government work is the new biglaw.
It
looks like the public sector is about to be flooded with young attorneys.
The other day, I read an article on Law.com about increased law student interest in public sector jobs due to the recent political campaign and, specifically, due to Barack Obama’s win.
Obama himself spurned lucrative Biglaw offers and probably a Supreme Court clerkship in favor of going into public service. He’s also repeatedly encouraged youth to enter public service and has outlined a plan to put his money where his mouth is after he’s sworn in.
I don’t doubt Obama’s power to inspire law students to public service, but I think there also may be larger forces driving law students into government work. Namely:
With Biglaw firms going under left and right, mid-size firms trimming their ranks, and even small firms feeling the crunch, students that would have been in line for Biglaw jobs in the past may also be turning increasingly to public service.
I have several friends who, after being no-offered or having their offers rescinded for economic reasons, have been interviewing for government jobs. Others came to law school hoping to go into government work, but have been seeing increased competition for jobs they would have easily gotten a year or two ago.
For instance, District Attorney hiring, always competitive, has been hyper-competitive this year. The Ventura County DA, for example, interviewed over 80 people for four positions last month. I’d be willing to bet state and federal agencies have been experiencing similar upticks in interest.
Government law work has always been enticing to a lot of young attorneys. Reasonable hours, a varied practice, and excellent in-court experience make for a pretty killer combination.
If the economy continues to tank and President Obama decides to help young public sector lawyers get rid of some of that oppressive law school debt, BigGov might just become the new Biglaw.
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