Monday, October 20, 2008

Recent Law Grads - $12 an hour!

"Paralegals / Recent Law School Graduates
Reply to: job-886105721@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2008-10-20, 10:21AM EDT

We have several temporary positions for recent law school graduates interested in gaining experience with a prestigious government agency.

Please email resumes for immediate consideration.

* Compensation: $12/Hour
* Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
* Please, no phone calls about this job!
* Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests."


Good luck trying to swing those $1500 a month non-dischargeable student loan payments on that!

26 comments:

Rich Merritt said...

You can try blogging and writing like me. Pretty please click my link to get my traffic up so I can charge for ads.

Yeh, and good luck. $12 / hour is the new wage of the new economy. Awesome.

Who's the hypocrite?

Anonymous said...

high school dropouts make $12 an hour.

Anonymous said...

A grim verdict awaits law grads
Leigh Jones / Associate editor
October 20, 2008


Between classes last week, Will Hall was headed to a résumé-writing workshop at Florida State University College of Law.

"It's definitely not the best economy to try to find a job in," said the third-year student.

Hall, president of the law school's Student Bar Association, is not sure where he'll end up after graduation in May.

"You have to be innovative and creative," he said.

Nearly 44,000 law students nationwide will graduate next year with an average of about $73,000 in loan debt, according to numbers from the American Bar Association.

And while most would-be lawyers already have accepted that only a small fraction will start their careers with a big-firm salary of $160,000, the past few weeks of economic chaos have caused many to wonder if any kind of attorney work is in their near future.

Aware of the dismay, law school career services professionals say they are working simultaneously to bolster morale among students and to keep the job outlook realistic, a feat that requires a sympathetic ear and a bit of a nudge.

"I've got students coming in asking if they should go for an LL.M.," said Carole Montgomery, director of career development at George Washington University Law School in Washington.

If students want to pursue the advanced law degree to avoid looking for a job, Montgomery advises against it.

"I tell them, 'you need to make a good-faith effort to get yourself a job,' " she said. "They've got to have a back-up plan, and a back-up, back-up plan."

It is too early to tell to what extent law firms scaled back hiring this fall for summer associates in 2009. But James Leipold, executive director of the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), said that, anecdotally, law firms were more cautious in the offers they made.

"For the class of 2009, it will be tough," he said.

The help that career services offices provide has become increasingly important as schools compete for top students and tout their connections to firms and public interest organizations as a distinguishing factor.

Think about HUD

In addition, law school rankings in U.S. News & World Report depend partly on graduate employment rates. The recent economic crisis means that many offices are working overtime to connect students with jobs.

At George Washington University Law School, Montgomery is encouraging students who planned to work at large law firms to instead apply for jobs with government agencies. Not only can graduates gain solid training, but they also can take advantage of loan-forgiveness opportunities, she said.

She is urging students to consider positions beyond those at the more prestigious agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Students should open their eyes to possibilities at places such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, she said.

In Hall's case, he lives in Tallahassee, Florida's capital, and would welcome a government job. But he said that a hiring freeze imposed on state agencies has blocked that option. He hopes to become a trial lawyer.

"My dad has his own little firm. I may be going there sooner rather than later," he said.

'Clearly nervous'

At the University of Iowa, the College of Law is trying to provide extra help to students through workshops such as "The Job Search in Tough Times" and "Attributes of Successful Candidates: What You Need to Know in Tough Markets."

The Midwestern law school, to a certain degree, is insulated from the turmoil of Wall Street, said Steve Langerud, assistant dean for career services. Still, as much as two-thirds of the law school's graduating class leaves Iowa to take jobs elsewhere.

"They're clearly nervous," he said.

Students get caught up in the news coverage of bank failures, plummeting stock values and jobless rates, he said, and they get panicky about their own prospects.

"What they're hearing can be more frightening than reality," he said, adding the school actually saw an uptick in the number of on-campus interviews this fall.

But there is genuine cause for concern. The number of legal jobs nationwide is steadily declining, according to employment figures released this month by the U.S. Department of Labor. Jobs in the law sector shrank by 2,000 in September — the fifth consecutive month of losses. The legal work force of 1,165,100 was down by 1.15% from a year ago, when the industry employed 1,178,600 people.

It's all timing

The current employment troubles for law graduates is a sharp contrast to the job market that classes even just a year or two ahead of them enjoyed. In July, NALP reported that the job market for law graduates was at its highest level in 20 years.

By Feb. 15, nearly 92% of all 2007 graduates for whom employment status was known were employed, NALP reported.

But it seems that times quickly have changed, said Eric Toscano, a third-year student at the University of California, Davis School of Law. Toscano, who is president of the Student Bar Association there, said that many second-year students who participated in on-campus interviews this year are frustrated by the lack of job offers. He will start full-time with Reed Smith's San Francisco office next fall.

Toscano recently met with a group of second-year students who expressed their concerns. Even students in the top 15% of their class were not getting offers, he said. The situation is particularly bad for students who are counting on summer associate income to help pay down some of their loan debt.

"My heart goes out to second-year students at the top of the class who aren't just academically qualified, but who have the personality to fit into a law firm, who are just not getting the opportunities we had a year ago," he said.

One of the biggest challenges for career services professionals is dealing with the rumor mill among law students, who are a "worrisome lot" by nature, said Tom Ksobiech, assistant dean for career services at the University of Alabama School of Law.

"Everyone has heard something from 'a friend,' " he said. "According to the 'friend,' there are no jobs anywhere."

His school has made a push in recent years to get more law firms to participate in on-campus interviews.

This year's turnout was strong, Ksobiech said, but he remains guarded about the future.

"Where we are in two years as a nation, that's the thing that everyone has to watch out for," he said.

Outlook's bleak for summer associates, too.

Anonymous said...

Outlook's bleak for all JDs......

Biglaw attorneys are one pink slip from being TTT.....

And TTT is one out-sourced review project to India from sitting on a iron grate, in the winter, contemplating homelessness with a beggar's cup in hand......

Anonymous said...

Put on your life jackets. The ABA is now telling law students to have a f-ing backup plan!!! Are they kidding me????http://endofesq.com/?p=371

Anonymous said...

the truth can't be hidden anymore... hanging a shingle should become a more popular answer ... at least it helps increase one's skills....

Anonymous said...

Think of all the valuable experience these graduates are going to receive.....and get $12.00 an hour too....

Anonymous said...

There are some projects starting up in NYC.

Anonymous said...

Finally going to see the law school bubble burst now. Poor 2008/9 lemming grads, you will be the first over the cliff.

Anonymous said...

ؤشقمخس ةشىعثم مثهفث بثقثهقش

Unknown said...

We should start flagging document review postings on craigslist such as these. I think if two people flag a post, it gets deleted automatically. We should see how that works out.

Anonymous said...

They shouldn't be flagged. It confirms the market price and conditions of this industry.

Anonymous said...

Come on. This ad will not get a single, serious reply.

Anonymous said...

And if it does get a reply, what do you care? Lookin out for "the man"?? Loser!

Anonymous said...

Swanky, no?

Anonymous said...

The students mistakenly purchased a bill of goods which was cleverly sold and packaged to them.

Their next step and only option is this $12.00 job. Let the posting stand as a reminder.

Anonymous said...

To: 8:48

The Man. I am the Man.


--- It's basic economics. If the pay scale is really this low, no one will show up for the audition.

Anonymous said...

Sure they will show up. Just like you and your bretheren will show up for the 25/hr straight time doc review gigs. That's what you gotta do when no one will hire you.

Anonymous said...

I think Macy's pays $10.00 but you get a store discount. No JD, BA or any BS required.

Centre Law said...

Looking for experienced government contracts attorney. Must have litigation experience. Centre also does consulting and training to both government and industry personnel. Full time position. Reasonable hours/family friendly. Northern Virginia location (Washington DC metro area). Resumes to resumes@centreconsult.com.

Anonymous said...

I made $12 an hour working in a law firm before going to law school. If I were going to take that, I could just work in retail management or as a stripper. Can we say "degrading"??? Who's that stupid?

Anonymous said...

Just saw ad for document attorneys for Boston contracts - $17 - $22 per hour.

Anonymous said...

Two bizarre events recently occurred in California.

HEADLINE #1: Test Engineer goes postal

A test engineer was fired from a company called Siport. Shortly after Jing
Hua Wu had been fired, he had a meeting with three SiPort executives. He
pulled out a 9-mm handgun and killed them. The three killed were Marilyn
Lewis, 67, of San Jose, the company's head of human resources; Brian Pugh,
47, of Los Altos, vice president for operations; and Sid Agrawal, 56, of
Fremont, the company's co-founder and chief executive.

On the surface it doesn't appear that race or ethnicity had anything to do
with Wu's cold blooded and premeditated murders, although at this time
there isn't enough information to conclude what motivated him. The murder
of Sid Agrawal is causing quite a buzz on Indian news websites because many
Indians consider him to be a successful example of an NRI (non-resident
Indian). He held a degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT-Kanpur and
then earned a master's degree in engineering from the University of
Southern Illinois. Agrawal was probably a naturalized citizen because has
been in the U.S. since 1975.

The two others who were murdered were non-Indians, so there seems to be no
pattern to Wu's madness besides the fact that he wanted to take out the
executives who terminated his employment.


HEADLINE #2: UC postdoctoral researcher charged in colleague's poisoning

Benchun Liu, a postdoctoral researcher at the UCSF urology department,
twice tried to poison Mei Cao, a female colleague by putting laboratory
chemicals in her drinking water. Very little has been said about either of
these two people except that Benchun Liu is a Chinese citizen here on a
work visa. More than likely the visa is an H-1B, but without further
information it's tough know anything his or her immigration status. The
court put Liu on immigration hold without bail. About all we know about the
victim is that she is a research associate at the university.

The news reports of these incidents leave a lot to be desired because they
are vague on details and superficial about who the perpetrators and the
victims are, and what were their motivations for the crimes. I have spent
hours searching the internet on these cases and have found that almost all
the articles are not much more than repeats of the ones copied below. Good
luck finding more. I suspect the university and other agencies scrubbed
information off the web because it's as if the people involved didn't
exist. I couldn't find one biography of any of the people involved. Let me
know if you do.

Without more information it's very difficult to determine if these crimes
were random incidents of violence caused by the pressure cooker of the
high-tech work environment in Silicon Valley. So many of the jobs, whether
in academia or industry in that area are dehumanizing and over demanding.
It's a wonder that more people haven't gone postal.

So, just why is there so little real information on these two crimes? It's
been my experience that when news stories have been around this long, and
the stories are so lacking of substance, the mainstream media is hiding
something. I have no proof, but I think there were factors involved in one
or both of these crimes that involved immigration, race, ethnicity, or
culture. Just guessing though......

It's no secret in Silicon Valley that there is animosity between the
Chinese and Indian communities that is partly caused by the fact that they
are competing in the same job market. Don't be fooled by the liberal media
that wants you to believe that the Bay Area is a melting pot -- it's a pot
that's melting!

Anonymous said...

Would a "prestigious government agency" really post on CL?

Anonymous said...

I interviewed for this job. It's with the NY attorney general's office.

Anonymous said...

I feel sick.