is not
the ticket to the upper-middle
class it once might have been,
most law school graduates find
jobs within a year of graduation.
National news magazines
write scare stories about a
shortage of jobs for lawyers, but
National Association for Law
Placement figures show about
90 percent of yearly graduates
find legally-related jobs within
nine months, says Doug Hal
dine, University law school
placement director.
And University law school
graduates meet the national
average.
Three-fourths of the 1980
class returned employment in
formation questionnaires to the
law school placement center,
and 90 percent of the respond
ing graduates were employed.
Most of those employed had
legally related jobs. Only 9 per
cent were in non-legal jobs.
“About one-third of the
students have jobs before they
graduate,” Haldine estimates.
These jobs are with larger
firms or are a result of contacts
made during judicial clerkships,
Haldine says.
"The bulk of students have
jobs by October when the state
bar exam results are back."
Job hunting requires the
same procedures students go
through when looking for a
clerkship in a law office while in
law school. “They just knock on
doors and walk into offices in
town," Haldine says.
However, Eugene job pro
spects are not that good, he
says. Most Eugene law firms do
not expand at the rate they hire
clerks.
For job-hunting out of town,
Haldine advises students to
send out resumes with cover
letters before visiting a city.
Major law firms in search of
new lawyers can afford to inter
view students in law schools
across the country, Haldine
says. However, the majority of
the 1980 University law school
graduates in private practices
work in firms of less than 25
lawyers.
Students generally take jobs
based on their interests rather
than the market demands. For
example, Haldine says a student
at the top of his class, attractive
to a large metropolitan law firm,
decided to practice in a small
legal services office in New
Mexico because he was not in
terested in a large firm.
On the other hand, a large
practice offers "quality expo
sure.” Their clients can afford to
spend a lot of money on large
$25-million suits that cover all
the bases, Haldine says. A large
firm has the people and sources
to do the job
An employer looks at a
student’s academic record and
personality. Every employer
weighs these factors differently,
Haldine says.
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Haldine says hiring an as
sociate for a law firm is like
getting married. The employer
must work closely with the new
employee and carefully con
sider whether the employee will
get along with the firm and its
clientele.
University law school
placement coordinator Jan
Prewitt says the market for
traditional lawyers is tightening
up. However, alternative car
eers for lawyers are opening.
Corporations are hiring
lawyers right out of school as
assistants or associate house
councils. These jobs involve
routine matters such as moni
toring the corporations com
pliance with government
regulations.
Prewitt says jobs are available
in areas other than strict legal
practice, such as jobs with title
companies, accounting firms,
bank administration, middle
management positions and
government.
For graduates just starting out
and interested in criminal law, a
job in the district attorney’s of
fice offers criminal law exper
ience, a secure position, a
regular income and exposure to
the legal community, Haldine
says.
A reliable source of income
for beginning lawyers in private
practice has been taking court
appointed clients.
The court pays for those peo
ple who cannot afford their own
lawyers. However, some courts
are restricting their court ap
pointee lists. For instance, Hal
dine says Lane County requires
that lawyers demonstrate a cer
tain level of experience.
Prewitt says a lawyer s salary
does not necessarily mean the
country club anymore, es
specially in Oregon. The aver
age starting salary for those
polled 1980 University law
school graduates was $18,095.
However, in Oregon the average
starting salary was $17,160.
"A legal education is a porta
ble education,” Prewitt says.
She says the law school at
tracts students because of the
programs, not necessarily
because they want to practice
law in this state.
A lot of out-of-state students
come to the law school for three
years, and then find jobs where
they came from, Haldine says.
The law school career
placement office provides job
strategy and resume prepara
tion help.
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